Christopher Wren and Rebuilding LondonActivities & Teaching Strategies
Young learners need to grasp how Wren’s rebuilding changed London from a maze of wooden streets to a safer, stone-built city. Active, hands-on tasks let them see, touch, and question the shift, turning abstract facts into memorable experiences.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify Christopher Wren as the architect responsible for rebuilding St Paul's Cathedral.
- 2Compare the street layouts and building materials of London before and after the Great Fire.
- 3Explain how Wren's designs aimed to prevent future fires.
- 4Name at least one specific building designed by Christopher Wren.
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Model Building: Old vs New London
Provide card, straws, and blocks for pairs to build a narrow, wooden-style street then redesign it wider with stone towers. Discuss fire risks in the first model and safety in the second. Photograph models for a class display.
Prepare & details
Who was Christopher Wren and what did he help build after the Great Fire?
Facilitation Tip: During Model Building, circulate with pre-1666 and post-1666 photographs so students compare their models to real evidence right away.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
Stations Rotation: Wren's Designs
Set up stations with images of St Paul's, street maps, and biographies. Small groups rotate, sketching one feature at each like a dome or wide road, then share in plenary. Use sticky notes for questions.
Prepare & details
How did people rebuild London after so many buildings had burned down?
Facilitation Tip: For Station Rotation, place a small timer at each station so groups move purposefully and stay on task.
Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room
Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer
Role-Play: Rebuilding Committee
Assign roles as Wren, mayor, and builders in small groups. They debate using stone over wood and draw a plan. Perform short skits for the class to vote on best ideas.
Prepare & details
Can you name one famous building that Christopher Wren designed?
Facilitation Tip: In the Rebuilding Committee role-play, step back after assigning roles so students’ conversations reveal what they understand about collaboration and planning.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
Timeline Walk: Fire to Cathedral
Create a whole-class floor timeline from Fire to Wren's buildings. Individually add drawings or labels of changes, then walk and narrate as a group.
Prepare & details
Who was Christopher Wren and what did he help build after the Great Fire?
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
Teaching This Topic
Start with clear before-and-after images to build curiosity, then let students manipulate materials so they discover the benefits of Wren’s changes. Avoid long explanations; instead, ask guiding questions that push them to notice details. Research shows concrete experiences anchor abstract ideas, especially for six- and seven-year-olds.
What to Expect
Students will explain why wider streets and stone buildings mattered after the Great Fire, describe Wren’s role, and show how his designs created lasting change. They use models, maps, and role-play to make these ideas their own.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Model Building: Old vs New London, watch for students who create elaborate buildings but leave the streets unchanged. Redirect by asking, 'How could your buildings connect to wider streets? What would that look like?'
What to Teach Instead
Direct students to compare their narrow wooden-street model with the wider stone-street photograph, then revise their model to match Wren’s safer design.
Common MisconceptionDuring Model Building: Old vs New London, watch for students who claim Wren did all the work alone. Redirect by pointing to the team of workers in the construction images and asking, 'Who else helped Wren make these changes?'
What to Teach Instead
Have students add miniature figures of builders, surveyors, and stone masons to their models and name each role before they present.
Common MisconceptionDuring Station Rotation: Wren's Designs, watch for students who focus only on church spires. Redirect by asking, 'What other parts of the city did Wren change?'
What to Teach Instead
Challenge groups to find and mark non-church buildings on their maps, such as market halls or hospitals, and explain how Wren’s designs improved them.
Assessment Ideas
After Model Building: Old vs New London, provide students with a card to draw one difference between their old and new models and write one sentence about Wren’s teamwork.
During Station Rotation: Wren's Designs, show images of St Paul’s Cathedral and a pre-fire street scene. Ask, 'What did Wren add to make London safer?' and 'Who helped him build these changes?'
After the Rebuilding Committee role-play, prompt students: 'Share one idea you heard from a Londoner about how their new house or street should look and why it matters.'
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Ask early finishers to design a new town square that includes firebreaks and a public water pump, labeling each feature.
- Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters on cards for students who struggle to explain differences, such as 'Wider streets helped because...' and 'Stone buildings are safer than wood because...'.
- Deeper: Invite students to research another architect or engineer from history who solved a similar problem and present a short comparison.
Key Vocabulary
| Architect | A person who designs buildings and is often responsible for supervising their construction. |
| Great Fire of London | A major fire that swept through the central parts of London from Sunday, 2 September to Thursday, 6 September 1666. |
| Rebuild | To build something again after it has been damaged or destroyed. |
| Stone building | A structure constructed primarily from stone, which is more resistant to fire than wood. |
Suggested Methodologies
Planning templates for History
5E Model
The 5E Model structures lessons through five phases (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), guiding students from curiosity to deep understanding through inquiry-based learning.
Unit PlannerThematic Unit
Organize a multi-week unit around a central theme or essential question that cuts across topics, texts, and disciplines, helping students see connections and build deeper understanding.
RubricSingle-Point Rubric
Build a single-point rubric that defines only the "meets standard" level, leaving space for teachers to document what exceeded and what fell short. Simple to create, easy for students to understand.
More in The Great Fire of London
London in 1666: A City of Wood
Investigating the urban landscape of London before the fire, focusing on building materials and density.
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Pudding Lane: The Spark and Spread
Investigating the origins of the fire in Thomas Farriner's bakery and the initial factors that caused it to spread.
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Samuel Pepys: A Witness's Diary
Using primary sources from Samuel Pepys' diary to understand the personal experience of living through the fire.
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Fighting the Flames: 17th Century Methods
Exploring the primitive methods used to stop the fire, from leather buckets to fire hooks and gunpowder.
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The Aftermath: A City in Ruins
Examining the immediate consequences of the fire, including homelessness and the destruction of landmarks.
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