History · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Samuel Pepys: A Witness's Diary

Active learning helps Year 2 students connect with Samuel Pepys' diary because the events happened long ago, making them feel distant. By handling replica pages, role-playing readings, and sequencing events, children experience the diary as a real person’s record rather than just a story.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: History - Events beyond living memory
• KS1: History - Historical interpretations

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Diary Excerpt Stations

Prepare four stations with simplified Pepys excerpts: sights from the river, burying possessions, sounds of panic, and helping neighbours. Groups read, draw key details, and note emotions at each. Rotate every 10 minutes and share one finding per station.

Who was Samuel Pepys and how do we know what he saw during the fire?

Facilitation Tip

For Diary Excerpt Stations, place magnifying glasses at each station so children can closely examine replica pages and practice decoding old handwriting together.

What to look for

Provide students with three short statements about the Great Fire: one from Pepys' diary, one a factual statement from a textbook, and one a made-up statement. Ask students to identify which is from Pepys' diary and explain why they think so, focusing on personal details or emotions.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 25 min · Pairs

Pairs: Role-Play Diary Readings

Pair students to read excerpts aloud, with one as Pepys expressing feelings and the other as a listener asking questions. Switch roles after each entry. Conclude with pairs sharing most surprising detail.

What did Samuel Pepys write about in his diary during the Great Fire?

Facilitation Tip

During Role-Play Diary Readings, assign pairs different excerpts so they can focus on tone and emotion, then switch to hear how perspectives change.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Why is it important for historians to read diaries like Samuel Pepys'?' Encourage students to share their ideas, guiding them to discuss how diaries offer personal feelings and experiences that official records might miss.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 35 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Build a Fire Timeline

Project Pepys' dated entries. Class adds quotes and drawings to a large timeline. Discuss sequence and Pepys' changing mood over days.

Why is it helpful to read what a real person wrote about a historical event?

Facilitation Tip

For the Build a Fire Timeline, give each student one event card to sequence on a long strip of paper so everyone contributes to the final timeline.

What to look for

On a slip of paper, ask students to write down one thing Samuel Pepys saw or did during the Great Fire, based on his diary. Then, ask them to write one sentence explaining why reading his words helps us understand the event.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 30 min · Individual

Individual: My Witness Diary

Students write and illustrate one diary entry imagining they are Pepys on a fire day, using class glossary of his words. Share in circle time.

Who was Samuel Pepys and how do we know what he saw during the fire?

Facilitation Tip

In the My Witness Diary activity, provide lined paper with a date stamp so students practice writing in Pepys’ style with clear dates and personal details.

What to look for

Provide students with three short statements about the Great Fire: one from Pepys' diary, one a factual statement from a textbook, and one a made-up statement. Ask students to identify which is from Pepys' diary and explain why they think so, focusing on personal details or emotions.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with short, vivid excerpts to hook students’ emotions, then layer in historical context through simple comparisons like how fires spread today. Avoid over-explaining; let students puzzle out Pepys’ language in pairs first. Research shows that children retain more when they connect personal stories to big events through active tasks like sequencing or role-play.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying Pepys as a real person who wrote daily accounts, explaining key details from his diary, and recognizing why eyewitness accounts matter. They should use evidence from the diary to describe the fire’s duration and impact.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Diary Excerpt Stations, watch for students who dismiss Pepys’ writing as fiction because it feels old-fashioned.

  Reinforce that Pepys wrote daily facts by having students highlight dates and actions on their replica pages, then share one factual detail they noticed with the class.

• During Build a Fire Timeline, watch for students who think the fire ended in one day.

  Point to Pepys’ multi-day entries on the timeline and ask students to count how many days it lasted, using the dates as evidence.

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation
• Role Play