History · Year 2

Active learning ideas

The Monument to the Great Fire

Active learning works well for this topic because Year 2 students need concrete, memorable ways to connect a historic event to a physical landmark. Building, drawing, and discussing help children move from abstract facts to meaningful understanding of the Monument’s purpose and design.

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

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Small Groups

Model Building: Mini-Monuments

Provide straws, clay, and foil for groups to construct scaled-down versions of the Monument. First, review photos and discuss key features like the column and orb. Groups label parts and present their models, explaining design choices.

What is the Monument to the Great Fire and why was it built?

Facilitation Tip

During Model Building, encourage students to use a simple timeline strip to place images of the fire and Monument in order to clarify the ten-year gap between the event and its commemoration.

What to look for

Provide students with a picture of the Monument. Ask them to write two sentences: one explaining why it was built and one describing a feature that helps us remember the Great Fire.

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

Activity 02

• Stations Rotation
• 30 min · Individual

Design Drawing: Monument Blueprints

Students draw the Monument from reference images, labelling the base, stairs, and orb. Add thought bubbles for 'why it remembers the fire'. Share drawings in pairs to compare details and purposes.

How does the Monument help us remember the Great Fire of London?

Facilitation Tip

During Design Drawing, ask students to label at least one symbolic feature and explain its meaning in a sentence below their blueprint.

What to look for

Ask students: 'If you were building a monument today to remember an important event, what would it look like and why? What would it help people remember?' Facilitate a brief class discussion.

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

Activity 03

• Stations Rotation
• 20 min · Whole Class

Circle Share: Why Remember?

Sit in a circle with Monument images. Pose key questions: 'What happened? Why build this?'. Students share ideas using sentence stems, then vote on the most important reason to remember.

Why do you think it is important to remember big events from history?

Facilitation Tip

During Circle Share, use a turn-and-talk structure so every child has a chance to share one idea before inviting volunteers to speak to the whole group.

What to look for

Show students images of different types of monuments (e.g., a statue, a plaque, a memorial garden). Ask them to point to or name the Monument to the Great Fire and explain how it is similar to or different from the other examples.

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

Activity 04

• Stations Rotation
• 25 min · Pairs

Map Hunt: Monument Location

Print simple 1666 London maps. Pairs mark Pudding Lane and the Monument, drawing a fire path. Discuss how location helps memory, then plot on a modern map overlay.

What is the Monument to the Great Fire and why was it built?

Facilitation Tip

During Map Hunt, provide a large floor map and have students physically walk the route from Pudding Lane to the Monument, reinforcing location understanding through movement.

What to look for

Provide students with a picture of the Monument. Ask them to write two sentences: one explaining why it was built and one describing a feature that helps us remember the Great Fire.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should focus on connecting the Monument’s design to its purpose, using visual and hands-on activities to make abstract history tangible. Avoid overloading students with dates; instead, emphasize the idea of remembering and commemorating. Research suggests that concrete experiences like building and drawing help young learners retain conceptual knowledge better than abstract explanations alone.

Children will understand why the Monument was built, recall its key features, and explain how it helps us remember the Great Fire. Look for accurate sequencing of events, clear descriptions of the Monument’s design, and thoughtful reflections on remembering important events.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Model Building, watch for students placing the Monument near the fire in 1666 instead of 1677.

  Provide pre-printed timeline cards and guide students to place the Monument image after the fire image on a strip, emphasizing the ten-year gap through verbal counting aloud.

• During Design Drawing, watch for students drawing the Monument without including a symbolic feature like the golden orb.

  Before sketching, display close-up images of the orb and prompt students to include at least one labeled feature in their blueprints that represents the fire.

• During Circle Share, watch for students suggesting the Monument was built to prevent future fires.

  Use the discussion prompt "Monuments can help us remember good or bad events. What kind of event does this Monument remember?" to steer responses toward commemoration rather than prevention.

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation