The Monument to the Great FireActivities & Teaching Strategies
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.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify the primary purpose for the Monument's construction based on historical context.
- 2Explain how the Monument's design elements, such as its height and flame motif, symbolize the Great Fire of London.
- 3Compare the Monument to other historical landmarks as a method of commemoration.
- 4Classify the Monument as a primary or secondary source for understanding the Great Fire of London.
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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.
Prepare & details
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.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
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.
Prepare & details
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.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
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.
Prepare & details
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.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
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.
Prepare & details
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.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
Teaching This Topic
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.
What to Expect
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.
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, watch for students placing the Monument near the fire in 1666 instead of 1677.
What to Teach Instead
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.
Common MisconceptionDuring Design Drawing, watch for students drawing the Monument without including a symbolic feature like the golden orb.
What to Teach Instead
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.
Common MisconceptionDuring Circle Share, watch for students suggesting the Monument was built to prevent future fires.
What to Teach Instead
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.
Assessment Ideas
After the Monument Blueprints activity, provide students with a picture of the Monument and ask them to write two sentences: one explaining why it was built and one describing a feature that helps us remember the Great Fire.
During the Circle Share activity, 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 to assess their understanding of monuments as commemorative tools.
After the Map Hunt activity, 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.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Ask students to design a second monument to celebrate London’s rebuilding after the fire, explaining how their design contrasts with the original.
- Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters for written reflections, such as "The flaming orb helps us remember because..." or "Pudding Lane is important because..."
- Deeper exploration: Invite students to research another London monument and present one similarity and one difference to the Great Fire Monument.
Key Vocabulary
| Monument | A statue or building erected to commemorate a famous person or event. In this case, it remembers the Great Fire of London. |
| Commemoration | The act of remembering and showing respect for someone or something, often through ceremonies or monuments. |
| Symbolism | The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. The Monument uses its height and flame to symbolize the fire's impact. |
| Inscription | Words written or engraved on something, like a monument or a book. The Monument has inscriptions detailing the fire. |
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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