KS1 History Lesson Plan: Events Beyond Living Memory (Significant Nationally or Globally)

1. Lesson Overview
- Year group: KS1 (Year 1/2)
- Duration: 60 minutes
- Topic: Events beyond living memory
- Example focus: The Great Fire of London (you can swap for first aeroplane flight or another key event)

2. Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson, pupils will:
- Know that the Great Fire of London happened a long time ago, before anyone alive today was born.
- Use simple time words (past, long ago, then, now, before, after).
- Describe key features of the event (where it happened, what happened, why it spread).
- Ask and answer simple questions about the event using pictures and stories.
- Recognise that we remember this event through stories, pictures and commemorations.

3. Key Vocabulary
past, long ago, London, fire, houses, wooden, river, bakery, Pudding Lane, Samuel Pepys, King, before, after, timeline, diary

4. Resources Needed
- Simple storybook or child-friendly video about the Great Fire of London
- Large map or picture of London (then and now)
- Sequence cards showing key moments (fire starts, spreads, people escape, houses rebuilt)
- Large class timeline (with “long ago” and “today”)
- Picture sorting cards (things from 1666 vs things from today)
- Paper, crayons, pencils

5. Starter Activity (10 minutes)
- Show a picture of modern London and a picture of London during the Great Fire.
- Ask: “What is the same? What is different?”
- Introduce the idea that this happened a long time ago, beyond living memory.

6. Main Teaching Input (10–15 minutes)
- Read or tell a simple story of the Great Fire of London.
- As you tell it, place 3–4 key events on the class timeline (e.g. fire starts in bakery, fire spreads, houses pulled down, city rebuilt).
- Model using time words: “First… then… after that… long ago… now…”
- Briefly show how we know about it (Samuel Pepys’ diary, old pictures).

7. Pupil Activities (25–30 minutes)
Activity 1: Sequencing the Event
- In small groups, children put picture cards of the Great Fire in order.
- They retell the story using simple time words.

Activity 2: Then and Now
- Children sort pictures into “Then (1666)” and “Now”.
- They explain one difference (e.g. “Then houses were made of wood. Now they are made of brick.”).

Challenge
- Higher-attaining pupils write one or two simple sentences about why the fire spread so quickly or how London changed afterwards.

8. Plenary (5–10 minutes)
- Ask a few pupils to share their sequences or one “then and now” difference.
- Revisit objectives: Can we say when this happened? Can we say one important thing about the event?
- Add new words or ideas to the class word bank.

9. Homework
- Homework sheet: draw one picture of London during the fire and one picture of London today.
- Write or dictate one simple sentence: “Long ago there was a big fire in London. Now London looks different.”

10. Assessment Notes
- Look for pupils using time words correctly.
- Check if they can place the event as “long ago” beyond living memory.
- Note who can describe at least one key feature of the event and one difference between then and now.