Topic: Great Plague and Great Fire
Aim: For students to understand two key events and how they are linked
Citizenship links: Impact of disasters; impact of decision made upon society; contingency plans for coping with a disaster.
ALL: Level 4 – to be able to describe what happened
MOST: Level 5: To be able to explain what happened with both events, drawing links. To be able to use key words and explain in sentences.
SOME: Level 6 – to be able to draw a comparison and evaluate which was the most important, and explain how one impacted upon the other using evidence.
To be able to use key words in explanation fluently.
Key words: Plague, Fire, Death, London, Change, City
Where does this unit fit in: This is the beginning of the Year 8 SoW, which enables students to make a link between the Yr 7 SoW and what they will be
studying. This focuses upon the major change at the end of the 16th Century, and starts to show students how larger changes then occurred. This will help
them build upon their source work in Year 7.
Assessment: Students will be assessing
Scheme of Work: How modern was Britain in the 1700s?
Year Group: Year 8
No.
Lesson
Title/Aim
(Key
Questions)
1.
What was
London like in
1700?
Learning Objectives
(Learning about /
Learning from)
4 – To describe what London
was like
5- To explain what London
was like, and how this
impacted upon people
6 – To evaluate how easy or
difficult it must have been to
live in London at this point
Lesson Content- teaching activities
Use of AFL
Resources
Starter – show students a montage of images of modern
London. Do they think this is a pleasant or difficult city to live
in? Class discussion – encourage students to make up their
minds and give an answer.
Ppt, source packs
Next – let's get into our tardis and whizz back to the 1700s.
We are taking our knowledge of modern London and applying
it to what life is like in the city at that point.
4 – To describe
what London was
like
5- To explain what
London was like,
and how this
impacted upon
people
6 – To evaluate how
easy or difficult it
must have been to
live in London at this
point
Students are to be given source packs, and also a grid asking
them to divide things between “good” and “bad.” They have to
examine the following in the sources:
Housing Transport The streets Behaviour The docks
Which do they think are good, and which are bad?
Why do they think this? Prompt it with model answers - “the
docks are really close together, so ships cannot get through.
Is this good or bad?”
Class discussion – was London a good or bad place to live in in
1700? Students to contribute by giving ideas, then move to an
overall class vote.
PEE – write a postcard home about London:
“One thing I liked/disliked about London was...”
“My evidence for this is...”
“This was fine/foul because...”
AfL – peer assessment
Plenary - What was London like in the 1700s?
2 stars / 1 wish
Curriculum
Links
LEA /
Citizenship
links
Citizenship – state
of a city, look for
solutions
Geography – London
Science – cures for
the Plague
Key words
Plague
Urban
Cities
Fire
Disaster
Causes
Solution
Media/ICT
Links
2.
How did the
Great Plague
spread?
4 – to describe how the Great
Plague spread
5 – to explain the reasons for
the spread of the Great
Plague, and the most
important
6 – to evaluate the reasons
and compare them.
Ppt, source packs
Starter – when illnesses start today, what advice are we given
to avoid epidemics? Why do you think we are successful?
Refer to Swine Flu, SARS.
Read the information about 18th Century London. Identify five
reasons why the Plague started and spread. Class discussion –
which are the most important reasons for the Plague
spreading?
How do you think the spread of the Plague could be stopped?
Think, pair, share – and contribute!
Lord Mayor's rules – explain that in the case of an emergency,
the Government has the power to impose rules to try and
protect/help people. In pairs, look at the Mayor's rules.
Arrange them into a Diamond 9 – most effective at the top,
least effective at the bottom.
Students need to be able to justify why they have put certain
rules at the top and at the bottom.
Next – imagine you are a community doctor trying to advise
patients on how to avoid the plague. Using the evidence from
the Lord Mayor, write a PEE paragraph explaining what they
should do. For Level 6, students need to show they have
evaluated the reasons and give a comparison.
AfL – peer assessment.
Plenary – why did the Plague spread?
2 Stars/1 Wish
4 – to describe how
the Great Plague
spread
5 – to explain the
reasons for the
spread of the Great
Plague, and the
most important
6 – to evaluate the
reasons and
compare them.
3.
Why could they
not cure the
Plague?
4 – to describe how they tried
to cure the Plague
5 – to explain how they tried
to cure the Plague
6 – to evaluate how they
tried to cure the Plague and
why they failed.
Ppt, source packs
Starter – re-cap – using the images on the board, can you
explain why the Plague spread in London?
Next – when you're ill, what do you take or use to get better?
Why do you think this is effective and it cures you?
Do you think they had these facilities in 1700 London?
Group work – using a pack of sources, students are to find the
answers to two questions:
What was the way of trying to cure the Plague?
Would it have made a difference? Why?
Which was the most effective/least effective way of curing the
Plague?
PEE – students are to write a paragraph answering the
question “Why couldn't they cure the Plague in 1665?”
AfL – model answer, then peer assessment.
Plenary – what was the answer? Students are to give one
reason why they couldn't cure the Plague, and explain why.
2 Stars/1 Wish
4 – to describe how
they tried to cure
the Plague
5 – to explain how
they tried to cure
the Plague
6 – to evaluate how
they tried to cure
the Plague and why
they failed.
4.
How did the
Great Fire of
London start?
4 – Describe how the Great
Fire of London started
5- Explain the causes of the
Great Fire of London
6 – Evaluate the most
important cause of the Great
Fire of London.
Ppt, source packs
Starter - show students the pictures of fire fighting
equipment. What do they think they were used for? How
useful do they think they were?
Next – Sources. Students are to use the sources to answer
these questions:
1. How did the Great Fire start?
2. How did it spread so easily?
3. How did they try and stop it spreading?
4. What was the total loss?
Next – group work. Students are to write and present a BBC
news report on the Great Fire of London. They need to work
out who will fill each role – presenter, interviewer, and
witnesses. Students are to be given sentence starters to
encourage them to construct their presentation.
AfL – peer assessment -who is giving a clear, concise view of
what happened?
Plenry – how did the Great Fire start?
2 Stars/1 Wish
4 – Describe how
the Great Fire of
London started
5- Explain the
causes of the Great
Fire of London
6 – Evaluate the
most important
cause of the Great
Fire of London.
5.
Was the Great
Fire a blessing in
disguise?
4 – Describe how the Great
Fire was a blessing in
disguise
5 – Explain how the Great
Fire could be a blessing in
disguise
6 – Evaluate if the Great Fire
was a blessing or not.
Ppt, source packs
Starter – what did they think would cure the Plague? Re-cap;
students can look back in their books and then contribute.
In pairs, students are to receive statements about the impact
of the Great Fire.
They need to place these statements on an opinion line from
“Good” to “terrible”.
Students need to be able to justify and explain why they have
placed their statements at certain points.
PEE – was the Great Fire a blessing? Students need to write an
answer explaining yes or no, using evidence. For Level 6,
students need to evaluate if London would have been better
off if the Great Fire had not happened.
AfL – peer assessment.
Plenary – was the Great Fire a blessing?
2 Stars/1 Wish
4 – Describe how
the Great Fire was a
blessing in disguise
5 – Explain how the
Great Fire could be
a blessing in
disguise
6 – Evaluate if the
Great Fire was a
blessing or not.
6.
Assessment on
the Plague
4 – to be able to describe the
Plague using sources
5 – To be able to explain the
Plague using sources
6- To be able to evaluate the
Plague's impact using
sources.
Students are to write an assessment on the Plague,
considering the reliability of sources.
They will receive sentence starters to assist them in the
construction of their work.
AfL – marked by teacher.
2 Stars/1 Wish
4 – to be able to
describe the Plague
using sources
5 – To be able to
explain the Plague
using sources
6- To be able to
evaluate the
Plague's impact
using sources.