Year 2

Embarking on our transdisciplinary theme, ‘Where we are in Time and Place’, this term has been an exhilarating journey. Our focus has revolved around the central idea: ‘Humans can be affected by significant events’. As part of their provocation, the children created their own houses using materials in the classroom to see if it could beat a natural disaster. 

To kick-start this exploration, our young learners engaged in three role play meet and greets! With Miss Crane, they met Jane the maid who pleaded her innocence of not starting the Great Fire of London. With Miss Shah, the children met the baker, who again, pleaded his innocence of not igniting the great blaze. Finally with Mrs Drage, they met Samuel Pepys who explained how things unfolded from his point of view.  This activity aimed to explore the different viewpoints from a variety of people who were caught up in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The children thoroughly enjoyed trying to investigate who could have started the fire by creating mind maps of ideas linking characters to the scene, motives they may have had and even noting down any alibis. Lots of the children believed it was in fact Jane the Maid’s fault for starting the fire, but as we know, it is a tale that will never truly be solved. 

Moving on from our provocation we looked into the geography of London identifying important landmarks in 1666. The children wrote an acrostic poem all about the Great Fire of London focussing on using our senses.This fed nicely into our diary entries the following week where we had to write from the perspective of Samuel Pepys. The children embraced their role as Samuel Pepys and thoroughly enjoyed embarking on their three day journey through the Great Fire of London. After this, we then began to explore another disaster which took place in Chicago in 1871. We compiled lots of knowledge of this first and then pieced it all together to write an exciting newspaper report. 

Our second line of inquiry this term was to investigate ‘How significant events lead to improvements’. The children started this line of inquiry by becoming scientists and investigating materials and their properties. We explored how wooden homes may have impacted the Great Fire of London and the importance of using suitable materials to build homes. The children conducted an exciting investigation to determine which materials are best suited for building a house capable of withstanding natural disasters like heavy rain. They explored a variety of materials, including plastic, metal, paper, and rubber, testing their properties by pouring water over them to observe how they held up against moisture and simulated heavy rain conditions. Additionally, the children experimented with each material's flexibility, assessing how bendy, stretchy, and twisty they were.Through this hands-on activity, they discovered the unique strengths and weaknesses of each material, fostering their understanding of structural durability and material properties. The children were thrilled and deeply engaged during this activity, showing a mix of curiosity and excitement as they explored the different materials.

In our final line of inquiry, ‘The local and global responses to significant events’, the children took proactive steps by designing a house prototype. Drawing on their knowledge of materials, they identified the most suitable options for constructing a house that is strong, rigid, and stable enough to withstand natural disasters like the Great Fire of London. They then presented their designs to the class, role-playing as a charity dedicated to rebuilding homes for those affected by disasters. During their presentations, they explained the materials they chose and how these would ensure durability and resilience. The children have thoroughly enjoyed exploring this topic, and it has been wonderful to witness their enthusiasm and the many new insights they have gained.