The Great Fire of London
History · Year 1–Year 2
Build the street in timber or in brick, then set it alight.
About the great fire
A street of six plots with the baker's shop at one end. Build it the way London was built in 1666, out of timber with thatch on the roofs and the upper floors jettied out so they nearly touch, or the way it was rebuilt afterwards, out of brick with tiles. Then pick up the match, tap a house, and press Next to see the fire spread one house at a time.
The point of it is the question a class is usually only told the answer to: why did it spread so far? A timber house with straw on the roof catches from the house next door. A brick house with tiles does not, and the fire stops there. Build the same street both ways and the difference is on the board rather than in a paragraph.
Pull a house down and you have a firebreak, which is what the Duke of York's men were doing with hooks and gunpowder while the fire was still going. It works, until you press Wind. A wind along the street carries sparks over one empty plot and sets the house beyond alight, and that is what happened in 1666: the gaps were made too late and too narrow. Two empty plots side by side hold it.
The board says what each press did and, when the fire is out, what stopped it and how many houses burnt. Nothing is typed and nothing is dragged: what goes on a plot is picked on the toolbar and tapped onto the street, so a child at the board can build it.
How to use it on your whiteboard
- 1Press 1666 to build the street in timber, or Now to build it in brick.
- 2Pick Match and tap a house to set it alight. The baker's is the first plot, which is where the real fire started.
- 3Press Next to spread the fire one house at a time, and ask the class what will catch before each press.
- 4Pick Gap and pull a house down to make a firebreak, then press Wind to see the sparks cross it.
- 5Press Again to put the fire out and keep the street, or 1666 to start over. Tap Fullscreen to fill the board.
Questions
- What does this teach that a picture of the fire does not?
- Why it spread. A class can see that the houses were wooden and touching, and that brick and tile stop the fire, because they build both streets themselves and light them.
- Why does the fire cross a gap when the wind is on?
- Because that is what it did. Firebreaks were pulled down during the fire and a strong wind carried burning material over them. One empty plot is not enough with a wind blowing; two side by side hold it, which is a good question to leave a class with.
- Can I change the street while it is burning?
- Yes. Build a brick house in front of the fire and the spread is worked out again around it, so "what if this one had been brick?" is one tap rather than a fresh start.
- Do I need an account?
- No. Trove Tools is free with no login, no subscription and no limits.