Teacher guide · Curious Lab · Easier · about 30 min

🏺 London Fire Detectives

Pupils practise curiosity through "London Fire Detectives": Discover clues about the Great Fire of London.

Lesson guide

1. Hook · 5 min
Show the 🏺 mission title and read the opening: "In which year was the Great Fire of London?". Take three quick guesses.
2. Model · 5 min
Think aloud through the first step together. Use Sniff the Beagle's line as your prompt: "Great question! Ready to dig one layer deeper? Pick your next mission below."
3. Do · 10 min
Pairs work through the 5 steps on screen or on the printed sheet. Circulate and ask "why?"
4. Discuss · 10 min
Use two or three of the discussion questions. Ask pairs to share different answers, not just correct ones.
5. Reflect · 5 min
Exit ticket: one sentence on how they used curiosity today.

What was the hardest choice in "London Fire Detectives", and why?
In which year was the Great Fire of London — explain your reasoning to a partner.
Why did the fire spread quickly — explain your reasoning to a partner.
Whose diary is a famous source about the fire — explain your reasoning to a partner.
Where could you use curiosity outside school this week?
If you did this again, what would you change?

Support: Read prompts aloud, pair with a confident partner, and accept spoken or drawn answers for writing steps.

Stretch: Ask pupils to create their own extra step for a partner and explain the correct answer.

National Curriculum: History: chronology, sources and significant people and events
National Curriculum: Science: working scientifically — asking questions and observing
National Curriculum: Geography/History: enquiry and using sources
PSHE: Living in the wider world: media literacy and checking information

Pupil sheet

Name: ____________________ Date: __________

1. In which year was the Great Fire of London?
☐ 1066
☐ 1666
☐ 1966
2. Why did the fire spread quickly?
☐ The houses were made of ice
☐ There were no buildings
☐ Wooden houses were close together
3. Whose diary is a famous source about the fire?
☐ Neil Armstrong
☐ Samuel Pepys
☐ Tutankhamun
4. Connect the clues to their meanings.
Diary → ________________
1666 → ________________
Pudding Lane → ________________
5. Write a pretend diary entry about seeing the fire, using two historical details. Say it is imagined.