This is a set of 5 lessons which focus on the personal testimonies of those caught up in the First World War. The activities and objectives are included on the lesson plan and there are resource sheets and a planning sheet. Children work in groups to read and re-enact stories from eye-witness accounts. They then plan and write their own accounts and read them to the class. For other free resources, information about the Vlad history stories school visits and online sessions visit the Reading Riddle website.

This planning has the resources and links needed to write a newspaper article about what Dr Phoebe Chapple did to be awarded the Military Medal during the First World War. It would work well with the story book Vlad and the First World War - but does stand alone. Dr Phoebe Chapple was an Australian doctor who paid to travel to England and join the medics serving in the First World War. She was awarded a Military Medal after putting herself in danger during an attack on a medical centre on the Western Front. She survived and returned to Australia after the war. Read about her and other inspirational people from a wide range of backgrounds in Vlad and the First World War, which includes a fact file about the real people included in the story. For information about school visits go to the Reading Riddle website.

This is a pdf version of my printed book, Vlad and the Great Fire of London Activity Book which is also available for sale from my website and Amazon. It is linked to (but can be used separately from) the picture book Vlad and the Great Fire of London. "Excellent book, fits perfectly with KS1 curriculum. Lovely language and great illustrations. Would also highly recommend the authors website and her school visits." This is not a lesson resource book, but was written as a fun activity book, which could be used as homework - the contents are listed below and can be seen on the attached video. I am uploading it here for easy, printable purchase, but please note the same copyright applies as if you bought the bound book. It was created so teachers could use the resources in class and this version would be easier to copy for your own use, in your class. It is a black and white book (to reduce cost and allow for colouring-in!) and includes the following pages: The Great Fire numbers – fill out the information, putting the correct number into the sentences. Dot-to-dot. What’s wrong? – identify the objects that could not have been in a room in 1666. Who am I? – five people who saw the fire give a clue to their identity. Unscramble their names from the letters given. The Fire Game – a board game with counters and a dice to make. Colour in the fire scene. Boxton is trapped! – help Boxton escape from Pudding Lane through the maze of streets to the fields. Easy bread rolls – a simple recipe to make your own bread. Acrostic – answer the clues to spell a phrase. Fire wordsearch – find all the hidden fire vocabulary. Vlad the flea and Boxton the rat finger puppets to make. Londoner finger puppets – firefighters with moving arms. Fire facts and answers to the quizzes. (Please note that the second file is the colour cover which you may not feel the need to print but has been included in case you want to) For information, resources, visits and to sign up for new materials as they come out please see the Reading Riddle website Many thanks, Kate

This is a word sheet which includes labelled illustrations from the book Vlad and the First World War. The book includes a fuller glossary, map, fact file and story told by Vlad flea and his companion Crisp VC, the carrier pigeon. For other resources, activities and information on visits go to the Reading Riddle website.

These resources support a set of lessons on purposeful persuasive letter writing (KS2). Based on research I did to write Vlad and the First World War, they focus on Walter Tull and Phoebe Chapple. Both could have been awarded the Military Cross, but prevailing attitudes discriminated against them. The lessons support writing a letter to persuade the Ministry of Defence to award them posthumously. It includes a set of lesson plans linked to the literacy curriculum, templates for making notes and crib sheets if you want to focus on the letter writing rather than note taking. There are website links for research and 2 videos summarising their lives. Government offices respond to letters so if sent will receive a letter back. Further resources are available on the Reading Riddle website along with information on my books and school visits.

This 6 minute video shows the evidence for the fire starting at Pudding Lane in Thomas Farriner’s bakery. It shares Pepys diary entry, the Hearth Tax entry for 1666 and maps from 1593, 1667 and now. The film then moves to Pudding Lane to show what it looks like now, the memorials and the spot where it all began. It is suitable for sharing during the primary topic and is based on the research I used when writing my picture book, Vlad and the Great Fire of London. I have lots of other resources here and on the Reading Riddle website.

Using the events of the Great Fire of London, this planning enables children to take an alternative character and write their story. Using drama the children consider the events and write a story set in September 1666. For further ideas and planning see the Reading Riddle website. Vlad and the Great Fire of London is available from Amazon or The National Archives bookshop.

This powerpoint summarises the what, who, why, when and how of Remembrance Day. It uses simple language and clear illustrations from the picture book, Vlad and the First World War. The powerpoint is editable to suit your specific audience but the illustrations are the copyright of Sam Cunningham so should not be used elsewhere. If you want any further information on the book or the first book Vlad and the Great Fire of London please visit the Reading Riddle website.

A differentiated lotto game matching pictures to phrases and introducing vocabulary around the Great Fire of London. Pictures are taken from my book Vlad and the Great Fire of London illustrated by my son. There are 6 target boards with varying levels of difficulty in the phrases so the game can be played by mixed ability groups. The game is in a word document so can be adapted according to your needs. I have added other free resources around this topic and although you don’t need the book for any of the materials, it is available from Amazon if you want to use it. Information about my storytelling events are on the Reading Riddle website.

A mixture of images of materials and clues from 1666 and now that lead to discussion about things that caused the Great Fire to spread. This resource relates to the lesson plan available for free from the shop. The images can be cut up and sorted into the relevant era. They then provide a starting point for comparing what houses were made from and how close they were placed.

This is a set of 7 lessons on the Great Fire of London with aims, activities, vocabulary and references to the National Curriculum. The lessons go with the further resources I have uploaded, but you can use and adapt in whatever way is most useful to you and your class. I love this topic and have tried to include plenty of talk, drama activities and images that bring it to life, in a way that will excite children, and give them the tools to write and discuss with enthusiasm. The Big Questions aim to give them a wider perspective and stretch their understanding. I visit schools linked to my book ‘Vlad and the Great Fire of London’, for information about this please look at the Reading Riddle website. If you have found this useful please give it a review :) and look at my other free resources.

Six images to put in order and make a timeline of the Great Fire of London. For an extension activity children can write further detail and add information about when the fire was finally extinguished. Further free resources are available on my TES shop and if you have found this useful please give it a review so others know :) The images are taken from my picture book Vlad and the Great Fire of London and information about this and my school visits can be found on the Reading Riddle website.

Lesson 1 A powerpoint presentation introducing the Great Fire of London and what impact it had on the city. It includes information on where London is, what was in London and what it looks like now. Further resources to follow Images are taken from my picture book, Vlad and the Great Fire of London.

A map of London in 1666 with a grid to mark key sites of the Great Fire. Children mark sites such as Pudding Lane, Tower of London and the fields where Londoners camped after the fire. They are given the grid references to colour the area burned by the fire. This map covers the journey taken by Vlad and Boxton in the picture book of the events of the Great Fire (Vlad and the Great Fire of London by Kate and Sam Cunningham, which is available on Amazon). The map can be used with the book or works independently too. There are other free resources around the Great Fire of London available from my shop. For information on my storytelling and drama sessions please visit the Reading Riddle website.

This lesson helps children consider the London refugees after the Great Fire of London. It considers what happened to them and what they took when they fled. They are then encouraged to make links with modern refugees and discuss the differences between now and 350 years ago. it gives the opportunity to reveal and challenge misconceptions about life in seventeenth century. It also raises awareness that people have often had to flee danger at different times and in different parts of the world. It includes a lesson plan, powerpoint (with a copy of Charles II proclamation on the London refugees and how to help them) and differentiated work sheets showing similarities and differences between now and then. The images are taken from my book Vlad and the Great Fire of London. I hope it is useful. If you like this and are interested in me coming in to do storytelling you can further information on the Reading Riddle website.