Remember, remember the fifth of November, timber trails, scramblers and logs… We love bonfire night, not least because it’s a rare occasion that we all go outside and enjoy outdoor space, even if it is getting a bit frosty and wintery.
Guy Fawkes and his plot is on everyone’s learning plan, even for the smallest children and we’ve found some fantastic resources on TES for teachers looking for new ways to bring history alive.
But how about going one further and taking it outdoors? Here are our suggestions for how you can use your play space to learn about what happened, why it inspired bonfire night and to encourage pupils to think about how we all view of the plot.
- Act it out - we all love a bit of imaginative play and using our active trails and climbing equipment, children can act out the gunpower plot, helping them to understand the different characters and story.
- Plot a map - maps and plans make up a big part of the story of the gunpower plot and we love the idea of using the playground to recreate some of these maps. Children can create maps based on the original plans, using different areas of the playground, as well as measuring and mark making learning from other lessons. They could even use our Creative Drawing Stage to create their maps outdoors!
- Take assembly outside - there are loads of ideas on TES for assembly content about bonfire night and Guy Fawkes… but why not take it outside with one of our Outdoor Classrooms?
- Fireworks food - one of the things we love the most about bonfire night is the food… cooking and eating outdoors. Whilst teachers might need to help with some of the cooking if you’re going to toast marshmallows or bake potatoes we think it’s a great opportunity for children to get involved with making their lunches and snacks, and eating them outdoors on Picnic Benches.
- Preparing for bonfire night - a big part of 5th November is preparing for bonfire night and fireworks… and that means thinking about safety, as well as understanding fireworks. You can use outdoor Staging or get children moving like fireworks, or our Sand and Water products, to help them learn about the science behind fireworks.
- Making music - Linked to this why not use some of our outdoor musical equipment to get children to make noises like fireworks and to think creatively about sound?
Here are some more resources that we’ve found, that you might be interested in:
https://www.tes.com/articles/fireworks-teaching-resources
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/topics/festivals-and-cultural-celebrations/bonfire-fireworks-night
https://www.webanywhere.co.uk/blog/2015/10/bonfire-night-teaching-resources/
https://www.parliament.uk/education/teaching-resources-lesson-plans/guy-fawkes-and-the-gunpowder-plot/
https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/nov/02/how-to-teach-guy-fawkes
https://www.earlylearninghq.org.uk/celebrations-festivals/fireworks-bonfire-night-resources/
It might be a bit late to add equipment to your playground for this bonfire night but there is something else important happening on 5th November… it’s the last day to order for pre-Christmas installations. If you’re thinking of a new playground, or of adding to what you have, and want it before Christmas, get in touch asap to secure one of the last slots this term.