Coding the Great Fire: A Digital Timeline

This activity will enable Year 5 pupils to explore the historical events of the Great Fire of London through a creative computing lens. Pupils will use a block-based coding platform (such as Scratch) to design and program an interactive digital timeline, sequencing key events and illustrating cause and effect. This will reinforce their understanding of historical chronology and develop their computational thinking skills, specifically sequencing, algorithms, and debugging. It aligns with the Key Stage 2 Computing curriculum's focus on designing, writing, and debugging programs that accomplish specific goals.

1. Introduction (10-15 minutes): Begin by recapping the Great Fire of London. Ask pupils to recall key events, dates, and causes/effects. Introduce the idea of a 'timeline' and how it helps us understand history. Explain that today, they will be creating a digital timeline using code.
2. Platform Introduction/Refresher (10 minutes): Briefly demonstrate the chosen block-based coding platform (e.g., Scratch). Remind pupils how to add sprites, backgrounds, and basic movement or speech blocks. If pupils are new to the platform, spend more time on this step, perhaps with a quick 'follow-me' exercise.
3. Planning the Timeline (15-20 minutes): In pairs or small groups, ask pupils to brainstorm 5-7 key events from the Great Fire of London. Provide historical resources (e.g., fact sheets, textbooks, previous work) to support this. They should decide on the order of these events and what visual/textual information they want to include for each. Encourage them to think about how one event led to another (cause and effect).
4. Designing the Digital Timeline (30-40 minutes):
   • Background: Pupils choose or create a suitable background (e.g., a simple street scene, a plain background for text).
   • Sprites: They can create or select sprites to represent different elements (e.g., a baker, a fire engine, a house, a 'text box' sprite). They might also use a single 'narrator' sprite.
   • Sequencing Events: Guide pupils to use 'when flag clicked' or 'when space key pressed' blocks to start their timeline. They will then use 'say', 'show', 'hide', 'wait', and 'broadcast' blocks to sequence their chosen events.
   • Example Script Idea:
     • when [flag] clicked
     • say "Welcome to our Great Fire of London Timeline!" for 3 seconds
     • wait 1 second
     • say "It all started on 2nd September 1666..." for 4 seconds
     • broadcast "fire starts"
     • when I receive "fire starts"
     • show [baker sprite]
     • say "Thomas Farriner's bakery caught fire!" for 3 seconds
     • wait 2 seconds
     • hide [baker sprite]
     • broadcast "fire spreads" (and so on for subsequent events).
5. Adding Interactivity/Cause & Effect (20-30 minutes): Challenge pupils to add simple interactions. Can clicking a sprite reveal more information? Can the 'fire' sprite grow or change colour to show its spread? Can they use variables to count the 'days' of the fire? This encourages more complex programming.
6. Debugging and Refining (15-20 minutes): Pupils test their timelines. Do the events appear in the correct order? Is the text clear? Are there any glitches? Encourage peer-debugging, where pupils test each other's projects and offer constructive feedback.
7. Sharing and Review (10-15 minutes): Pupils share their completed digital timelines with the class. Discuss what they learned about the Great Fire and how coding helped them present this information. Celebrate their achievements!

• Computers/Tablets: One per pupil or pair, with internet access.
• Coding Platform: Access to a block-based coding platform like Scratch (online or offline editor).
• Historical Resources: Fact sheets, timelines, books, or images about the Great Fire of London (from previous history lessons).
• Whiteboard/Projector: For demonstrations and instructions.
• Optional: Pre-made sprites or backgrounds for pupils who need a head start.

Pupils will be successful if they can:

• Identify and sequence at least 5 key events from the Great Fire of London.
• Use 'say' and 'wait' blocks to display information in a chronological order.
• Incorporate at least two different sprites or backgrounds.
• Test and debug their program to ensure it runs as intended.
• Explain how their digital timeline represents the historical events.