Celebrating Bonfire Night

• PSHE
• Primary Education

Introduction

A lesson for Primary aged children to learn more about the origins of Bonfire Night, which is celebrated in England on November 5th.

Celebrating Bonfire Night

Celebrate Bonfire Night with LessonUp

Lesson Inspiration

This lesson can be taught as a stand alone session or as part of a school's scheme of learning around English history or special events.

The content is all fully adaptable to so can be edited to suit the needs of your class or context.

What do you already know about Bonfire Night?

This slide will help teachers to identify existing knowledge about this topic and can also support in spotting some misconceptions prior to the lesson itself.

<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 19, 67)">It is celebrated on 5th November every year.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">It is also known as Guy Fawkes Night.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">Usually a large bonfire is built and set alight during the evening.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">There are often unique traditions in towns and villages across England. What happens near you?</span>

You may wish to extend this part of the lesson with further investigation into local traditions which happen on November 5th. There are links to some useful websites below:

Lewes Bonfire Celebration Website

Visit England

Ottery St Mary- Tar Barrels

Shebbear- Turning the Devil Stones

Who was this man and why do we remember him, even now?

File:Guy Fawkes by Cruikshank.jpg|Guy_Fawkes_by_Cruikshank

The Royal Palaces has some interesting information about Guy Fawkes

<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 19, 67)">Guido (Guy) Fawkes was found by the King's men in the cellar with the gunpowder.</span>

<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 19, 67)">Robert Catesby was actually the leader of the group.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">The Gunpowder Plotters were angry about the treatment of people who were Catholics.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">They decided to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">The rest of the group were found a few days after Guy Fawkes was arrested.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">The group rented cellars which ran underneath the Houses of Parliament and filled them with 36 barrels of gunpowder.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">An anonymous letter was sent to <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/the-gunpowder-plot-of-1605/overview/the-plot-and-its-discovery/discovery-and-flight/">Lord Meagle </a>which warned him to tell the King&nbsp; that the attack would take place.&nbsp;</span>

File:Gunpowder Plot conspirators.jpg|Gunpowder_Plot_conspirators

You may wish to add additional hotspots to highlight further details about the group.

<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 19, 67)">King James decreed that the people of England should have a bonfire each year on November 5th to celebrate the King's survival.</span>

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/King_James_the_1st_%28NYPL_b12349152-423957%29.jpg

Video 

https://www.youtube.com/@purestarkids

Do you think that King James would be 

pleased with how we remember November 5th? 

Justify your answer.

Ask your class or group to upload their thoughts about this question. Perhaps some of them had not realised that Bonfire Night celebrated the victory of King James.

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: bold">Always wear gloves and tie long hair back.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">Keep your sparklers at arms length and away from other people.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">Stand still and listen to the adult's instructions.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">Leave fireworks alone, even if they haven't gone off.</span>

<span style="color: rgb(0, 19, 67); font-weight: 700">Drop sparkler sticks into a big bucket of water.</span>

Keep Safe on November 5th

Newsround also have a fantastic short video which looks at safety on Bonfire Night.

Newsround

I know why we celebrate 

Bonfire Night on November 5th

😒🙁😐🙂😃

Aardappeloproer

1917

Enkele Amsterdamse vrouwen zagen dat er een schip vol aardappelen in een van de grachten lag. Ze gingen erop af en plunderden het schip: hun schorten vol aardappelen. De dag erna waren er meer plunderaars. Pas nadat zes mensen door het leger werden doodgeschoten, keerde de rust terug