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Resource type: All

Great Fire of London History Detective

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Mary Rose Asking Questions

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Mary Rose History Detective

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Ancient Rome History Detective

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Egyptian jigsaw

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Jimmy the Tortoise

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Make a Tudor House

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Ancient Rome Asking Questions

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The Ancient Egyptians Asking Questions

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Space Race Asking Questions

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First World War Asking Questions

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Florence Nightingale Asking Questions

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Jul 28



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Mudlarking on the Thames foreshore last night at low tide gave a great view of Tower Bridge and The Shard celebrating the Lionesses Euro win. More about how my mudlarking adventure is going and how my finds (and generous donations and help from more experienced eyes) are going to be used for information and activities on my new free Reading Riddle Substack.
#towerbridge #mudlarking #london #lionesses🦁 #shard #riverthameslondon

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Jul 27



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Reading records, collecting artefacts on the Thames foreshore and meeting the enthusiasts that live the experience, is all part of the history jigsaw puzzle. This year it hung in the balance - spoiler alert - we made it!
Read about another fabulous year taking part in @malton_museum Roman Festival in our the new free Reading Riddle Substack.
 https://open.substack.com/pub/readingriddle/p/living-history?r=2tp66c&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

#roman #historyforchildren #malton #romanfestival #historystory

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Jul 15



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I’m just a baby mudlarker at the moment, but the bug has bitten hard! I can’t wait to be on the foreshore again, collecting pieces that I can use on school visits, helping children understand the reality of the past. Also next time I will be wearing long trousers because I really did get bitten by a bug …
Read about my first adventures on my new Substack page.
#mudlark #history #riverthames #historystories

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Jun 17



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Imagine an oven …
Now imagine an oven in 1666 …
Struggling?
Of course you are – an oven 350 years ago is a very different thing than our modern cookers, and children find it even harder to picture. That’s why a story with pictures is critical to immersing them in the events of the Great Fire of London. They will often still say things like ‘the baker didn’t turn the oven off’ as they put the events into their own lived experience.
In fact, the bread ovens were more like a modern pizza oven, except it was sealed at the front during the baking process. The sources for this are a surviving oven in the London Museum (pictured here) and historians such as Ruth Goodman who shares her experience of recreating the past in her book How to be a Tudor and TV programmes which can be found online. 
All of this helps children understand how the fire likely started, and what life was really like in 1666.
#greatfireoflondon #londonhistory #picturebook #historyforkids #1666 #puddinglane #london #vladflea

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Jun 15



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Why do I have so many pictures of combs on my camera?
Partly I love ordinary objects that link us to our ancestors that show we have so much in common despite the centuries that separate us. We groom ourselves and we still battle fleas and nits!
The other part is that having main character that is a flea we are always on the lookout for the next adventure. These combs prove it could be anytime or anywhere so watch this space …
#historyquiz #ancientegypt #ancientroman #tudor #medieval #flea #comb

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Jun 10



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We are fascinated by dinosaurs, but so were our ancestors.
So were they wrong to create dinosaurs that matched their beliefs and mythology, and what might we be missing when we recreate them?
These are some of the deeper questions that can come from the Vlad stories.
Follow along to find out more.
#dinosaur #ancientroman #romanhistory #historyforkids #dinosaurstory #ancientegyptians  #teadingwithkids #historyteacher

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Jun 8



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This little stick figure is so exciting because it links children today with their young ancestors hundreds of years ago.

These details showing archaeological finds and artefacts, give the Vlad Flea books the layers that mean you can read them again and again getting new things every time.

Follow along to find out more.
#historyofchildhood #pompei #romanhistory #picturebookillustration #parent

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Jun 3



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When you least expect it, along comes a Roman fort. 

In the middle of the QE Hospital in Birmingham lies Metchley fort - evidence of a Roman presence for a short moment of time. 

As the buildings of this huge hospital continue to rise up around it, it remains nestled between the network of paths and car parks - a historical surprise for anyone who has the time to look.
#romanfort #qehospital #historicalsurprises #birmingham

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Jun 1



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Alexis Soyer worked in the Savoy Hotel and the kitchens of Scutari Hospital. He cooked for the rich and poor during his career and wrote a cook book in aid of the victims of the Great Famine in Ireland. 
He was an advocate for healthy eating being an important part of helping patients recover and worked with Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole in the Crimea.
Some of his food would not make a menu now, including jellied ham and lark pate.
He died shortly after his stint in the Crimea but his stove was used for many more decades. This stove is on display @florencemuseum 
#alexissoyer #florencenightingale #florencenightingalemuseum #scutarihospital #hospitalfood #historyteacher #historyforchildren

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May 31



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What do you get in a Vlad Flea book?
An action filled story, historical detail in the text and illustrations and all narrated by a cheeky flea.
All the stories have details that make them books you can return to again and again.
Follow along for more information about the hidden information in this and all the books on the Flea in History series.
#historyteacher #readingforpleasure #historyforkids #picturebook #parenting #bedtimestory #readandlearn #greatfireoflondon #londonhistory

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May 29



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Definitely a mood on the train.
#rainbow #rainyday #storm #stormclouds

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May 29



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Summer is often Roman Festival time, so it was fun to slip in a Great Fire event a few weeks ago. 10th May was the first Furzedown LitFest and I’m sure there will be many more.
I love this session - it is like an old familiar friend and I like to have new snippets of information to slip into the talk section for all the audience , young and old.
Sam was able to join me to sign books and the family rallied around, carrying and turning big book pages 😘
#historyforkids #londonhistory #bookfestival #greatfireoflondon #historybook #storytelling



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