Decide which cause mattered most, and say why
Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
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The Great Fire of London, 1666 (cards A to C; summaries in our words). Card A, the diary of Samuel Pepys, a navy official who watched the fire, written in September 1666: he wrote that a strong wind drove the flames, that the houses were old timber ones built close together, and that officials at first did little to stop it. Card B, a museum summary: the fire began on the night of September 2, 1666, at a baker's shop in Pudding Lane, and burned for four days. It destroyed about 13,200 houses and 87 parish churches. Card C, the Rebuilding Act of 1667: new houses in London had to be built of brick or stone, and the main streets were to be widened.
Pepys watched the fire. What is the value of card A, and its limit, Ari asks?
- He wrote years afterward, so he could judge which cause mattered most
- He was a navy official, so his diary cannot tell us about a fire
- He saw it as it happened, but he wrote from one person's view
- He saw it as it happened, so he knew each cause of the fire
Which cause started the fire, and which helped it spread, Bo asks?
- Pepys started it, and the officials helped it spread
- The Rebuilding Act started it, and the timber houses helped it spread
- The baker's shop started it; wind and close timber houses spread it
- The wind started it, and the baker's shop helped it spread
A student says, "Card B shows the baker's shop was the only cause of the damage." How strong is that claim, Esme asks?
- Strong: card B says the baker caused the fire on purpose
- Weak: a museum summary cannot say where the fire began
- Strong: the fire began at the baker's shop, so nothing else mattered
- Weak: card B names the start, and card A names causes of its spread
Which cause could London change before the next fire, Jun asks?
- The date of the first spark in Pudding Lane
- The direction and strength of the wind on the night
- The size of the baker's shop in Pudding Lane
- How houses were built and how wide the streets were
What does card C show that lawmakers learned from the fire, Kira asks?
- That the wind was the sole cause and could not be helped
- That timber houses close together made a fire easier to spread
- That bakers had set the fire on purpose and should be punished
- That brick and stone were cheaper than timber
How do cards A and C fit together, Luz asks?
- They do not fit, because a diary and a law are not the same kind of source
- The law shows that Pepys was right about each cause of the fire
- Pepys names timber houses close together, and the law changes both
- Pepys blames the wind, and the law blames the baker
A new record shows the summer of 1666 was very dry. How does it fit the cards, Milo asks?
- It shows the fire began because of the dry summer, not at the bakery
- It adds nothing, because card A already names the wind
- It adds a cause: dry timber burns more easily, helping the fire spread
- It shows the drought was the main cause and the wind did not matter
About 13,200 houses burned in four days. About how many houses burned each day on average, Pia asks?
- About 52,800 houses
- About 330 houses
- About 3,300 houses
- About 4,400 houses
What changed in London's rules after the fire, Tala asks?
- Timber was banned in any building and bakers were sent out of London
- Nothing changed, because London had followed brick and stone rules before
- New houses had to be built of timber, and main streets were narrowed
- New houses had to be built of brick or stone, and main streets were widened
Using cards A and B, which pair of causes helped the fire spread, Zee asks?
- A baker's shop in Pudding Lane and the date of September 2
- A strong wind and old timber houses built close together
- Wide streets and brick houses near the river and the bridge
- A strong wind and the Rebuilding Act of 1667 for new houses