Get ideas and inspiration for how you can create global connections to Guy Fawkes Day in your own classroom!
For more than 400 years, people across the United Kingdom have celebrated Guy Fawkes Day, or Bonfire Night, on November 5. It commemorates a failed plan, known as the Gunpowder Plot, to blow up the British Parliament and kill King James I in 1605.
Guy Fawkes was one of the conspirators who hid barrels of gunpowder under the building, planning to explode it when members of Parliament and the king were inside.
At the time Britain was ruled by a Protestant royal family, and the conspirators believed Catholics should be granted greater religious tolerance in England. They hoped their plan would help to establish Catholic rule.
But before the explosion, the plot was revealed, and the building was searched. This led to Fawkes and his co-conspirators being captured and executed. Parliament established November 5 as a day of thanksgiving and celebration that the bombing attempt was thwarted.
Today, people celebrate with fireworks and bonfires across the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, and other countries. Effigies depicting Fawkes, or “Guys,” are often made out of straw or cloth, and then burned on the bonfires. Guards perform an annual search of the Houses of Parliament for any arsonists—now more a ritual than a serious hunt.
Children celebrate leading up to the holiday by carrying homemade “Guys” through the streets, asking for “a penny for the Guy” to raise money for fireworks displays.
These free classroom resources from Parliament’s website can help you get started with your students. Use the ideas below for further activities.
Science:
History/Social Studies:
Language Arts:
Visual Arts:
If you celebrate Guy Fawkes Day in your classroom, be sure to tell us on social media using #unitingourworld. We’d love to see your creative ideas!
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