Our Education Officer, Susan Kilby, has been beavering away creating a wide range of educational resources that focus on the people, places and landscape of Charnwood Forest. These are all aligned with the National Curriculum in England and are completely free for everyone to access. If you are an educator located in the Midlands, you’ll find lots of material that will help you to undertake a local study; and if you’re based further afield, but want high quality cross-curricular resources, then look no further! As most of our resources have been developed at the request of schools within our region, almost all of them have been road-tested in an educational environment. For further information, please contact us.
Here are some of our favourites:
Populating Charnwood Forest: Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. English, History, Geography
Look at Charnwood Forest through the eyes of the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings as we discover how place-names help us to visualise how medieval people viewed the landscape in which they settled.
The Colours of the Forest: Making Ink from Natural Resources. Science, History
Have you ever wanted to make medieval ink? Then this is the activity for you! This resource pack includes full instructions on how to make a range of natural inks, including oak gall ink – used to write William the Conqueror’s Domesday Book!
Forest Industry: Charcoal Burning. Science, History, Art & Design, Maths, Geography, English
This range of resources celebrates an important forest industry: charcoal burning. Students will learn about the importance of charcoal in some of humankind’s most significant developments, and will find out how charcoal was made, in the heart of our woodlands and forests. These resources also support a field-trip, delivered by one of our partner organisations, during which they will participate in a modern-day charcoal-burning session, and will learn what happens to wood when it is put into the kiln.
From Mountsorrel to Mombasa. History, English, Geography, Science, Maths, RE, Design & Technology
Follow Rebecca Wakefield on a nineteenth-century voyage of discovery as she leaves England for the distant shores of Zanzibar and Kenya. Find out about the amazing creatures she sees on her journey, and learn about the new cultures she encounters on arrival in Africa.
Through the Keyhole. History, English, Maths
Come with us as we peek through the keyhole of a real Tudor house in Charnwood Forest. Help to recreate the house of a real seventeenth-century Charnwood Forest resident as we examine his household goods and see where he kept them.
The Scientific Kitchen. Science
Markfieldite is one of Charnwood Forest’s most notable rock types. Historically, it was used to make kerbstones and paving setts, and it continues to be used for road-building material. In this fun activity, students will make their own edible Markfieldite – the original ‘rocky road’!
Charnwood Forest Riddles. English, History
Inspired by the extraordinary landscape of Charnwood Forest and the poetry of the Anglo-Saxons, these resources guide students through the process of creating their own Anglo-Saxon style riddles. Led by award-winning poet John Berkavitch, our short film has been designed so that you can lead a virtual classroom workshop.
Introduce younger students to the incredible geology of Charnwood Forest using these colourful game cards. Designed by artist Emily Hett, they feature the rocks that make up the landscape of the Geopark, and are available for you to print at your school.
Forest Families: the 1881 Census. Geography, History, Maths, English
For every settlement within Charnwood Forest, we have taken 100 samples from the 1881 census and entered the data into an Excel workbook. These resources have been made available for teachers to use in class, so that students can examine the human geography of Charnwood Forest in detail. What was the main occupation in Markfield? What age did children start work in Loughborough? What did a framework knitter make? Find out the answers to these and other questions using this dataset, which is supplemented by a printable card game.