The Woodland Education Centre, Offwell,
Honiton, Devon, UK.
Activities and Resources for Primary Schools (6 - 11 year olds)
If you teach at primary level in East Devon, it is more than likely that you already know of the Centre. The majority of primary school children in the area visit the Centre at least once in the course of their schooling. Some parents who visited as children are now bringing their own children! The Centre provides a whole range of activities for primary students which have been developed and refined since 1986. Groups can look at natural processes, as outlined in the National Curriculum, in the real-world classroom of the outdoors. The theoretical ideas are explored through hands-on practical activities and investigation. Activities can be tailored to meet the needs of individual groups by prior arrangement. Popular activities include 'The Forest Cycle', Pond Studies, Map making and Investigating Mini Beasts. Each activity usually lasts half a day, unless otherwise requested. Two activities are therefore generally covered during a one day visit to the Centre. Fully trained staffing support, at a ratio of about 18 pupils to one leader is provided, along with classroom facilities. The value of a visit to the Centre does not end with the day itself. Personalized CD ROMs are supplied to visiting groups for follow-up work. There is no extra charge for this. It is included in the cost of the visit. The CD's contain a full copy of the Trust website, hundreds of usable images of your day, as well as general wildlife images and IT resources. These resources can also be accessed from the website. Click on the links below, or use the excellent website 'Search' facility The interactive quizzes use sound so please ensure sound is enabled on your system. |
| Foxgloves | Adaptations, Pollination and structure together with other examples and a Ranger's Puzzle Page. Suitable for 9 -11+ yr. olds. |
| Four interactive quizzes complete with information about local reptiles and amphibians. Popular with all ages. | |
| Ranger's Puzzle Pages | Puzzle pages on a variety of topics such Woodland Birds, Trees, Forest Animals, Woodland Minibeasts, Heaths and Ponds. They include crosswords, word searches, quizzes, jumbled picture puzzles and even a Ranger's Bad Joke! |
| Forest Cycle Images | Images to reinforce the Forest Cycle Activity. The images are available on floppies, CD and on the Trust's website. They can be copied and pasted into students' own documents. |
| Pond Images | Images to reinforce the Pond Activity. The images are available on floppies, CD and on the Trust's website. They can be copied and pasted into students' own documents. |
| Wetland Discovery Trail | Bite- size information on wetlands, plus interactive Discovery Trails covering the subjects of food chains and lifecycles, using wetland species as examples. Also includes a Riddle and Self-marking exercises. For more advanced students. |
| Movies | Video clips. To be used in conjunction with the image libraries. The clips are Internet friendly. |
| Tadpole to Frog | Study metamorphosis by following tadpole to frog development. Individual tadpoles are followed through their development in a series of images taken at timed stages. |
| Decomposition | Follow the decomposition of a dead rabbit through a series of images taken at timed stages. |
| Seed Dispersal | Information, interactive quiz and puzzles on seed dispersal, for more advanced students. |
| The Fascinating World of Fungi | All about fungi, with a puzzle page and animations, for more advanced students. |
| Plant Lifecycle | A generalized lifecycle of flowering plants, in easy to follow stages. |
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Part of the National Grid for Learning |
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