Resources for Teachers

Lesson Plans & Resources

The Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership Outdoor Learning session delivery has now finished, as the National Lottery Heritage Funded four year project comes to an end on 31st October 2022.  The Outdoor Learning Officer, Alison Cross, who is employed by the Ernest Cook Trust offered tailored educational visits to suit school needs and flexible learning experiences, designed to enrich and enhance the national curriculum. Please find below a selection of lesson plans, resources and how to guides, available to view, download and print. The lesson plans were for those schools Alison was working with, rather than formal lesson plans for teachers to pick up and use. However the lesson plans might provide you with some inspiration and the broad range of activities that can be taught within the natural landscape that surrounds Pendle Hill and within school grounds. 

At the bottom, you will find further documents linked to Health and Safety, outdoor learning guidance, and kit list suggestions. 

For a big searchable list of external resources please see this very useful document, OUTDOOR LEARNING RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS 

• ​Arty Senses and Landscape Explore lesson plan for Teachers

• How to use Listening Postcards

• Listening Postcards (to print)

• The Lost Words Information & resources include a free Explorer’s Guide (and The Lost Spells Explorer’s Guide for Heartwood, Beech and other links) plus posters of Conker, Bramble. There’s a Lost Words padlet for sharing creative outputs. See #TheLostWords.

• Local History and Geography study lesson plan for Teachers

• Bingo Cards for Human and Physical Geography Features

• How to use Human and Physical Geography Features Bingo Cards

• Map of Spring Wood, Whalley

• How to use map of Spring Wood, Whalley

• Listening Postcards

• Pendle Hill local History timeline dates and facts 

• How to use local History timeline

• Pendle Pioneers Project - Burnley Youth Theatre- Ethel Carnie Holdsworth

• Pendle Pioneers Project - Burnley Youth Theatre - Selina Cooper

• A Beginner's Guide to Archaeology

• An Archaeologist's Tool Kit

• More free geography resources can be found https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education with thanks to the Ordnance Survey. For free Lancashire map resources head to http://mario.lancashire.gov.uk/agsmario/

• More local history information can be found https://www.pendleheritage.co.uk/

• Digimap - data collections, including OS, historical, geological, marine maps and spatial data

• Minibeast Hunting lesson plan for Teachers

• Minibeast Adaptations

• What's for lunch minibeast sheet

• How to use the minibeast adaptation sheet and what’s for lunch sheet

• My minibeast passport

• More free minibeast resources for schools can be found at https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/take-action-insects-your-school and https://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/activities with thanks to The Wildlife Trust.

• The OPAL Bug Count can help with the survey process and includes identification guides. Submit findings to iSpot/iRecord to inform ongoing research, or collect on an app such as Seek (which gives badges according to how many species are found), or create your own monitoring process.

• Plants and Soil lesson plan for Teachers

• How to guide - flower anatomy 

• Tree age sheet

• How to use the tree age sheet

• Plant quadrat investigation booklet

• More free plants and soil resources for schools can be found https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/act/your-school/resources/ with thanks to the Woodland Trust.

• OPAL Tree Health Survey can help to introduce the process of tree identification and use of scientific language; survey data can then be uploaded to Observatree, an early warning system for monitoring tree health. Anyone can look out for unusual pests and diseases, or for symptoms that look worrying, and report unusual sightings through Tree Alert. Website includes a poster of priority pest and diseases.

• The world beneath our feet Use a series of activities to investigate soil, one of the world's most precious and overlooked resources, to connect soils and curriculum.

• Traditional Boundaries lesson plan for Teachers

• Traditional Boundaries challenge - a hedge or a wall?

• Wall habitat homes - pictures for trail

• More free traditional boundaries for schools can be found https://www.dswa.org.uk/discovery-centre-schools-colleges/ with thanks to Dry Stone Walling Association.

Health and Safety, guidance and kit list suggestions 

• ID Guides and Factsheets for schools
• Outdoor learning handout for teachers
• Risk Assessment - Activity on farmland
• Risk Assessment -Activity in woodland
• Risk Assessment - Fields & paths
• Risk Assessment - Walking up Pendle Hill
• Risk Assessment - Water entry, pond, rivers & streams
• Risk Assessment - Pond Dipping
• Risk Assessment - School field trips