Online Learning Resources for KS2
Our Learning Resources have been adapted from sessions we usually deliver at Burghley. They focus on historical periods and topics directly linked to Burghley’s past. They can be used at school or at home and we hope will encourage you to find out more by visiting Burghley when the time is right.
Tudors- Half or Full day visit
Come to Burghley House, built by William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth’s Lord High Treasurer to learn all about life in Tudor England. A Tudor Day at Burghley is designed to be a full or half day experience. Through house tours and a series of workshops a visit to Burghley will teach your pupils about William Cecil and his connection to Queen Elizabeth, however, you will also learn all about Tudor life both locally and nationally in a fun and informative way.
Depending on the needs of your group your day will be formed from a series of workshops. Workshops can include:
- House Tour- a visit to the state rooms learning about how they were used in the Tudor times.
- Tudor Food – Visit the Tudor Kitchen to find out how it was used and learn about life in Tudor England by pretending to be a guest at a Tudor Banquet.
- Meet King Henry – Find out all about Henry’s life and his 6 wives.
- Meet Queen Elizabeth - Discover the story of Queen Elizabeth’s life and reign through a teacher in role presentation.
- Meet Dr Mort-The Tudor Physician will teach you all about illness and medicine in the Tudor times.
- Tudor Dance and Games- Try out some Tudor games and learn a simple Pavane court dance.
- Make a Tudor Pocket- Tudor themed craft activity.
- Gardens Visit- Self guided visit to the gardens at Burghley House.
Victorians- Half or Full day visit
Come to learn about the Victorians at Burghley House. Queen Victoria visited Burghley House twice, once as a little girl and once when she was queen. Through a combination of house tours and workshops we will learn about Burghley House in the Victorian times through the eyes of the servants who worked in the house and the family who lived there. Depending on the needs of your pupils we can focus on either the servants at Burghley House in the Victorian times or Victorian Childhood. Contact us to ask about how the workshops fit together to form your day. We can also provide a Victorian Christmas Day.
Workshops can include:
- House Tour- a visit to the state rooms learning about how they were used in the Victorian times
- Kitchen Visit- Learn how the Kitchen was used in the Victorian times and about Victorian food
- Servants Jobs- Have a go at some of the jobs the servants at Burghley would have done
- Handling Session- Have a look at some real Victorian objects from Burghley House and find out how they were used.
- Victorian Toys- How did Victorian children play? Make a simple Victorian toy and have a go with some others.
- Gardens Visit- Self guided visit to the gardens at Burghley House.
General House Visit
A general visit to learn about the history of Burghley House. We will visit both the Kitchen and state rooms to learn about how they were used in the past. This workshop can be modified to suit the subject matter your pupils might be studying, for example: art, portraiture, mythology, life in the past compared to the present and so on. It can be paired with one or more of our other workshops to create a full day visit. Speak to a member of the education team for advice over which other workshops will suit your topic.
Green Plants – Who Needs Them? 1.5 hour workshop
Our World needs green plants! The children will learn about conservation and caring for plants. We look at the different parts of a plant, how they feed and reproduce. The importance of plants within food chains is stressed in the ecology of the living world. Dissect a flower and take leaf prints. The children will explore the life cycle of plants and learn some aspects of identification so they can explore the gardens with new eyes. This workshop can be paired with a self guided garden visit, one of our self guided activities, or another one or two workshops to create a full day visit. Contact us for more details.
Contact us to ask about how the workshops fit together to form your day, some of the options below can pair nicely with Green Plants :-
- Tremendous Trees- Explore some of the fantastic trees in the Burghley landscape. Use identification keys and play games to learn to identify both local and exotic trees.
- Minibeasts- Explore the exciting world of the Mini-Beast. Children are introduced to the miniature life which lives all around them.
- Sculpture Workshop- In this Session pupils will use the beautiful, natural environment of Burghley Gardens as their inspiration to create a wire sculpture based the form of a dragonfly.
- Self Guided Gardens visit- Explore our 13 acre sculpture and water gardens at your leisure.
Minibeasts 1.5 hour workshop
Explore the exciting world of the Mini-Beast. Children are introduced to the miniature life which lives all around them. They will learn about aspects of Conservation, Food Chains, Producers, Consumers, and Predators, the different parts of insect’s bodies and something of the identification of species. Using our thirteen acre Sculpture Garden as a living resource the children will take a great deal from the day and learn much about the science and life of this tiny world. This workshop can be paired with a self guided garden visit, one of our self guided activities, or another one or two workshops to create a full day visit.
Tremendous Trees
In Partnership with The Royal Forestry Society, the largest and oldest educational charity dedicated to promoting the wise management of woods across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The “Teaching Trees” programme works with primary schools and landowners, offering educational visits to local woodlands. All sessions are run by the local RFS Teaching Trees Education officer.
Sculpture Workshop
In this Session pupils will use the beautiful, natural environment of Burghley Gardens as their inspiration to create a wire sculpture based the form of a dragonfly. Children will learn to manipulate different types of wire using appropriate tools to produce a colourful small sculpture. Each child will have a wire dragonfly to take back to school.
