From the Stone Age to modern times people have made use of the High Weald’s natural resources and changed the landscape. These resources will help inspire pupils’ curiosity about the past by showing how British history played out in their local area.
Go to curriculum areas:
Curriculum areas: Chronological narrative and Local history study
Historical character videos (KS2) 3 to 5 minutes each - classroom
• To meet High Weald characters from the Stone Age to WW2 and hear their stories, dip into our video library, or click the links below to take you straight to each story on YouTube.
• Use these videos to enrich study of a historical period or in conjunction with a Historical Handling Box session or themed welly walk, both of which can be delivered by our Education Officer:
Tarneg, a Mesolithic hunter
Maximillius, a Roman soldier
Edmund, an Anglo-Saxon drover
Edith, a medieval farmer
Jane, a Tudor iron master’s wife
Hugh, a medieval Ashdown Forest commoner
Edward, a Victorian estate owner
Ruby, a hop picker from between the wars
Dora, a WW2 evacuee
Historical Handling Boxes (KS2) – classroom
• Use the boxes to add ‘wow factor’ to a topic. Each box contains five key objects of the era with cards explaining their significance (shown here on our website). Contact our Education Officer for a led session.
• There are boxes for 13 eras:
Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Medieval, Tudors and Post Medieval, Victorian, and the World Wars and Modern.
Historical Happenings booklet (KS2/KS1) – classroom
• From Stone Age to Space Age - this booklet brings local history to life.
• Packed with games, cartoons, stories and characters to make history fun and accessible.
• Use to help plan your High Weald topic, bring a historical era to life, or just give out for the children to read:
Mesolithic
Neolithic
Bronze Age
Iron Age
Romans
Anglo-Saxon
Medieval
Post Medieval
Victorians
The World Wars
1945 to the present day
High Weald Landscape through Time (KS2/KS1) – classroom
• A series of interactive illustrations showing what people were doing in the High Weald in different periods and how this was changing the landscape.
• Pupils can describe what is happening in each picture and spot the changes between them.
• Can be linked with a High Weald topic or local history study.
Spiral Sussex Timeline (KS2) – classroom
Useful for showing historical periods by their relative length from the Palaeolithic to modern day.
Exploring history through drama (KS1/KS2) – classroom
• A lively, interactive pack for the whole school to explore High Weald history:
• A timeline assembly script; fun quiz; and four easy-to-follow drama workshop lesson plans (2 x KS1 and 2 x KS2) for exploring the Tudor, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and pre-history eras.
• Use with our historical character videos and Historical Happenings booklet (above) or contact our Education Officer for a led session.
Additional curriculum link: English
Curriculum area: Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon Activity cards (KS2/KS1) - classroom and outdoors
• Fun activities about the Saxon drovers who brought their pigs into the High Weald to fatten them up.
Piggy, Piggy Drovers Game (KS2/KS1) – large indoor space and outdoors
Fun and engaging activity to complement your Anglo-Saxon topic, linking it to the High Weald.
Saxon Drovers route map (KS2) - classroom
• Shows the ancient routes Saxon drovers took from the North and South into the High Weald, as described here in our Routeways Story.
• Use with our Edmund the Drover video, or contact our Education Officer for a Saxon Historical Handling Box session or to find out if there’s an ancient routeway on your school’s welly walk.
Additional curriculum link: Geography