Secondary Learning with the Wordsworth Trust at and in your School

A day at Dove Cottage can be an inspiring and transformative experience for many pupils, creating poets from reluctant writers and giving young people the experience to enjoy and reflect on Wordsworth’s home and the surrounding countryside. We take a flexible, bespoke approach to on-site sessions. A sample itinerary might include: a visit to Dove Cottage; a workshop exploring Wordsworth’s poetry (or another Romantic Poet of your choice); led creative writing activities or art sessions; exploration of exhibitions in the Wordsworth Museum and a guided walk encompassing places of significance to Wordsworth and reading extracts of his poetry. With all on-site visits, we offer twofree half day outreach sessions for and North Lancashire schools to introduce and extend learning. We offer special Arts Award (Discover and Explore) packages and can include a tour of our collections and research centre looking at items from our huge collection of books, manuscripts and paintings. This is especially popular with sixth form groups who gain a lot from seeing original manuscripts and first editions such as ‘’ or ‘Frankenstein’. Below are the workshops that we offer Secondary Schools on-site and many additionally as outreach. These can be delivered as single workshops or as part of an immersive day.

‘An inspiring and enriching experience’ - Ian Stewart, visiting with a KS4 group from The Radcliffe School

‘The visit helped to bring the poems alive for the kids and helped them understand the historical context’ – Kielty visiting with a KS3 group from The Lakes School

‘This was, by far, the best visit we’ve brought the students on. Exceptionally good!’ Southfield Technology College, year 10 teacher

www.wordsworth.org.uk Workshops for KS3 and Above

Introducing (Available at Dove Cottage and at your school) Duration: 1hr Discover how William Wordsworth’s experiences, passions and politics combined with his imagination to inspire the ideas and imagery that feed his poetry. Exploring one or more poems we will discuss how Wordsworth channelled his imagination into form, imagery and language. You can choose the poems to fit your syllabus, or we can make suggestions.

Introducing (Available at Dove Cottage and at your school) (focus on context) Duration: 1-1.5hrs Focus on becoming familiar with some of the major writers, themes and history of the Romantic period: who were the Romantic poets, what inspired them, how did they respond to the world around them? Then explore the ‘Romantic’ nature of a Wordsworth poem.

Introducing the Gothic (Available at Dove Cottage and at your school) Duration: 1hr Investigate the context, the when, where, who (or what) and why of Gothic fiction using students’ existing knowledge of, and familiarity with, the genre as the starting point for discussion. The session will also include a creative writing element during which students will use the raw materials of Gothic to create the opening for their own terrifying tale.

Battle in the cause of Liberty? (Available at Dove Cottage and at your school) Duration: 2hrs Ideal for complementing a study of conflict or war poetry, this workshop uses satirical cartoons and poems (including those in the GCSE anthologies) to look at the way wars since Wordsworth’s time have shaped the work of famous writers. It culminates in a lively debate led by your students as they strengthen their public speaking and communication skills.

www.wordsworth.org.uk Workshops for KS3 and Above

Contemporary Poetry Readings and Workshops with Real Live Writers (Available at Dove Cottage and at your school) Duration: 4hrs (Can work with four classes for 1hr each.)

Want the opportunity to develop your students’ creativity and passion for poetry? Book one of our fantastic award winning poets to visit your school for the day. The day can be made up of a mixture of inspiring poetry readings (for small groups or whole year groups) and workshops to get your pupils writing creatively themselves. Our poets have years of experience working with young people with a range of abilities and can create bespoke sessions that meet the needs of your pupils and school.

Walk: Let Nature Be Your Teacher (Only available at Dove Cottage) Duration: 1-1.5hrs This interactive walk is a great way for students to get to know and understand the landscape around Dove Cottage which so inspired the Wordsworths. Including lots of activities designed to help students gain a different perspective on the natural world, this walk is suitable for all levels of fitness and can take place along an alternative route suitable for wheelchair users.

Firelight Poets (Only available at Dove Cottage) Duration: 1-1.5hrs This creative writing workshop gives students the unique opportunity to write poetry inspired by Dove Cottage, exploring the atmospheric, fire-lit rooms and gardens as they compose their own poems. Students learn about different literary techniques and the poetry of Wordsworth before creating their own work to take back to the classroom.

www.wordsworth.org.uk Workshops for KS4 and Above

Exploring Romantic Poetry (Available at Dove Cottage and at your school) (focus on poems) Duration: 1 hr Look in more detail at one or more of the Romantic poems in your GCSE anthology with this workshop, addressing questions such as: what makes the poem Romantic, how this is revealed in language and imagery, how we approach a text written more than two-hundred years ago and how the poem fits within the thematic cluster in the GCSE anthology. As an extension to the session we can then move on to investigate how our Romantic poem compares and contrasts with one of the 20th Century poems in your GCSE anthology. This session could be combined with the Introducing Romantic Poetry session. Please ask for suggested poems featured on the syllabus.

How to Read a Poem (Available at Dove Cottage and at your school) Duration: 1 hr Help your students prepare for their exams in a practical and engaging way in this workshop which concentrates on critical examination of relevant poetry from students’ exam syllabuses. It also helps students to develop tips and tricks for tackling the unseen paper. Ideal for: students starting to study poetry at GCSE.

Exploring the Gothic (Available at Dove Cottage and at your school) Duration: 1 hr Delve into some of the dark passages of Gothic fiction using extracts from some of the most influential texts and then explore the use of the Gothic in a text of your choice. This session could be combined with an Introducing the Gothic session.

www.wordsworth.org.uk Practical Information

Assisted Needs and Mixed Age Groups Arts Award Workshops can be adapted to fit the needs of During the summer term KS3 different pupils if we know in advance. Please pupils can do their Arts Award contact us to discuss how we can help your Discover and Explore with the class to get the best from their visit: call 015394 Wordsworth Trust. Please enquire 35544 or email [email protected]. for more info and the 2018 theme.

Dove Cottage Visit Costs A visit to the Wordsworth Trust costs £7 per secondary student for a full day, or £5 per secondary student for a half-day. Accompanying adults are free of charge and we recommend you bring a minimum of 1 adult per 10 students.

Outreach Costs Half day outreach workshop at your school: £65 (2hrs) Full day outreach workshop at your school: £110 (4hrs) Contemporary Poetry Readings and Workshops run by real live writers: £200 per day (4hrs) If you require simultaneous sessions we can provide an extra member of staff to work with separate classes for a cost of £20 per hour of delivery. The above costs apply to outreach workshops in Cumbria and North Lancashire booked without a visit to Dove Cottage.

Please email [email protected] or call 015394 35544 with any enquiries and to book.

www.wordsworth.org.uk