Dove Cottage was home to William and Dorothy Wordsworth and is where they wrote their best work, inspired by the beautiful Lake District scenery that surrounded them.
Itinerary: A Day at Dove Cottage
Provider: Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum, Grasmere, Cumbria
Subjects: English, Literacy, History, Art
KS: 3 and 4
The cottage and the landscape, the lives they lived, the ideas that were formed and the creativity that resulted are brought vividly to life in the education programme.
Imaginative and interactive workshops explore William Wordsworth’s poetry and Dorothy Wordsworth’s journal in the context of life in the Lake District during the Georgian period. There is also the opportunity for pupils to engage with, and be inspired by, Dove Cottage and the Lake District to produce their own creative responses. Free planning visits are offered to teachers.
10am: Pupils arrive and go through to the education room, to learn about what the day will entail.
10:30am: Pupils take part in a Firelight Poets workshop, exploring the atmospheric, fire-lit rooms and gardens as they compose their own poems. They learn about different literary techniques and the poetry of Wordsworth before creating their own work to take back to the classroom.
11:30am: The next session explores a Wordsworth poem, such as the famous Daffodils, or a narrative like Lucy Gray. A range of resources are used to bring the poems alive, including facsimile manuscripts, pictures, object-handling and role play.
12pm: Visit the museum to see manuscripts written next door in Dove Cottage and other exhibits including Dorothy Wordsworth’s Grasmere Journal and letters to and from the family. The tour includes worksheets, activities and input from education guides to encourage students to make the most of the time.
12:30pm: Lunch. School groups can eat outside if the weather is good, or take their packed lunches to the education room. There is also time to visit the shop, which sells a range of pocket money-friendly items.
1:15pm: Embark on the Let Nature Be Your Teacher walk. Few writers are as closely linked with a landscape as the Wordsworth’s were in the Lake District. The walk explores some of their favourite places and offers the opportunity to hear their words spoken in the very places that inspired them. Landscape inspired creative writing and sketching can also be part of the experience.
2:15pm: A final chance to share learning and experiences before departure.
Contact information:
015394-35544
www.wordsworth.org.uk
