Ideas for Teachers

Linking your Visit to Key Stages 1 &2

The ideas outlined below are designed to help teachers link a visit to Cannon Hall farm with the National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 & 2.

We would appreciate any comments you have on the usefulness of this document and any suggestions for improvement. You can contact us at .

Activity Ideas - English:

Pre Visit:

  • Use the attached texts to create pre visit exercises. Can be used for characterisation, similes, story structure etc
  • Hungry Hen (R Waring, OxfordUniversity Press)
  • Cock-A-Moo-Moo (J Dallas-Conte, Macmillan Childrens Books)
  • Where’s My Mummy (J Brown, Little Tiger Press)
  • Barn Owls (P Whitehouse, Raintree)
  • Farmer Duck (M Waddell, Walker Book Ltd)
  • Create a word bank in the class room of farm vocabulary and animal sounds

On the farm:

  • Compare and contrast different breeds
  • Research facts about each animal. Pretend you are a guide and prepare a short talk.

Post Visit Ideas:

  • Extend writing: stories, poetry, diary of the day, description of favourite animal.
  • Put the animals they saw on the visit in alphabetical order.
  • Role play: Write dialogue between the different animals.

Activity Ideas - Maths:

The animals, buildings and play areas at Cannon Hall Farm provide plenty of opportunities for maths work.

On the farm:

  • Tallies of animals.
  • Collecting data.
  • Estimating and measurement using standard and non-standard units. (play equipment animals).
  • Modes/mean/median (animal size)
  • Counting
  • Perimeters and areas

Post Visit Ideas:

  • Process data from the farm visit into graphs etc
  • Create scale models of animals.

Activity Ideas - Science:

Pre Visit:

  • Talk about care for pets
  • Investigate food sources for both humans and animals.
  • Caring for the environment (litter removal)

On the farm:

  • Looking after animals. Animals needs: food, water ,shelter etc
  • Life cycles: growth & reproduction, babies, eggs, crops.
  • Parts of an animal.
  • Classification through observation. Similarities and differences.
  • Feeding relationships: food chain, webs.
  • Herbivore, omnivore and carnivore: teeth.
  • Why animals are farmed: products.

Post Visit Ideas:

  • Visit from a vet.
  • Investigate what ingredients are in common foodstuffs. Where do the ingredients come from?

Activity Ideas - Geography:

Pre Visit:

  • What is a farm? What types of farm are there?
  • Look at an OS map of Cannon Hall Farm and the surrounding area.

On the farm:

  • Record weather: how does this affect farming?
  • How does the farm differ from your own school, neighbourhood or home environment?
  • Mapping: plans and sketches of the farm.
  • Describe the farm and its environment using geographical language.

Activity Ideas - History:

Pre Visit:

  • Study the history of farming: changes in machinery and rearing of animals
  • A useful book is Farming – Changing Times-As Seen by Four Generations by Ruth Thomson

On the farm:

  • Investigate the history of Cannon Hall Farm. Why was it built here? How has it changed over the years and why?

Activity Ideas - ICT:

Pre Visit:

  • KS1 Animal & Farmyard software.
  • Access the Cannon Hall Farm website
  • E-mail us with any questions. We are happy to respond!

Activity Ideas – Art & Design:

Most art work will be triggered by the visit and carried out back at school. Cameras or sketch books could be used to collect images whilst on the farm.

Post Visit Ideas:

  • Collage: textures and colours.
  • Animal masks. ( for use in role play see English activities)
  • Modelling.
  • Painting.
  • Making puppets.
  • Decorate eggs.
  • Arrange a class visit from someone who uses wool or other animal products e.g. weaver.

Activity Ideas - Music:

Pre Visit:

  • Investigate the use of animals in music. Some examples are:
  • Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saens)
  • Peter & The Wolf ( Prokofiev)
  • Likewise use songs with an agricultural theme:
  • One Man Went to Mow.
  • Old Macdonald Had a Farm.

Post Visit Ideas:

  • Create your own composition reflecting your visit to the farm.

Activity Ideas – Religious Education:

Pre and post visit ideas:

  • New Life: Easter
  • Harvest Festival
  • Animals in Religion:
  • Cows and Hinduism
  • Animal stories in the bible.
  • Religious belief and diet: