Rye Harbour Worksheets
We have devised a series of worksheets that can be downloaded from this page, plus a few other activities.
a. Birds at Rye Harbour click here to download This worksheet is best used from a birdwatching hide. It helps to focus attention on different bird groups and bird behaviour.
b. Plants at Rye Harbour click here to download On the shingle beach it is possible to see a variety of plant species adapted to the hostile environment. These worksheets require good observational skills.
c. Big Leaf Key click here to download This simple dichotomous key leads children through the process of identifying some of the plants on the shingle beach. Most of these plants are illustrated in the shingle leaflet.
d. Food Chain Game click here to download This game can be played on the beach, or back at school. A fun way to highlight the way food chains are made up. If played on the reserve, equipment will be provided.
e. Map Making click here to download These worksheets help children learn how to map features of the Nature Reserve by measuring distances and direction from a known starting point. Compasses can be provided if being guided by nature reserve staff. Scale maps of the reserve can be drawn back in the classroom, using the data collected during the visit.
f. Rye Bay Time Line click here to download These worksheets emphasize how much the coast has changed over the centuries. The children's version can be broken down and displayed on a time line.
g. Pollution click here to download
Here are two activity sheets highlighting the problems that litter can cause.
- Pollution lasts how long? This exercise is to encourage children to consider what is litter or pollution, and how long it takes everyday items to break down. Either use the worksheet or by providing the actual bits of litter themselves, see if the children can match up items to the correct length of time for it to break down. There are also additional questions to give children a chance to express their opinions of litter left on the beach.
- How litter harms wildlife. This is a good way to get children thinking about the dangers that litter can cause if left lying around in the environment. This can be used either whilst on the reserve, or back in the classroom.
h. Search the Seashore click here to download
Whilst down on the seashore, there are various activities that can be carried out at a safe distance from the sea. Please ensure that only dead items are collected, that nothing is picked up that may cause injury or illness, and that children are not encouraged to remove too much material from the Nature Reserve.
- Seashore Scavenger Hunt. Beachcombing whilst walking along the strandline. This suggested list contains just some of the possibilities. A bag to collect items is required.
- Prickly Stickly. Similar to the scavenger hunt, but engages the children's imagination in that it is left up to them to interpret the meanings of each 'something'. A bag to collect items is required.
- What Am I? Working together in small groups, see if the children can work out the correct answers, either from matching up objects they can find on the beach or after they have completed the prickly stickly or scavenger hunt exercise. This activity is a good follow up to beachcombing, either on the reserve or back in the classroom.
- What Am I Crossword? This is ideal for a classroom activity, to see how much the children can remember after a visit to the beach.
- Sea Monster. This activity works well on sand (or shingle). Try to get the children to think about various maritime adaptations or behaviours, and how this could be represented by their finished creation.
i. Seashore Detective click here to download This worksheet combines many activities together on one piece of paper! There is a weather report to fill in, items to find on the beach, surveys to complete, a strandline to draw plus how to help the coast in the future.
j. Identifying Pebbles click here to download
Two activities that are ideal when visiting the shingle beach, but please keep a safe distance from the sea.
- Chattered, Battered or Shattered? An exercise to show how our beaches erode as a result of individual pebbles eroding.
- Pebble Picker. This helps to enhance the sensory abilities to identify objects they can only feel.
k. Treasure Hunt click here to download This quiz follows the short circular walk around the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve for June or July time. Answers are available from the Nature Reserve office.
l. Camber Castle click here to download
Here are two possible activity sheets to be used whilst visiting Camber Castle. Groups will need to be well supervised as they explore the site.
- Life at Camber Castle. Investigate the Castle to find key features and once children are familiar with the Castle, they should consider how they would use limited staffing resources to defend the coast.
- Camber Castle Detective. Investigate the Castle ruins for signs of how it was used by the garrison stationed there. A postcard showing an artist's impression of the Castle in 1540 is available on request.
m. What's in the Bucket? click here to download
Pond dipping can be organised at Castle Water. This worksheet is an introduction to the variety of wetland wildlife in the ponds and flooded gravel pits and can be used to focus in on what different groups find. Alternatively, it is possible to use commercially produced identification keys to freshwater wildlife from the Field Studies Council (the nature reserve has a supply).
- Hidden in Ponds and Ditches: An activity that can used in the classroom before or after a pond dipping session. It is a fun way of highlighting what can be found in ponds and ditches. Also by using the pictures from the 'What's in the bucket' sheets, the children can then start associating what creatures look like.
n. Pond Food Chains click here to download After a pond dipping session on the reserve, why not see if the children can create food chains using this diagram of pond life. Can be used in conjunction with the Pond Food Webs worksheet.
o. Pond Food Webs click here to download Using these worksheets, see if the children can create their own food chain webs with the information given to them. Ideal for in the classroom before or after a visit to the reserve.
p. Coastal Poems click here to download Two different poem ideas for wet weather moments on the Nature Reserve or for a follow-up activity in the classroom. These are a potential starting point for creative writing about Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.
q. Rye Harbour Brainteasers click here to download Some fun activities to test literacy and mathematical skills, either before or after a visit to the nature reserve.
Listening Game At a safe point on the Nature Reserve, it is great to have everyone shut their eyes and count how many sounds they can hear. This usually includes various different birds, the wind, the sea, people and vehicles.
Literacy Ideas There are many possibilities for writing as a result of a visit to the Nature Reserve. As well as creative writing (such as a Coastal Poem or a play about a life at Camber Castle) other suggestions include designing a leaflet about the Nature Reserve for other children, or producing a report on the local wildlife.
Meeting the Nature Reserve Warden It may be possible to have a guided visit around the Nature Reserve with a member of the staff or alternatively a brief introduction to the site. This could include the following issues; changing coastline, issues relating to managing the site, introduction to the wildlife and others. It is possible to cover different issues on one visit or to focus in on one particular subject.
Contact details
Lucy Balmforth
Community Officer
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
Lime Kiln Cottage
Rye Harbour
East Sussex
TN31 7TX
(01797) 227784
e-mail: rhnr.office@eastsussex.gov.uk