Teach-Primary-Issue-19.3

Zana Wood is director and co-founder of Grow to School You got this I’m a firm believer that if you can take PE outside you already have all the skills to take your class out for other learning. For a successful outdoor lesson, research before you go out. There are thousands of ideas out there, but if you are stuck, a simple place to start is to explain to your children you are going to take an English lesson outside. Read them a passage from a book and explain they are going to make a collage picture based on the passage (you can always take visual prompts, such as illustrations from the book, if they’re new to this). We always use white plastic sheets as ‘paper’. This gives a clear background, which makes it easier to see. Encourage the teams to collect some materials – grass, twigs, stones, etc. Then guide them to make their picture. Stragglers can be given more collecting jobs. Don’t forget to take photos at the end. You can use this method for science diagrams, too. Younger children can start with self-portraits to get them used to creating pictures using natural materials. Outdoor prep kit Expect excited behaviour the first few times outside, so plan lessons that allow for letting off steam – there are lots of spotter sheets available online and collecting in numbers keeps everyone engaged e.g. 10 blades of grass, 20 tiny stones, 1 fallen leaf. Even a tarmacked playground offers up a surprising amount of options. Make use of natural materials for creating 2D and 3D diagrams. Get the children involved in collecting a store of sticks, stones, leaves, pinecones, etc to save time when you next go out. These can be kept In boxes or buckets. If you don’t have any available at school, ask the children to bring in sticks and stones or collect them on your own weekend walks. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can fill a bag. Create investigation stations – use benches, tables, or trays. This encourages scientific language and reasoning. Cut up cheap white shower curtains into 1m squares. These are great to use as sheets to lay on the ground outside. They provide a good backdrop to see the work more clearly for taking evidence photos, too. Don’t be afraid to let some children work on their own or with a partner if they struggle within a team, but keep them close to you so you can guide them when needed. Enjoy yourself and your class will enjoy themselves, too! If you are unsure how to start your outdoor learning adventure, choose a warm sunny day and a good book and read to your class outside. “The easiest way by far to overcome behaviour issues outside is to have regular – ideally weekly – sessions” Clock watching Even for a teacher who loves going out with their class, time is a huge stumbling block. As teachers’ roles and responsibilities grow beyond the curriculum and teaching assistants become few and far between, simply finding the time and motivation to do more than the mammoth amount already on your plate is nigh on impossible. Decision fatigue is very real in education. It is one of the reasons why bought-in schemes and curriculums are so appealing. For anyone to overcome this barrier it is better for the change to come from the top. If outdoor learning is timetabled into weekly learning, teachers are more likely to take their class out. Some schools allocate PPA cover with the task of running outdoor lessons across the school. One of our schools uses their weekly outdoor learning lessons as part of their science curriculum, and all lessons from living things and their habitats through to electricity have been adapted for outdoors. Other schools we work with use active lessons and tie in some PE lessons with outdoor learning as curriculum-based physical education. TP growtoschool.co.uk www.teachwire.net | 33 F EATURE S OUTDOOR L E ARN I NG