Lucy Jenkinson, from Grendon CE Primary School in Northamptonshire, shares successful lesson ideas for outdoor learning. She also gives us an insight into the views of the pupils.
Here are a few of our successful sessions:
- Aboriginal outback survival – making bow and arrows, dens and campfires on the school site
- Alien space voyage – creating space buggies/ moon landing sensory experiences
- Phonics sessions – chalks on the playground, hiding sounds, pebble and leaf sounds
- Water cycles – using drainpipes and buckets up and down the grass bank
- Nettle tea – collecting nettles, boiling and making tea
- World maps with sticks and sticking ropes on a large scale on the playground
- Maths – sticks for tens, pebbles for units. We use these for EVERYTHING
Pupil voice
Once outdoor learning had been introduced and regularly used as a method of teaching the children were asked for thier views.
“It’s good even if it’s cold, we just put our coats on”
“It’s fun in the wind”
“I like building stuff”
“It gets a bit stuffy in here so would be good to go out more”
“We have much more space outside to work”
“I remember doing timetables outside, we used sticks and pebbles and could move it around when we got it wrong”
“It’s fun, fresh air makes us feel better”
“I liked doing the maps and maths outside”
“I like it out there even if it’s not sunny”
“We get to make stuff much bigger with more room”
“It’s nice and quiet outside and we can use the whole playground”
“I’d like to do more with sticks”
“Chalks, sticks, canopy, twigs, tents in the garden are great”
“We could grow vegetables and plant more now we know what to do outside”
“I’d rather do it outside because there’s more room to work and it’s quieter”
“I like working in a bigger space with more room”
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