Wild Learning E-Book

Rachel Tidd

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 282

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Wild Learning answers a call in the educational community for practical, easy-to-implement activities that bring core curriculum out of the classroom and into the outdoors. Outdoor learning has risen in popularity in recent years, and it has tremendous benefits. Being outside is healthier, helps children form a strong connection to the natural world, supports a variety of learning styles, increases engagement and motivation, and improves mental health. This book gives teachers practical activities that they can immediately implement, and helps educators overcome common barriers to outdoor instruction. These activities can be done in common outdoor spaces that are accessible to teachers in all school settings, and they are adaptable to their current curriculum--not an extra thing to try to fit into their day. * Get ideas for fun outdoor activities that cover core subject matter already being taught * Take learning outside, taking advantage of commonly accessible areas, no matter the educational setting * Help students develop a healthy appreciation of the outdoors and support hands-on learning styles * Support students' physical and mental health without sacrificing learning time This book is a much-needed resource for elementary and special education teachers, as well as those in alternative schools, forest schools, and homeschooling parents.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

Benefits of Teaching Outdoors

Zones of Accessibility

Notes

Chapter 1: Planning and Preparation

A Place to Gather

Safety Considerations

Getting Parents on Board with Outdoor Learning

Planning Classroom Outdoor Time and Classroom Management

Dressing for the Weather: Gear for Kids and Adults

Creating a Positive Outdoor Experience for Students and Teachers

Materials for Outdoor Learning

Final Thoughts

Note

Chapter 2: Lessons in the Schoolyard

The Wonders of Chalk

Learning Games for the Schoolyard

Using Natural Materials

Utilizing the Schoolyard

Final Thoughts

Chapter 3: Visiting the Neighborhood

Walking Adventures

Example riddles

Final Thoughts

Chapter 4: Exploring Farther Afield

The Plants and Animals Around Us

Developing a Sit Spot Practice

Final Thoughts

Chapter 5: Inviting Nature Indoors

A Nature‐inspired Class Meeting

Cultivating Nature Appreciation and Curiosity Throughout the Year

Final Thoughts

Acknowledgments

About the Website

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Figure 0.1 Students working on a writing project outdoors

Figure 0.2 Students exploring the area near their school

Figure 0.3 Students working in the schoolyard

Figure 0.4 Zones of accessibility for outdoor learning surrounding a typical...

Figure 0.5 Students writing at a picnic table

Figure 0.6 Tree stumps set up on school grounds for an outdoor classroom in ...

Figure 0.7 This prekindergarten class at P.S. 185 – The Locke School of Arts...

Figure 0.8 A class working on a project on the sidewalk

Figure 0.9 Students headed to explore a nature preserve

Figure 0.10 Students from P.S. 146 – The Brooklyn New School, visit the Broo...

Figure 0.11 Students painting scenes from a story outdoors

Figure 0.12 Leaves make great surfaces for writing

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1 Students using the steps of a church for writing in the neighborh...

Figure 1.2 Lesson under an awning at P.S. 185 in Harlem, New York

Figure 1.3 Working outdoors on picnic tables

Figure 1.4 Group work while sitting on log stump seats

Figure 1.5 Students drawing trees in the neighborhood

Figure 1.6 Students listen to a read‐aloud in the schoolyard at P.S. 185 in ...

Figure 1.7 Rain pants and insulated boots are useful in many types of weathe...

Figure 1.8 Students dressed for winter weather

Figure 1.9 Layering infographic

Figure 1.10 Clipboards make an excellent surface for writing and drawing

Figure 1.11 Students drawing observations of a bridge in their notebooks

Chapter 2

Figure 2.1 Students using chalk in the schoolyard

Figure 2.2 Chalk ten frame filled with flowers

Figure 2.3 Chalk ten frame filled with place value sticks to practice counti...

Figure 2.4 Using chalk to create an open number line

Figure 2.5 Using a stick for a number line

Figure 2.6 Example of a number ladder and the clues provided to the student...

Figure 2.7 Number ladder clues

Figure 2.8 Lattice method for multiplication

Figure 2.9 Area method of multiplication

Figure 2.10 Example of a word square featuring the AI vowel team

Figure 2.11 A student working on a word square

Figure 2.12 Example of a word square featuring prefixes

Figure 2.13 Example of a word ladder and clues provided to the student

Figure 2.14 Image of word ladder clues

Figure 2.15 Students working on word graffiti in the schoolyard

Figure 2.16 Murals and graffiti can inspire students' writing

Figure 2.17 Illustrating story elements and the beginning, middle, and end w...

Figure 2.18 Drawing circles for a variation of the bean bag toss game

Figure 2.19 Example of scoot game setup

Figure 2.20 Example of word tic‐tac‐toe game

Figure 2.21 Playing hopscotch to review the digraph SH

Figure 2.22 A student's crazy hopscotch board

Figure 2.23 Playing the change a letter game

Figure 2.24 An older student hiding words on the playground for a younger cl...

Figure 2.25 Writing sentences using the homophones know and no

Figure 2.26 Children counting and grouping horse chestnuts

Figure 2.27 Words written on leaves for creating silly sentences

Figure 2.28 Practicing high‐frequency words with letter rocks

Figure 2.29 Labeling or “marking up” words to show their vowel sounds and ot...

Figure 2.30 Using number rocks to practice order of operation problem – stic...

Figure 2.31 Using number rocks to create a clock and practice telling time...

Figure 2.32 Using leaves to sort addition fact families

Figure 2.33 Using place value sticks to add

Figure 2.34 Using place value to practice regrouping in multidigit addition ...

Figure 2.35 A student practices subitizing using natural materials to re‐cre...

Figure 2.36 Using number rocks and sticks to model number bonds

Figure 2.37 Modeling arrays using rocks

Figure 2.38 Example of using mud pies to model fractions

Figure 2.39 Using mud pies to model finding equivalent fractions

Figure 2.40 Cake pan showing the fraction 3/4

Figure 2.41 Cake pan with a stick laid across to make eighths – the fraction...

Figure 2.42 Cake pan with two sticks laid across to make twelfths – the frac...

Figure 2.43 Acting out a story wearing a mask made from natural materials...

Figure 2.44 Dividing syllables in words written on leaves

Figure 2.45 Cutting words written on leaves to create contractions

Chapter 3

Figure 3.1 Bridge walk: Students exploring their neighborhood in Brooklyn, N...

Figure 3.2 Look at all the rectangles and squares on buildings and the trian...

Figure 3.3 This utility hole is a great example of a circle. It is also surr...

Figure 3.4 Measuring the angles between rocks on a retaining wall

Figure 3.5 These parking signs have numbers written in words and numerals...

Figure 3.6 This grate is an excellent example of an array

Figure 3.7 This building has a giant array of circles on the front

Figure 3.8 Students looking at the many examples of arrays on the structure ...

Figure 3.9 Using a trundle wheel to measure distances

Figure 3.10 A student working on a leaf book

Figure 3.11 Examples of student leaf books

Figure 3.12 Students from The Brooklyn New School observing and drawing tree...

Figure 3.13 Example of a drawing for the tree accordion book

Figure 3.14 Example cover of an accordion book featuring a Sugar Maple tree...

Figure 3.15 Working together to measure a giant tree located in a neighborho...

Figure 3.16 A student works on their nature journal

Figure 3.17 Students using the street as inspiration for writing stories

Figure 3.18 What will you find behind door number 100?

Figure 3.19 Example of pamphlet focusing on Ithaca, New York

Figure 3.21 Recording details from a gravestone

Figure 3.20 Student work sample: An Ode to Painted Utility Boxes

Chapter 4

Figure 4.1 Students from The Brooklyn New School visit the Brooklyn Bridge f...

Figure 4.2 The petals of a daffodil form a hexagon

Figure 4.3 Examples of triangles observed on a tulip

Figure 4.4 The petals of a wild strawberry flower form a pentagon

Figure 4.5 Using a giant 100 chart to collect 100 nature items

Figure 4.6 Collecting 100 rocks using a 100 chart

Figure 4.7 Collecting and counting black walnuts for the collect 100 activit...

Figure 4.8 Students observing groups of daffodils for multiplication practic...

Figure 4.9 Example of writing multiplication fact families using daffodils...

Figure 4.10 Using the points on leaves to practice skip counting by threes...

Figure 4.11 An example calendar of bloom

Figure 4.12 A sledding experiment using a giant snowball as the load

Figure 4.13 A snow cat

Figure 4.14 Building a giant snow person

Figure 4.15 Building and decorating a snow cake is a fun alternative to snow...

Figure 4.16 Warm drinks can help keep you warm in cold weather

Figure 4.17 Natural items collected by students and placed on the letter sou...

Figure 4.18 Observing animal tracks found in a creek bed

Figure 4.19 Students love to build miniature houses and write about who live...

Figure 4.20 A cozy fairy house

Figure 4.21 Example of a simple dichotomous key

Figure 4.22 Example of a dichotomous key made by a student

Figure 4.23 Conducting an insect inventory

Figure 4.24 Observing birds

Figure 4.25 Observing waterbirds

Figure 4.26 Raccoon tracks left in the mud

Figure 4.27 Students heading out to their sit spots

Figure 4.28 A student map of their sit spot

Figure 4.29 Writing sit spot news headlines

Figure 4.30 Student work example: Sit Spot Times

Figure 4.31 Sit spots are also a great activity in the winter

Chapter 5

Figure 5.1 Children participating in a flannel board activity during an outd...

Figure 5.2 Nature items placed by students around a wooden box after sharing...

Figure 5.3 A student's calendar of firsts

Figure 5.4 A classroom display of nature books

Figure 5.5 An example page from a class nature journal

Figure 5.6 Self‐portrait created using natural materials

Figure 5.7 Example of a nature collection

Figure 5.8 Have students use index cards to label nature items in the classr...

Figure 5.9 An invitation for students to use flowers to make patterns

Figure 5.10 Materials from an outdoor activity are set out on trays for furt...

Figure 5.11 Montessori‐style independent activity bins incorporating natural...

Figure 5.12 Natural materials available for student use in the science area ...

Figure 5.13 Examples of phenology wheels

Guide

Cover Page

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

Acknowledgments

About the Website

Index

Wiley End User License Agreement

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WILD LEARNING

PRACTICAL IDEAS TO BRING TEACHING OUTDOORS

Rachel Tidd

Copyright © 2023 by Rachel Tidd. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

ISBNs: 9781119931348 (paperback), 9781119931331 (ePDF), 9781119931324 (ePub)

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 750‐4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748‐6011, fax (201) 748‐6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.

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Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Control Number:

2023000522 (print), 2023000523 (ebook)

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Images: Floral frame: © Maria_Galybina/Getty Images

Photo: © jacoblund/Getty Images

To my husband, Leo, for always believing in me and to my boys,Finn and Taro, for inspiring me to bring teaching outside.

Introduction

Anything you teach in an indoor classroom can be taught outdoors, often in ways that are more enjoyable for children.

— Cathy James

This book, Wild Learning, came from my desire to help make outdoor learning and teaching more manageable and accessible to educators. The lessons and activities show you how to teach core subjects, in outdoor spaces such as the schoolyard and the neighborhood, as well as places farther afield. I want you to see the outdoors as a resource that can be used to teach your regular curriculum, not another extra subject or special event to try and fit into your day. For this reason, Wild Learning provides a collection of practical activities, projects, and classroom routines centered around math, reading, and writing.

Why outdoors? Because the outdoor environment provides so many benefits for you and your students! The outdoors provides a naturally multisensory learning environment and more opportunities for hands‐on learning (often without extra planning!). Compared to being inside, outdoor learning increases student engagement and attention, supports mental and physical health, and helps children form a deeper connection with the natural world. These are outcomes we all want to optimize in our classrooms!

You can implement the lessons and activities in this book from your classroom right away, as the activities require no additional training or special materials. Your students will gain the benefits of outdoor learning by writing descriptive stories based on observations of cloud formations, collecting bundles of sticks to learn place value, using chalk to play word games on pavement, looking for geometry in nature and the built environment, and writing an ode to something in the neighborhood (see Figure 0.1).

Benefits of Teaching Outdoors

Simply moving instruction outdoors is healthier, helps children form a strong connection with the natural world, supports a variety of learning styles, increases engagement, and increases students' motivation to learn.1 In addition, the mental health benefits of outdoor learning, such as reducing anxiety and depression, lowering stress, and improving self‐confidence, have been well documented.2 Schools continue to struggle to meet their students' learning and mental health needs. Incorporating more outdoor learning in schools is a simple and cost‐effective way to support your students' social‐emotional needs, learning styles, and increased engagement (see Figure 0.2).

Figure 0.1 Students working on a writing project outdoors

Source: Rachel Tidd

The benefits of outdoor learning have even been shown to extend beyond a single outdoor lesson or activity. Some people mistakenly believe that the outdoor environment can be a distraction. However, a recent study has shown that taking lessons outside can positively affect student attention and engagement that lasts into the next lesson, even if the subsequent lesson is indoors.3 The positive effects were seen even if only the location of the lesson changed, not the content or delivery method. This means that even small changes, such as teaching an indoor lesson outside, reading aloud outside, or conducting a writing lesson outdoors, can help improve students' attention and engagement for the following lesson, even if instruction moves back indoors (see Figure 0.3)!

Figure 0.2 Students exploring the area near their school

Source: Rachel Tidd

Figure 0.3 Students working in the schoolyard

Source: Mary Taylor / Pexels

Outdoor learning has also been shown to increase school achievement. Studies have shown an increase in standardized test scores, attendance, attitude about school, and improvements in behavior.4 This is partially attributed to the multisensory and hands‐on learning opportunities that learning outdoors typically provides. For example, practicing place value using bundles of sticks or making and writing words using word boxes drawn on the pavement.

Today's outdoor educational programs and curricula primarily focus on school gardens, the environment, science, or physical education. These programs are excellent, and if you have them at your school, take advantage of them! However, the reality is that for most teachers, special programs, training, and resources such as these are not available. The activities in this book are not trying to replace these outdoor programs, nor am I suggesting a completely outdoor program as with the forest school model.4 The goal here is to provide regular classroom teachers like you with the tools and encouragement to teach portions of your core curriculum outdoors. The lessons and activities found in Wild Learning are designed to be low or no cost, require no special training, and are taught in common outdoor areas such as the schoolyard.

Zones of Accessibility

One advantage of outdoor learning is that it is a resource available to schools everywhere, and making it easier for teachers and schools to implement is an important goal of this book. The lessons and activities are organized around three outdoor areas accessible to teachers. The locations radiate from the school forming “zones” of accessibility (see Figure 0.4). The most accessible outdoor zone is the schoolyard, followed by the neighborhood surrounding the school, and finally, locations that are farther away and take more planning such as local parks and natural areas. These three types of outdoor spaces are generally available regardless of whether a school is in an urban, suburban, or rural setting. While schools in rural and suburban settings may have more extensive school grounds, urban schools typically have some outdoor space available and have more learning opportunities in the neighborhood surrounding the school. Still, some schools may find themselves confined to the schoolyard for safety reasons or school policies. Organizing activities by location enables you to select activities that work best for your school's setting, schedule, and resources.

In the schoolyard

The schoolyard is the most accessible of the three outdoor location types. For the purposes of this book, the schoolyard is defined as any outdoor space available to you and your students on school property. This could mean a paved area, open field, playground, or even a rooftop (see Figure 0.5). Many schools in urban areas have completely paved schoolyards. This does not mean you cannot incorporate outdoor learning into your classroom! Chapter 3, In the Schoolyard, was written with this environment in mind. The chapter utilizes sidewalk chalk, learning games, natural materials, and playground equipment to fit any available space.

Figure 0.4 Zones of accessibility for outdoor learning surrounding a typical school

Source: Julie Manners. Inspiring / Shutterstock.

Just because an area in the schoolyard has not been used for instructional purposes before does not mean the space is not suitable! There is a huge opportunity to get creative and try new locations for learning. Elementary schools in Ithaca, New York, asked local landscaping companies to donate tree stumps to expand outdoor learning areas during the COVID‐19 pandemic (see Figure 0.6). Many of these previously overlooked areas were in slivers of grass between the sidewalk and the school or schoolyard.5 Getting students outside, even in highly urban areas, provides significant mental, physical, and learning benefits to students even if the outdoor space is an urbanized environment (see Figure 0.7).

Figure 0.5 Students writing at a picnic table

Source: Rachel Tidd

Visiting the neighborhood

The neighborhood around a school is often overlooked as a location where outdoor learning can take place. Yet, it is highly accessible to teachers, requires no transportation, and often can provide opportunities for community projects and involvement. For the purposes of this book, the school neighborhood is anywhere within a 10‐ to 30‐minute walk around the school. Chapter 4, Visiting the Neighborhood, shows you how to take your class out to explore the area surrounding your school, helping your students foster a stronger sense of place and belonging, as well as providing a wider variety of activities, experiences, natural resources, and settings not available in the schoolyard (see Figure 0.8). Students will observe their neighborhood through a whole new lens through activities such as having students inventory tree species in the neighborhood or recording different examples of 2D and 3D shapes.

Figure 0.6 Tree stumps set up on school grounds for an outdoor classroom in Ithaca, New York

Source: Rachel Tidd

Figure 0.7 This prekindergarten class at P.S. 185 – The Locke School of Arts & Engineering in Harlem, New York, moved the main areas of their classroom outside to the primarily paved schoolyard

Source: Teresa Bello

Figure 0.8 A class working on a project on the sidewalk

Source: Andrew Chiappetta

Exploring locations farther afield

For most schools, resources such as parks and natural areas are typically located outside the neighborhood zone (see Figure 0.9). These locations usually require more planning, transportation, and adult chaperones or additional staff. These requirements can act as barriers to visiting these types of areas frequently. Visiting these special places provides students with immersive experiences in nature and fosters a deeper connection to the natural world. Chapter 5, Exploring Farther Afield, will show you ways to use these natural areas with activities and lessons that reinforce academic skills and expand students' knowledge about the natural world (see Figure 0.10).

Figure 0.9 Students headed to explore a nature preserve

Source: Rachel Tidd

Inviting nature indoors

While teaching core lessons outdoors is the primary focus of this book, the focus of chapter 6 is on inviting nature into your indoor classroom. Bringing nature into your classroom will help children extend and build enthusiasm for learning outdoors. Incorporating seasonal rhythms, nature observations, and nature‐inspired routines into the classroom will foster a class culture that encourages careful observation and values the natural world. For students who lack experience and/or may have fears associated with the outdoors, building knowledge and familiarity with nature inside is the first step to feeling comfortable outside.

Figure 0.10 Students from P.S. 146 – The Brooklyn New School, visit the Brooklyn Bridge as part of their study of bridges

Source: Andrew Chiappetta

Embracing the wild

Incorporating outdoor learning into the regular curriculum provides a low‐cost and effective way to increase student achievement and engagement, as well as improve student social‐emotional and physical health. I hope that this book will provide teachers at all types of schools with the knowledge, strategies, and practical ideas to begin taking their teaching practice outdoors (see Figures 0.11 and 0.12).

Figure 0.11 Students painting scenes from a story outdoors

Source: Rachel Tidd

Figure 0.12 Leaves make great surfaces for writing

Source: Rachel Tidd

Notes

1.

J. Mann, T. Gray, S. Truong, E. Brymer, R. Passy, S. Ho, P. Sahlberg, K. Ward, P. Bentsen, C. Curry, and R. Cowper, “Getting Out of the Classroom and Into Nature: A Systematic Review of Nature‐Specific Outdoor Learning on School Children's Learning and Development,”

Frontiers in Public Health

10 (2022), Article 877058,

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.877058/full

2.

K. Weir, “Nurtured by Nature,” American Psychological Association,

Monitor on Psychology

(April 2020),

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature

3.

M. Kuo, M. Browning, and M. Penner, “Do Lessons in Nature Boost Subsequent Classroom Engagement? Refueling Students in Flight,”

Frontiers in Psychology

8 (2018), Article 2253,

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02253/full

4.

The forest school model is a learner‐led outdoor play and learning model that takes place in the forest or other natural environment. This is most commonly seen at the kindergarten or preschool level in the United States.

5.

K. Langlois, “The Pandemic Moved Classrooms Outside: Let's Keep It That Way,”

Outside

(August 2021),

https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/active-families/covid-outdoor-learning-schools/

Planning and Preparation

Getting outside with your class is incredibly rewarding. You will likely notice that children are more engaged and excited to learn when you take them outdoors! Students who struggle indoors will often transform when engaged in outdoor learning – even becoming leaders. While transitioning to outdoor learning will take some practice (just like at the beginning of the school year when you teach classroom routines), you will likely find that student behavior improves!

In this chapter, you will find suggestions to help you plan, prepare, and be successful in teaching outdoors. You will find practical advice on choosing an outdoor area for your class to gather, suggested materials, classroom management tips, safety considerations, and sample schedules to help you prepare for learning outside. There is also a section devoted to explaining how to dress appropriately for different types of weather, ensuring you and your students will be comfortable and ready to learn.

A Place to Gather

The main outdoor classroom spaces used for lessons and activities in this book are the schoolyard, neighborhood, and natural areas farther afield. You don't need formal outdoor classroom space to teach outdoors! Outdoor learning can happen anywhere. Due to the short time periods and the way you will use outdoor classroom spaces, they do not need to be elaborate. For activities and lessons included in this book, you may only need a designated place to gather and give directions before heading out to the neighborhood or playing a game in the schoolyard. This outdoor meeting space can be as simple as sitting under the shade of a tree or on the steps of the school building. (See Figure 1.1.)

When choosing a suitable outdoor meeting area, consider noise or other distractions and take into account proximity to the playground as well as the availability of shade/shelter. Shade is important in warmer weather or climates, while in winter you may wish to be in the sun or in a place that is sheltered from the wind (see Figure 1.2)! For this reason, you may need to change the meeting area location based on the seasons. Consider seating options, which can range from simply sitting on the grass or school steps to more elaborate setups such as tree stumps or benches.

Figure 1.1 Students using the steps of a church for writing in the neighborhood

Source: Rachel Tidd

Simple outdoor classroom spaces

Here are some locations you can consider for a simple outdoor classroom space: a shady spot under a tree, a corner of the schoolyard, rooftop outdoor spaces (common in urban schools), school garden, existing benches or picnic tables, stairs on the side or front of the school, sheltered side or corner of the school, outdoor lunch areas (when not in use), tennis or basketball courts (when not in use), and shared use spaces (some schools have agreements with city/town/churches on using spaces nearby the school). (See Figure 1.3.)

Simple ways to enhance or create an outdoor gathering space

You don't have to be limited by what is available in your outdoor space. There are many ways to enhance your outdoor area to make it more functional for learning outdoors. Here are some simple, inexpensive ways to enhance your space: add seating options, consider shelter, make areas for display and writing during whole group lessons or discussions, and make sure to have surfaces for students to write on.

Figure 1.2 Lesson under an awning at P.S. 185 in Harlem, New York

Source: Teresa Bello

Adding seating options such as log stumps, straw bales, or simple benches made from logs can be perfect solutions to providing seating on a small budget. Often landscape companies or parks departments will donate these for free (see Figure 1.4)! For waterproof seating that can go anywhere, consider inexpensive or donated yoga mats cut into squares, inexpensive garden kneeling pads, tarps, taking school chairs outside, or even plastic bucket covers. If your space needs shelter from the sun or rain, a large tarp and rope can be used to fashion a simple temporary shelter.

You will find it necessary at times to write and record ideas, concepts, and discussions; portable chalk or whiteboards are ideal for this purpose. Stringing ropes from trees or between poles from which to hang chart paper or clip things (number lines, timelines, etc.) can be a great alternative.

Figure 1.3 Working outdoors on picnic tables

Source: Rachel Tidd

For individual student writing, a notebook can work well for writing outdoors. Clipboards can be great for holding and writing on worksheets outdoors. To keep these materials organized, consider finding a plastic crate or canvas bag to store and transport them. In the winter, laminated cardstock and dry‐erase crayon/colored pencils work well as a waterproof writing surface.

If space and funds allow, larger additions to spaces such as hammocks for independent reading and writing, a covered outdoor library stocked with books, and a shed or other outdoor storage area to store supplies can be useful additions.

Before making even minor changes, reach out to other teachers, staff, administration, after‐school programs, and other community members about how the current schoolyard is used and identify the assets of the space, as well as any improvements that could be made. Including as many voices as possible in any discussions and planning will help bolster support for any proposed changes and minimize potential conflicts between different uses of the space. Consider and discuss how the area is used for recess, physical education classes, arrival/dismissal, fire drills, or by the community, and how any proposed additions or improvements may impact these uses.

Figure 1.4 Group work while sitting on log stump seats

Source: Rachel Tidd

Safety Considerations

Keeping students and staff safe in the outdoor learning environment is essential. Before embarking on an outdoor learning regime, discuss your plans with your principal or administrator. You can prepare for and mitigate potential risks by educating yourself and any additional staff, parent volunteers, and your students about potential risks. This will help everyone stay safe when learning and playing outdoors. Safety considerations, rules, and guidelines will vary according to your geographic location, setting, and school. Safety considerations and rules may need to change depending on where the class will be working each day. Before discussing safety considerations and guidelines with parents and students, spend time crafting a list of the most important considerations for your class.

Basic safety considerations

Before taking your class outdoors, survey the school grounds for any potential hazards such as glass, garbage, suspicious persons, construction, etc.