What: For many students, having shared experiences with their peers is essential for community building, developing ideas for writing, increasing background knowledge and more. Creating activities for students to engage in outside in order to have these shared experiences is a great way to utilize outside time.
How: When planning for a shared experience, think about how you could use the outdoors when thinking about the following questions:
- What do I want students to get out of this experience?
- Do I want students to experience something together they can all reference for a discussion or a writing piece?
- Do I want to build community?
- Do I want to expose students to a new idea?
- Do I want to activate prior knowledge about a topic?
Activities could include:
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- team building games outside during the beginning of school
- an obstacle course for students to complete on the playground and then use as a start for a writing piece
- a scavenger hunt across the schoolyard to foster teamwork at the beginning of the year
- observing the weather using their senses over a period of a few days to activate and build prior knowledge before the launch of a weather unit
- nature walks or listening for sounds to provide a common experience as a catalyst for a creative writing project
When: Anytime. Can be especially useful at the beginning of the school year.
Who: Teachers
Materials: Depends on the experience
Why: Building community, creating shared experience or activating background knowledge can all be enhanced by doing them outside. If activities are already being planned into a school day to reach these goals, there is no better way than to get children outside to do these. Rather than writing about summer vacations, go on a nature walk and write about that! Rather than doing a team building activity in the classroom, go outside and do it there! These are natural and easy places to increase time outside while utilizing already planned time. The lasting impact of these experiences will be greater and more meaningful for students when they are outside.
Barriers addressed: Class Management; Fairness Across Students/Classes; Out of Routine; Scheduling; Student Background Experience; Time Pressure; Time/Space in Standards; Values and Beliefs