Five tips for Outdoor Classroom Day

Help your children explore the benefits of learning outside and exploring nature in celebration of Outdoor Classroom Day on 21 May. Dive into a range of diverse pedagogic ideas to expand children's connections to the natural world and boost their learning potential. 

What's included

• 5 creative and purposeful ideas for learning outside
• Cross-curricular links to English, maths, creative subjects and natural science

Available as a free PDF download, or access the editable version with a primary subscription.

How to use this resource

Perfect for an engaging range of lessons based around learning outside, this set of five tips for Outdoor Classroom Day encompasses a diverse range of activities that will enrich the learning of EYFS, KS1 and KS2 children. Also included are two additional creative ideas to broaden and deepen children's connectivity to the natural world. 

This resource supports key curriculum objectives around natural science, the environment, sustainability, storytelling, narrative construction, team work and collaboration. 

It is particularly valuable for teaching:

• Skills related to team work, sharing and collaboration
• The importance of the natural world, sustainability, ecology and climate change
• Cognitive processes and link making
• Research and fact-finding skills
• Storytelling and creativity
• Elements of natural science

Teachers can easily adapt the resource to suit different year groups and abilities, making it an excellent addition to any scheme of work focusing on learning in natural environments. Children are guided to deepen their understanding of nature and learning outside while valuing the importance of looking after planet earth. 

Looking for more Outdoor Classroom Day resources?

We have created several useful resources to support children as they spend time learning in natural environments:

• Outdoor Classroom Day assembly - wellbeing - This whole-school assembly celebrates the great outdoors! Written to mark Outdoor Classroom Day in May, it explores the wellbeing benefits of being outside and looks at how we can do more of our learning in the fresh air, taking a subject at a time. 
• Andy Goldsworthy comprehension - A comprehension based on the famous artist Andy Goldsworthy that has been differentiated to three levels. Reading skills covered include information retrieval, inference and deduction and using evidence to support ideas. Answer guidance is provided
• Forest school activity cards - A great set of 8 fun and imaginative forest school activity cards, each with an engaging activity focusing EYFS and KS1 primary children on learning about their outdoor environment and nature.