This document discusses taking a Year 2 class to a local park to provide outdoor learning experiences to motivate and inspire students, especially in their writing. Outdoor learning has been shown to have long-lasting positive impacts on learning. The park would allow cross-curricular learning opportunities in a safe environment. Assessing students identified a need to improve their creative writing skills. Outdoor learning experiences can help build understanding and skills that transfer back to the classroom. Teachers should evaluate outdoor lessons to understand how it benefits students and fits with learning goals.

1. Learning outside the
classroom justification

3. Pupils within a Year 2
class needed to
reconnect and be
inspired to engage in
their learning,
particularly in terms
write imaginative,
interesting and
thoughtful texts.
‘Learning experiences outside the classroom have a positive impact on motivation
because they offer young people a different kind of stimulus, providing them with
opportunities to learn that suit them as individuals,’ (LOTC, 2012).

5. Sue Waite (2011) a research fellow in the Faculty of Education at the University of
Plymouth states within her research article that outdoor experiences within a natural
environment appear to produce long lasting learning and the experience of real-life
creatures fosters learning. Children benefit from these outdoor multi-sensory
experiences as they provide a positive learning opportunity which continues to endure.
Abington Park is an ideal location as it provides an expanse of opportunity
for learning across core and foundation subjects within a safe and
convenient setting. The park is a large enclosed gated area and would
allow the pupils to explore a new environment; within a secure gated
area, suitable facilities, visual stimulus which allows for cross-curricular
opportunities and creativity.

6. Through assessing the pupil
progress of an upper key
stage 1 year 2 class of 28 pupils, a
gap was identified with the writing
Assessment Focus (AF) 1 –
write imaginative, interesting and
thoughtful texts. The gap was
especially noticed in the area of:
mostly relevant ideas and content,
sometimes repetitive or sparse. This was a common factor for
both boys and girls across Levels 2 and 3. Within the class many
of the mixed ability boys were reluctant, unmotivated writers who
had disconnected with their learning and enthusiasm for writing.
Although the girls in the class were more productive with their
writing, there was still a lack of ideas and content and they often
repeated the same ideas for different concepts. Due to this
assessment gap, creative writing was identified as an area that
needed particular focus in order to meet the needs of the pupils
and fill the gaps within their APP. This would also have a
beneficial impact of increasing the attainment levels within the
whole class.

7. Learning outside the classroom provides teacher with the opportunity to make cross curricular
links across foundation subjects. During the day the foundation subjects Art, ICT and
Geography (with cross-curricular links to DT, English, Maths and P.E) will be incorporated into
each of the activities by allowing the children to explore their new surroundings and hone on to
skills that they have been practising in school and putting them into a new context. All the
foundation subject activities being held on that day will also still be linked to the main overall
term theme ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’.
Their first activity, which involves the children making a den for a bear, links to Art and DT. The
children are allowed to explore and experiment with the environment around them and have to
learn to work in a team in order to design a quality product.
The second activity, which involves the children creating a storyboard about the adventures of
the bear, incorporates ICT, English and Geography. They children will be using ICT to record
their storyboard; English to create the story using their imagination; and Geography as they will
be finding uses for the natural environment that they are in.
The third activity incorporates aspects of P.E, Geography and Maths. The children are using a
map with coordinates to help them find the stolen bear! Coordinates is a topic they have been
learning about in Geography, but also has clear links with Maths. By using a map to find
checkpoints there are also clear links with the topic orienteering taught in P.E.
This trip, as you can see, allows for a huge range of foundation subjects to be covered in a
small amount of activities.

8. By allowing the pupils this outside of the classroom
experience creates a valuable opportunity to build upon
their learning and to develop their understanding
further. This understanding along with the development
of new skills can provided the pupils with many
successful learning opportunities that can be fulfilled
back in the classroom environment. School pupils
should be provided with the opportunity to explore the
world around them as these experiences can add
additional value to their knowledge and understanding.

9. most memorablelearningexperiences

10. Lesson reflection by the teacher, allows for areas of planning
success to be identified. These successes can then be utilised
again in terms of what worked well for the pupils and how
they were engaged and responded to the different types of
activities. This offers the teacher a more in-depth
understanding of the planning needs within the class,
identifies areas that may require more flexibility and diversity
which can be used within future planning. Meeting these
needs will improve the pupils’ experiences in the lesson and
offer them the increased opportunity to be successful in their
learning and meet the learning intention.

11. Arthur and Cremin suggest ‘Always
evaluate out of the classroom studies
and gain an understanding of what
the children have gained from the
experience. You must appreciate
how the outdoor learning has
benefitted the children and how
effectively it fitted with your planned
learning,’ (2010, pg. 173).

12. • Arthur, J., and Cremin, T. (2010) Learning to Teach in the Primary School.
Second Edition. Abingdon: Routledge.
• DfES (2006a) Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto. London: DfES.
• DfES (2006c) Working Together to Safeguard Children. Every Child
Matters. London: TSO.
• Higham, J. and Yeomans, D. (2007) Curriculum choice, flexibility and
differentiation. The way forward or a flawed prospectus? Vol.5 (No.3), pp.
281-297.
• LOTC (2012) Council for learning outside the classroom. Shropshire:
[online] Available from: http://www.lotc.org.uk [Accessed: 16th
May 2014]
• Waite, S. (2011) ‘Memories are made of this’: some reflections on outdoor
learning and recall. Vol.35 (No.4), pp. 333-347.