10 Ideas To Get Your Class Outdoors

1. Think Walk - pose a “big idea” question for students to consider while you lead them on a 10 minute walk. 10 minutes of movement and a change of context will lead to a richer discussion and better retention. After the walk ask the students to work in triads to develop a common answer to the initial question to share with the class.
2. Observation Challenge - lead students on a 10 minute walk outside. Notice 5-10 details while you walk. Challenge the students to pay attention to their surrounding while they walk. When you return to class pose questions based on the details observed during the walk (e.g. “How many people were sitting on the grass by the track?” / “What colour was the car parked beside the door we exited?” / “What kinds of flowers were growing in the garden we walked past?”) -- Useful activity for poetry study or narrative writing.
3. Inside Circle / Outside Circle - move the class outside and form two concentric standing circles. The members of the inner circle face the members of the outer circle. Provide a big idea prompt to the inner circle students (e.g. - “justify your choice for the most interesting text we’ve read in class this year” / “explain which character from a text you’ve read this year would be the most interesting to meet” / “explain why a sequel should be developed for one of the texts that we’ve read this year”). Rotate the outer circle two places and repeat with the member of the outer circle speaking. Repeat a few times. Great review or consolidation activity. Alternative context helps with retention. Standing promotes focus.
4. Character Walk - ask the students to choose one of the characters from a text they’re reading. Lead students on a short walk. Challenge the students to walk in trios and to adopt the traits of their chosen character and to have a conversation in character while they walk. Give the trios a minute to brainstorm a topic for their conversation before you leave. When you return ask the students to report on how they used word choice, body language and specific ideas to bring their characters to life.
5. Context Circle - move the class outdoors for a circle on the grass. Set the context for the lesson or activate students' prior knowledge with a prompt (e.g. - what’s something you already know about…”). The alternate context and circle can improve focus and give all students a voice.
6. Writing Instructions / Procedures - select a few specific destinations on the school grounds. In small groups challenge the students to develop very specific language to direct a person to their assigned destination -- with the one complication that they can only direct movement not describe the destination (e.g. - “Walk to the west end of the hallway and turn left…” NOT “If you’re standing under the goal posts you’re in the right place”). Have the groups trade instructions and see if they can successfully follow the other group's instructions.
7. Artifact Circle - ask students to bring artifacts from home (nothing valuable) that connect to a text that has been studied in class this year. Sitting on the grass in small circles of 6-8 ask the students to pass around the artifacts and make connections to the texts read in class. The student who provided the artifact goes last to explain the connection he/she intended the artifact to represent. Challenge the students to extend their understanding by making deeper connections to their texts and speculating how characters in their texts might participate in this experience.
8. Photo Hunt - lead students on a walk. During the walk, challenge the students to find or stage a photo that connects to a text that you’ve read / viewed in class. When you return to class jigsaw the class and have students share / explain their images.
9. Exam Prediction Brainstorm - lead the students on a walk. While walking ask the students to brainstorm a question that “should” appear on the final exam about one of the texts being studied in class. Prior to the walk co-create the criteria that you would use to describe an appropriate exam question. After the walk jigsaw a sharing of the questions.
10. Be Miserable - on a lousy weather day take students outside (briefly?). When you return to class ask the students to individually write a reflection or hold a whole class circle discussion about how the weather affects them. Make connections to the use of setting in a text or brainstorm ideas of how to overcome negative feelings about the weather and discuss how these strategies could have been used by a character in a text studied in class.

Photos of Playgrounds - Inference / Research / Critical Thinking Activities

These and more stunning photos of school playgrounds from around the world can be found here: Jamesmollison.com. Additional background on the project by photographer James Mollison and his book, Playgrounds can found found in this post by Slate.com  photo blogger Jordan G. Teicher: Slate Photo Blog interview.

Affiliated Primary School of South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China

Aida Boys School, Bethlehem, West Bank

The images are a great opportunity for students to apply their inference, research or critical thinking skills.  A few ideas:

1. Inference: examine the details of one of the images closely. What could you infer from specific elements in the photograph about the school and home lives of the students pictured?  Here's an assignment page for this activity: A Day in the Life.
2. Research: choose one of the images to focus on and research the daily life of the life of a student in the community presented in the photo. Here's an assignment page for this activity.
3. Critical Thinking: imagine a character from one of the texts we've studied in class emigrated to one of the communities pictured in the collection of school playgrounds. Making specific references to details in the photograph and details in the text determine how challenging or comforting the character might find his/her new community? Here's an assignment page for this activity.

Critical Literacy - Rethinking What We Know

Globe and Mail writer, Doug Saunder’s article “The real reasons why migrants risk everything for a new life elsewhere” is a great challenging read for senior students. It addresses stereotypes, requires critical thinking about the voices not heard in most news reporting and encourages further curiosity and research.

I find students respond really well to ideas that challenge conventional wisdom. This article encourages its readers to rethink what they “know” about migrants from African nations trying to reach Europe.  This Google Docs version of the article includes some response / analysis prompts: close reading task.