Learning outside of the classroom

Why is this important? Make learning more engaging Make learning relevant Nurture creativity and imagination Develop learning through play and experimentation Improve attendance Improve learning behaviour Develop interest in the environment and wider surroundings Expose children to new opportunities Keep healthy Enjoy almost limitless resources

Why is this important? Ultimately, it has a significant impact on the way children learn. Some examples of this are: Vocabulary Social and emotional skills Draw on real life experiences

Where to begin? Good Ideas How to Be Your Child’s (and Your Own) Best Teacher by Michael Rosen

What can we do? We live in a world surrounded by all the stuff that education is supposed to be about The challenge is to make it not boring How we make it exciting is to do with how we behave, how adults and children get along together.

Tools The Internet Library Browsing

Commandments Avoid making them worried about not being able to do something. Give children real choices in matters to do with their interests, tastes, reading and the like. Involve children in decisions about their own lives. Take every question and query they have seriously. Listen Don’t give the impression you know everything or are perfect. Apologise Support their interests in whatever way you can.

The power of ‘I don’t know’ Admitting you do not know something (even if you do!) can be a very powerful tool for children. There are likely to be many more emotional connections made and, as a result, memories are stored longer time. This is essentially learning.

Ways and means Talk Writing and reading Reading gives a thing to do, a place to go. Escape to other words Sparks off questions, thoughts and comments. Give a choice and let them browse. When we read, we learn how the special writing ‘voice’ works. This relates to the driver to improve the quality of teaching in class so all teaching is inclusive This will have implications for training of teachers and their continuing development This also relates to the research regarding issues around teaching assistant effectiveness (ie that the more time pupils with Special Educational Needs spend with TAs the less good the outcomes). The response to this should be in ensuring that the training, deployment and supervision of TAs is improved, and that teachers are actively involved in the education of the most complex youngsters. It is not longer acceptable for teacher to say ‘Mrs X knows far more about him than I do..’ and thus to delegate responsibility to a teaching assistant. Equally if a pupil attends part-time provision (eg a nurture provision in another school) the teacher is expected to know what goes on there and liaise carefully.

We are going on a bear hunt

Clubs and activities Do they matter to the child? Are they providing the children with different ways to use their body and mind?

Where do good ideas come from when we are inside Where do good ideas come from when we are inside? Add your own ideas as we go along! !

DIY and Builders Using tools Maths in action How is a house made? Why are there wires in a plug? How does paint dry? What is plastic made from? How does the roller hold the paint?

Beasties It can be very easy to deal with the whole lot as if they are the enemy. How do these creatures live? What do they eat? Where do they live? Why? Use any real life experiences – How did the worm get into the house? Why do the bees like these flowers so much?

The kitchen Talking Thinking Sorting Investigating Passing of culture and tradition How does cooking work? What risks are there?

The bathroom What is in soap? How does rubbing soap on you get you clean? Is shampoo the same as soap? Are hair and nails alive? Why do they grow?

The bedroom Bedrooms are places full of choices: What goes on the walls? Who tidies up? How should things be stored? Finding out about illnesses.

Where do good ideas come from when we are outside?

The park Great places for curiosity Climbing equipment Ball games

The sky What is a rainbow? What do some clouds rain and some clouds don’t? What is wind? How do birds fly?

The beach and the sea Exploring it like it’s a museum Seaweed Shells Creatures Explore with sand!

The woods How many different leaves can you find? What’s under the bark of a dead tree? What sound is that? Autumn collage Where did ... Come from? Why is the .... This shape?

The streets and eye level Design of pavements and roads Shop windows Cars Car names Registration plates Bus maps Timetables Shopping moments are treasures!

Recommended book lists Please take a list of recommended book lists to help bring reading, writing, maths and science to life at home. https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/