Writing beyond the classroom A resource for KS1 & KS2 WordSpace for Schools 7b St Michael s Court, Warstone Parade East, The Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, B18 6NR bookspaceforschools.co.uk
Introduction Learning outside the classroom provides a great opportunity to make lessons memorable and inspirational and is becoming an increasingly popular way to engage children in writing. If your school has a Learning Outside the Classroom policy you may already have a dedicated outdoor classroom or writing space but there are many simple and cost-effective ways we can use the outdoor environment to inspire children to write. The seasons, wildlife and a continually changing environment all provide exciting writing stimuli which aren t available inside the classroom. School playgrounds and gardens also provide lots of different surfaces to write on and materials to write with. This resource contains ideas and suggestions for Taking writing outside the classroom Encouraging children to write to different audiences and for specific purposes (the New Curriculum suggests that pupils write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences ) Writing on different surfaces Exploring writing across the curriculum Best wishes Helen Thomas Director, BookSpace for Schools
Introducing writing outside the classroom Many children (particularly younger KS1 pupils) will only associate writing with their classroom. It s important to let children understand that writing is all around us. Here are a few ideas to get them thinking about writing outside of the classroom: Talk about how writing isn t just an indoor activity. Provide examples of writing which can be found outside. Eg: outdoor advertising billboards, big screens at football matches, graffiti walls Take children into the town centre and look at where writing appears; on statues, signs, public art, and buildings At the end of the day, ask pupils to keep a tally of how many times and where they see people writing between now and when they come back to school in the morning. Use this to form the basis for a class discussion the next day Select a favourite book to read outside to kick start a day of writing activities outside. This can be done in small groups or with the whole class. Storylines are a great resource to use when reading outside. Hang a washing line in front of pupils and peg on either pages from an old book as you tell the story or create your own story using homemade cards. Talk about how writing can be found on many different materials not just paper. Provide examples - from the modern world and the past. E.g. SMS on mobile phones, posts on social media site like Facebook, early cave writing Ask pupils to bring in an alternative piece of paper a nature item they have found in the park or garden which could be written on (leaves, twigs, stones etc..) and use this to create an outdoor message board. Talk about how you can write with many different materials again use historical references as well as examples from today. E.g.: Flint on stone, quill pens, aerosols, letterpress
Writing on different surfaces Decorate the playground Decorate as many spaces and surfaces as possible with words: use sticks to scratch words into soil, mud or sand; use chalk to write on the playground and walls; make letters and words using leaves, stones, and twigs. Writing shapes Ask children to write poems or stories on cut out leaf, fruit or animal shapes and hang them on trees and bushes. Word stones Write words on stones and place in patterns throughout the grounds. Use the children s words to create poems and stories. Chalkboards outside Create a giant chalkboard outside (MDF and blackboard paint are a quick and cheap option). Tree stumps make painted with blackboard paint make great mini blackboards. Encourage children to use in free time as well as a class activity. Message in a balloon Create a message in a balloon. Write message on a small piece of paper and insert into a balloon or write on the balloon itself. Include the school address, let the balloons go and if anyone writes back use as a way of discussing communication through history. Bring out the bunting Create bunting out of old fabric or create a write on / wipe off version with waterproof vinyl. Get children to write a welcome message for visitors on the bunting and hang at the front of the school. Make a class story where each child writes on a pennant to form part of the story Decoupage Is there an old bench in school? Consider decoupage to renovate it. Children can use old books that were due to be thrown away. Theme it by colour, topic, season. Use the National Literacy Trust Benches about Town as inspiration.
Writing for different purposes and audiences Stage a discovery in the school Stage a discovery in the school grounds and use the excitement that follows to encourage pupils to write newspaper articles, blogs, stories and even protest letters. Outdoor postbox for animals Use recycled materials to create postboxes for animals & insects. Go large or make them in miniature depending on the animals or insects. Encourage children to write letter to the animals. Create letters, envelopes and stamps. Involve members or staff or parents in writing back and answering the children s questions. Scientific exploration Select a flower or plant from the school grounds or local park and use it for observational activity. Each child could create a diary and write down their observations on daily basis noting colour changes, size, smell and even instructions for looking after it or planting it. Birdfeeder project Make a bird feeder using recycled materials (old plastic bottles are good for this). Fill with bird seed and then watch. Get children to write up instructions for another class to replicate. Ask pupils to keep a diary of events at the bird feeder. Build a writing den Research dens materials / shapes / warmth / size etc As a class, create instructions for building the den. Keep unusual writing materials in the den for children to experiment with - slate / paper / stones.
Activities Writing trails Write lines from a novel on long strips of paper and create a trail around the playground. Put the lines in unexpected places such as under tables and benches, around trees, behind walls and doors, and under leaves and twigs on the ground. Mud pie cafe Open up a mud-pie cafe in the school grounds. Children write up menus and perhaps even create their own Mud-Pie Café recipe book. Extend to selling the book children create posters, e-bay adverts to promote it. Worm writing Get the class outside looking (or gathering!) worms. Get children drawing the worms and looking at the shapes they create. Do any of them look like letters? Use pipe cleaners to replicate the letters created by the worms. In groups, ask children to come up with as many words as they can beginning / ending / containing that letter. Story hunt Hide pieces of writing around playground for children to piece together to create a story. For younger children each piece could contain one word which could be used to link to the next in creating the story. Older children could find a sentence each time. Use chalk on stones, letter transfers on leaves etc Barefoot trail Create a barefoot trail across a pile of stones, sticks and lastly through a muddy puddle. Get children to create a muddy footprint and when dry write around the shape of it all the words they associate with their barefoot trail. Older children could be encouraged to write a poem or a short story about their experience. Story prompts On a visit to a local park or a session in the school grounds ask each child to take 4 leaves or pebbles and to write down one word on each. Eg: one could be an object they saw on their trip, one could be something they didn t see in the park and on the other two pebbles they could write descriptions of how these items might smell or sound. Use this collection of words as story prompts.
Display writing outside Even if you don t have a lot of space in your school, it s a good idea to think about some form of outdoor writing display area. Here are a few simple ideas which will boost your pupils confidence and show them that writing doesn t have to be contained to the classroom: Put up a washing line and peg on individual letters, WOW words or children s stories and poems Use bunting to decorate a tree, a corner of the playground or a dedicated writing space outside. Give each child a different shaped pennant from the bunting and ask them to follow the shape as they write. Create a writing tree or use an existing tree and decorate with children s work Turn one of your playground walls into a magnetic wall. Play around with magnetic letter and words or display children s writing using magnets to affix it. Consider creating a small outdoor library when the days are warm and dry. Use a small selection of books from your classroom and create a welcoming space for children to use at playtime. Get children to bring in real news stories that they want to share with other pupils. Laminate them and display on an external news board. Create a Twitter wall. Use outdoor white board or chalk board to create a school Twitter wall. Messages can be replied to and retweeted to other classes.