Five tips for bringing creative writing out of the classroom

I like any excuse to take my kids outside, learning in the outdoors just feels better. Mathematics and science are great outdoors the natural environment is great for exploring. When it comes to literacy and English skills it can feel like we have to move all the fun back indoors. This doesn’t have to be the case, you can plan and teach a great English skills lesson using outdoor settings.

Here are my five top tips for creative writing outside the classroom.

1- Use new experiences

New experiences do not have to be complicated or expensive. Take the children to parts of the school grounds they rarely see and let them build forts, or expore an area of town they have never been to. Plan out the trip together as a class and decide on the experiences.

A new experience s exciting and different and just a new setting can lead to great ideas.

2- Record on the go

While you are outside remember to record as much as you can and have the kids do so as well. Take pictures of them in the activity and record audio of the things they say about the place and the activity. These adjectives are going to be natural and excited so they will be great for writing later.

Have the kids take pictures too. Get them working in partners or groups and have them assigned roles. These roles can be switched over during the activity so everyone gets a chance. Have a photographer a reporter and an interviewer. They can ask each other interview style questions and collect in the moment feelings.

3- Encourage talking

Back in the class room the students should be buzzing ad excited about the outdoor activities. Do some whole class work to encourage talking and remembering together. Then in smaller groups or pairs discuss the way they felt during the outdoor work. Record in notes anything important. Look over the recordings pictures to prompt responses.

4- Get ideas down fast

Have kids record their ideas fast, they can turn them into more structured work later. Not only does this mean they are less likely to forget important ideas, it also helps them learn editing and revising skills. 

5 - Write for a purpose

My final tip is to give your class a purpose. Right from the beginning let them know their final, finished work will be used for something. It can be as simple as a display or let them create a class magazine, or submit to the school one if there is one. Give them a reason to make their work as amazing as possible.

However you choose to do your creative writing outdoor lesson, I hope you have fun. I am always looking for ways to bring my teaching outside and you can see my lessons on natural, outdoor mathematics here.