This is a brand-new, set of 5 books about teaching outside. Given the outdoor emphasis as children and staff return to school, it’s a timely publication. It has been a tremendous undertaking by the authors: Deborah Lambert, Michelle Roberts and Sue Waite.
Years 1 and 2 have been put together in a KS1 book – but with distinct lesson sequences for each year. Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 each have their own book with ten subject areas and a progression of six lessons for each subject. This is a nice turnaround in that often it is KS2 teachers who feel short-changed by the availability of publications about outdoor teaching and learning that are aimed at them. There’s a series of French lessons in all the KS2 books as well. The only subject that’s been slightly short-changed has been music which has the same 6 lessons for Y3-6 and another for Y1 and Y2. I’m not sure why this is the case.
Each book comes with exactly the same layout and style. I particularly liked the summary overviews at the start of each series of lessons. This makes it quick to read, as the lessons are detailed. This is an example of one, as at the moment, it’s not possible to see this on Amazon, and I feel it’s helpful:
The pages are designed to be photocopiable, so the layout is A4 and everything is black and white. Each lesson takes up precisely 2 pages, so could be photocopied back-to-back. If you want to see colour photos to illustrate the lessons, you have to go online. Here’s an example – again, I couldn’t find one online, hence the rough and ready photo:
At the start of each book, there is a short series of chapters that cover why teach outside (with plenty of references to research, to back up the commentary), assessment and health and safety outdoors. This includes sections on fire-lighting and using tools. I liked the inclusion of both as it normalises their within our curriculum, as part of what we can do outside.
The logistics of learning outside have also been addressed. The lessons do not prescribe where the learning should happen, be this in a forest, school grounds or elsewhere. There is a presumption of common sense – that teachers will be able to recognise when additional adults are required, for example, if working off-site or to support a specific child, if the need has been identified or becaus an activity demands it.
Regarding content, because all subject areas are covered, there is a broad range of content and it will save teachers a lot of planning time fitting activities together in a planned, progressive sequence. As with all books, there’s always going to be a bit of adaptation and adjustment to make it fit. For example, with some of the maths lessons that include use of fire, I’d probably just integrate this into another fire focus rather than making it a maths lesson.
Right now, with the outdoor emphasis recognised as a sensible approach to preventing and reducing transmission rates of COVID-19, this set of books could be the best summer reading you do this year.
Top tip: At the time of writing, the books are cheaper to buy direct from the publisher. There is also the option to purchase the books as pdfs for under £14 each – less than half the RRP.
