Get your class working outside this week with our top 10 lesson ideas!
With temperatures set to soar this week into the 20’s, we thought we would gather some ideas to get your class working outside and enjoying the Spring weather and all the opportunities of the season. Research shows that being outside in nature can have long lasting and profound effects on mental health and wellbeing (Bratman et al., 2012). With the potential negative impacts of recent news (Cantor & Nathanson., 1996) and the cost-of-living crisis on families and children ((Skinner et al., 2023), it is vital that those in education attempt to take steps to stabilise wellbeing and mental health (Bussières, Eve-Line, et al., 2021).
We understand that some settings may not have access to beautiful grassed areas, so we have given you ideas that don’t depend fully on you having access to large greenspaces.
NB. Some students may have potential allergies, such as hay fever or insect bites; therefore, we recommend running a risk assessment (if you haven’t one in place) for your class before undertaking any of these ideas.
Nature Scavenger Hunt (Science/Literacy):
Identify a list of items in your outdoor space such as specific rocks, plants or insects – we recommend putting together a list with pictures to help identification. For older children, you could include markers for classification and taxonomy.
Split the class into teams and ask them to work through the hunt, they can then observe and identify the items on the list.
TOP TIP: Create a nature journal.
Outdoor Math Games (Maths):
There are numerous maths concepts which can be adapted for teaching outside. With a few blogs posts around you can find some useful ideas to practice with your class.
Here’s a list of 5 ideas for Primary age from Learning Through Landscapes: https://ltl.org.uk/news/numeracy-outdoors-how-to-teach/
Here’s an extensive list of Maths games for around the world From Creative star Learning: https://mathsweek.scot/assets/images/25-Outdoor-maths-games-for-Everyone.pdf
Here’s a list of 5 ideas for Secondary age from Love Outdoor Learning: https://loveoutdoorlearning.com/lesson-ideas/5-engaging-outdoor-math-activities-for-older-kids/
Storytelling in Nature (Literacy/Drama):
If your students like to write stories or short stories as part of their literacy you might want to consider moving outside for them to present/share their stories with the class. Find an appropriate spot (you can move furniture outside) and get started!
Leaf Chromatography (Science):
As most plants contain the green pigment chlorophyll for photosynthesis, students can investigate the different pigments present in a leaf, from chlorophyll to carotenes, using paper chromatography.
This post from the Royal Society of Chemistry will give you the full experiment: https://edu.rsc.org/experiments/leaf-chromatography/389.article
Nature Art (Art/Science):
As your will be working with dirty materials such as leaves, twigs etc you may want to consider your students/pupils wearing gloves as PPE. Ask them to design some artwork based on natural materials and work from concept to finish, collecting materials from outside to create the artwork.
TOP TIP: Talk about using natural dyes and pigments with older children, this blog post from Heritage crafts gives you details on advanced and simple natural dyes and pigments: https://www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/craft/pigment-making/
Mapping the School Grounds (Geography/Maths):
Ask the class to create a map of the grounds of the school, you can go from beginner simply walking the grounds and drawing the buildings to then make a map, to advanced using scaling techniques and grid paper.
Miniature Ecosystems (Science):
This is a fun practical for your students, working with materials that you have gathered from the school grounds you can ask them to create their own terrarium. This is great ongoing project which can be added to a weekly check in and monitoring exercise.
This blog post from Meryl Westlake at Kew gardens gives you an excellent step by step guide: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/how-to-make-terrarium
Outdoor Writing Prompts (Literacy):
Find a quiet location within the school grounds for students to reflect on the sights, sounds and smells of the outdoor areas. Ask them to write a piece on their emotional attachment to the outdoors, focusing on their senses and feelings.
Sound Mapping (Science/Literacy):
Sound mapping is a technique in which your students/pupils listen to the sounds around them and use their experience to create a ‘map’ of the environment.
This piece from National Education Nature Park covers in detail the different techniques and benefits of sound mapping: https://www.educationnaturepark.org.uk/resource/sound-mapping
Environmental Action Project (Citizenship/Science):
Ask your students to identify potential local environmental issues such as water pollution, littering or poor air quality and make an action plan of how to combat them. You would include activities such as cleaning up, creating awareness posters or writing letters to local counsellors.
We hope this has given you a few ideas to consider this week, whatever you have planned we hope that you enjoy the seasonal weather and get working outside in the sunshine. But remember to take regular breaks, keep hydrated and use sun protection!
Lily Blakeledge
The Team at AMHIE
28th April 2025
References:
Bratman, Gregory N., J. Paul Hamilton, and Gretchen C. Daily. “The impacts of nature experience on human cognitive function and mental health.” Annals of the New York academy of sciences 1249.1 (2012): 118-136.
Cantor, Joanne, and Amy I. Nathanson. “Children’s fright reactions to television news.” Journal of Communication 46.4 (1996): 139-152.
Skinner, Guy, Paul Bywaters, and Eilis Kennedy. “The cost-of-living crisis, poverty, and child maltreatment.” The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health 7.1 (2023): 5-6.
Bussières, Eve-Line, et al. “Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s mental health: a meta-analysis.” Frontiers in psychiatry 12 (2021): 691659.
“How to teach numeracy outdoors” 2025 Learning Through Landscapes: https://ltl.org.uk/news/numeracy-outdoors-how-to-teach/
“25 Outdoor Maths Games for anyone” 2020 Juliet Robertson Creative star Learning: https://mathsweek.scot/assets/images/25-Outdoor-maths-games-for-Everyone.pdf
“5 Engaging Outdoors Maths Activities for Older Kids” 2023 Love Outdoor Learning: https://loveoutdoorlearning.com/lesson-ideas/5-engaging-outdoor-math-activities-for-older-kids/
“Leaf Chromatography” 2025 Nuffield Foundation and the Royal Society of Chemistry: https://edu.rsc.org/experiments/leaf-chromatography/389.article
“Pigment Making” 2025 Heritage Crafts: https://www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/craft/pigment-making/
“Make your own terrarium” Meryl Westlake 2020, Kew Gardens: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/how-to-make-terrarium
“Sound Mapping” National Education Nature Park 2025: https://www.educationnaturepark.org.uk/resource/sound-mapping#:~:text=Draw%20yourself%20in%20the%20middle,or%20right%2C%20up%20or%20down%3F