Teaching ELA Outside in Springtime

In 1664, Anne Bradstreet wrote, “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”

The longer days of spring and the warm sun that emerges are often a welcome reprieve from the dark, cold winter. The shift in season can also shift the restlessness of young minds and bodies in the classroom, which can lead to frustration for teachers in managing their classrooms. Yet, like the budding plants that lie dormant during the winter, students’ minds reengage and come back to life in the spring. With a little nurturing and tending to, a teacher can finish the year with a classroom blooming with creativity and engagement.

The Beauty of Nature

For those of us who live in true winter environments, the springtime pull to be outside is palpable. Students feel this especially acutely, so I try to pivot to lessons that are outdoors-compatible as often as possible. This often means shifting away from screens and projectors and finding creative ways to get their bodies moving. It can be as simple as printing out materials and working outside. However, with a little thought, we can also craft lessons that intentionally embrace the outdoor environments.

In my English classes, I often move into a poetry unit in the spring, which seems apt as we explore love poems, nature haikus, and the descriptive beauty of budding life. In some cases, we sit in the shade and draw an observation first, then write about it. Not only are the fresh air and sunshine a welcome shift from the winter blues, but when we take students outside to bask in the sun or feel the breeze on their skin, they engage and enliven in ways that are often missed within the classroom.

Get ’em Moving

I also love the idea of reading in place, whereby I find material that connects to the local environment or is close to it, and we read it outside and then re-create our version. This can be done with Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, John Burroughs, or any other nature writer who describes a place with great detail. I also use a natural focal point like a leaf, tree, or even insect as a writing prompt; students describe it in as much detail as possible by harnessing figurative language and sensory details. This is another wonderful way to connect students to the content in an outdoor setting.

In my AP English classes, we move into outside-based “walking conversations”: I give students a topic or a series of prompts after a reading and we walk around the building or the track, and they discuss the prompts, coming back to gather in the shade with the insights they’ve acquired.

Also consider outside games that create movement. Break the class into small groups and give each group a slip of paper. Have them find the grammatical mistakes and correct them, and then have one team member run the paper to the teacher, who checks for accuracy. If the paper is correct, hand the runner a new one to take back to the group, and rotate runners. Many of these activities could also work for math, science, and social studies.

Plan for Field Trips

Every spring I can sense the cabin fever in the classroom, and I try to schedule at least one field trip. I love taking my English classes to the theater. Many theater troupes offer student productions of plays that are based on classical texts. If I know in advance what the performances are, I can shift the texts we read; otherwise, I take them to something that would be appropriate and interesting and treat it like a text we would read in class. After the performance, we picnic at a park and have a post-show discussion and assignment.

But engaging with the season is not limited to art and writing—it can be applied across other subjects as well. I know teachers who take students to study the waterways as the snow melts or schedule river ecologists to teach and provide activities for classes. Many towns and cities offer music in the park and other outdoor activities that complement the curriculum.

As we move out of the adversity of the cold, dark winter and the doldrums of the usual classroom routines, consider making slight changes that embrace the draw to get outside. With just a little planning and a bit of an adventurous spirit, you and your students can welcome the spring and bask in the fruits of the warm weather and engaging content to keep everyone engaged until summer.