Teaching with Trees: Outdoors Learning at School Grounds

outlook • MAY 2007 LEARNING THROUGH LANDSCAPES groundnotes November 2007 Trees across the curriculum Trees have always been important to people which makes them a valuable resource across the curriculum. They can be linked to lessons in so many ways that... More

outlook • MAY 2007 LEARNING THROUGH LANDSCAPES groundnotes November 2007 Trees across the curriculum Trees have always been important to people which makes them a valuable resource across the curriculum. They can be linked to lessons in so many ways that we hope this Groundnotes will at least help you start. Science Trees are a central topic in Science, both for learning about how plants grow and for the importance of trees in their environment. If you have trees in your grounds you have fieldwork opportunities literally on your doorstep. If you have a felled tree, children can count the rings to find out how old it was. The thickness of each ring shows what the growing conditions were that year. Rather than learning about food chains Teaching with Trees Schoolgrounds-UK from a book, children can explore them in reality, which will be a more meaningful learning experience. Plan each outdoor lesson so that it develops children’s investigative skills. Involve them in: planning the Less