Looking for a simple way to observe oracy during outdoor learning?

Our Oracy Outdoor Learning Observation Form has been created to help teachers and practitioners capture what children are actually doing when they talk, listen, collaborate and problem-solve outdoors.

Outdoor learning can create rich opportunities for communication because children are often moving, building, making and solving problems together.

Rather than relying only on children putting their hands up or answering a teacher-directed question, outdoor learning can give adults opportunities to notice:

• Who initiates conversation
• Who listens carefully to others
• Who confidently shares an idea
• Who needs support to enter a conversation
• Who uses new vocabulary
• Who explains their thinking
• Who negotiates with others
• Who asks questions
• Who changes their ideas after listening to somebody else
• Who communicates more confidently outdoors than they do inside

The form helps you capture these moments simply and use them to inform future teaching.

New to this area? Start with The Complete Guide to Outdoor Learning.

Take a 60 day free trial and download now.

Quick Answer: What Is an Oracy Outdoor Learning Observation Form?

An Oracy Outdoor Learning Observation Form is a simple teacher assessment tool used while children are learning outdoors.

Instead of focusing only on the final piece of work, it encourages adults to observe the communication happening during the learning process.

You might use it while children are:

• Building with bamboo
• Creating shapes using rope
• Solving an outdoor maths problem
• Retelling a story
• Making a model
• Exploring loose parts
• Working collaboratively
• Completing an outdoor science investigation
• Planning a story
• Taking part in a Muddy Walk and Talk

The aim is not to record every sentence.

It is about noticing the quality of the talk.

New to Outdoor Oracy? Start Here

You do not need to create a completely new lesson.

Start with one of your normal curriculum objectives and simply change the experience.

For example:

Instead of children immediately writing ideas for a story, take them outdoors and allow them to build, move, discuss and rehearse their ideas first.

Instead of completing a maths worksheet independently, give children ropes, hoops, cones or bamboo and ask them to solve a problem together.

The curriculum objective remains the same.

The difference is that you have created more opportunities for children to:

• Explain
• Question
• Discuss
• Listen
• Reason
• Negotiate
• Rehearse
• Clarify

Don’t change the objective. Change the experience.

Try This Tomorrow: Outdoor Oracy Observation

Time: 15–20 minutes
Preparation: Very low
Resources: Cones, ropes, hoops or bamboo
Learning focus: Speaking, listening and collaboration

Place children into pairs or small groups.

Give them one practical challenge linked to your current curriculum.

For example:

Maths:
“Use this rope to show three different ways of representing one half.”

English:
“Use the equipment to create the setting for your story.”

Science:
“Create a model showing what a plant needs to survive.”

History:
“Build a representation of a medieval castle and explain why you have placed each feature where it is.”

Then stand back.

Listen.

Observe.

Use the observation form to capture what happens.

What Can You Observe?

Speaking

Notice whether the child:

• Shares ideas
• Explains their thinking
• Speaks clearly enough for others to understand
• Adds detail to an explanation
• Uses appropriate vocabulary
• Gives reasons for their choices
• Retells or sequences ideas
• Adjusts their explanation when somebody does not understand

Listening

Notice whether the child:

• Looks or turns towards the speaker
• Allows others to finish
• Responds appropriately
• Builds upon another person’s idea
• Remembers instructions
• Changes their thinking after listening
• Asks relevant follow-up questions

Listening does not always have to look like sitting still and maintaining eye contact.

Some children listen more effectively while moving, manipulating resources or looking elsewhere.

Observe the response, rather than expecting one particular listening behaviour.

Vocabulary

Outdoor learning can create excellent opportunities for children to use vocabulary naturally.

Listen for:

• Subject-specific vocabulary
• Positional language
• Descriptive vocabulary
• Mathematical vocabulary
• Scientific terminology
• Comparative language
• Storytelling vocabulary
• Emotional vocabulary

You may also notice children beginning to use vocabulary introduced earlier in the lesson without adult prompting.

That is useful evidence.

Collaboration

Practical outdoor tasks naturally create opportunities for children to negotiate.

Look for children who:

• Suggest ideas
• Invite others into the task
• Share resources
• Take turns
• Compromise
• Resolve disagreements
• Divide responsibilities
• Encourage other children
• Ask for help appropriately
• Explain a task to somebody else

Reasoning and Explaining

One of the biggest advantages of practical outdoor learning is that children often have something tangible to talk about.

Instead of asking:

“What is an acute angle?”

you might ask children to create one using two bamboo sticks.

You can then listen to conversations such as:

“Move that one closer.”

“No, because then it gets smaller.”

“I think that’s acute because it’s less than 90 degrees.”

This gives you valuable evidence of how children are thinking.

Useful Adult Prompts

Try not to dominate the conversation.

Use short prompts that encourage children to keep talking.

You could ask:

• What do you think?
• Why?
• Can you explain that?
• What made you choose that?
• Do you agree?
• What could you change?
• Can you show me?
• What does your partner think?
• Is there another way?
• What happened when you tried that?
• How do you know?
• Can you build on that idea?

Then give children time to respond.

Observe Before You Intervene

Sometimes the most useful thing an adult can do is wait.

Outdoor learning gives children space to solve small problems independently.

Before stepping in, observe:

• Who takes the lead?
• Who follows?
• Who compromises?
• Who withdraws?
• Who explains?
• Who asks questions?
• Who quietly influences the group?
• Who communicates differently outdoors?

You may notice children demonstrating communication skills that are much harder to see during whole-class teaching.

Using the Form for SEND Learners

The Oracy Outdoor Learning Observation Form can also help practitioners notice communication beyond traditional classroom expectations.

A child may communicate through:

• Gesture
• Symbols
• Pointing
• Movement
• Facial expression
• Objects
• Signing
• Single words
• Short phrases
• AAC
• Modelling an idea physically

The aim should not be to measure every child against one preferred communication style.

Instead, observe:

How is this child communicating successfully?

You can then consider what adjustments might help them communicate even more confidently.

Outdoor Oracy and Movement

Oracy does not have to happen while children are sitting still.

Movement can actually create useful opportunities for talk.

Children might:

• Walk and talk with a partner
• Carry equipment together
• Build something collaboratively
• Move between discussion stations
• Demonstrate an idea physically
• Arrange objects while explaining their thinking

This is particularly useful for children who find long periods of seated discussion difficult.

The Muddy Walk and Talk

The Muddy Walk and Talk is a simple way to increase participation.

Instead of one child answering while the rest of the class listens, pose a question and allow children to walk in pairs while discussing it.

The teacher can move between conversations and listen.

You might observe:

• Vocabulary
• Confidence
• Reasoning
• Listening
• Turn-taking
• Understanding
• Misconceptions

It can give you a much broader picture of pupil understanding than hearing from only a small number of children.

What Should You Record?

Keep observations manageable.

You do not need paragraphs of notes.

Short comments are often enough.

For example:

• “Used three mathematical terms independently.”
• “Asked partner to explain their idea.”
• “Usually quiet indoors but led the group discussion.”
• “Needed adult prompt to allow partner to speak.”
• “Changed model after listening to another pupil.”
• “Confident explaining physically but reluctant to speak to whole class.”
• “Repeated vocabulary introduced at start of lesson.”
• “Asked two relevant questions.”

These small observations can become powerful evidence over time.

Use the Form to Spot Patterns

One observation gives you a snapshot.

Repeated observations help you notice patterns.

You might discover that a child:

• Communicates more confidently outdoors
• Speaks more in pairs than in groups
• Has strong vocabulary but low confidence
• Explains practical tasks better than abstract ones
• Needs support with turn-taking
• Is an excellent listener
• Naturally takes a leadership role
• Communicates confidently through movement and demonstration

This information can then inform your future teaching.

Oracy Before Writing

Outdoor oracy can also support writing.

Before asking children to write, give them time to:

Talk it. Make it. Move it. Tell it.

Children might build their story setting, physically sequence a story, rehearse a sentence with a partner or explain their ideas using loose parts.

Writing can then become the recording of thinking that has already happened.

For many learners, particularly those who find the blank page difficult, this can make writing feel much more achievable.

Why Observe Oracy Outdoors?

Outdoor environments can create opportunities for communication that are sometimes less visible indoors.

Children are frequently:

• Working together
• Moving
• Making decisions
• Solving practical problems
• Negotiating
• Explaining
• Imagining
• Questioning
• Testing ideas

That means the outdoors can become a valuable place to observe both curriculum understanding and communication skills.

Perfect For

This Oracy Outdoor Learning Observation Form can be used across:

• EYFS
• KS1
• KS2
• SEND provision
• Alternative provision
• Small-group intervention
• Whole-class outdoor lessons
• Continuous provision
• Outdoor play
• Outdoor curriculum lessons

FAQs

What age is the Oracy Outdoor Learning Observation Form for?

The form can be adapted from Early Years through to Key Stage 2. Expectations should be adjusted according to children’s age, stage and communication needs.

Can I use the form for SEND pupils?

Yes. It can be particularly useful for noticing different forms of communication and identifying environments where individual children communicate most successfully.

Do I need to observe every child in one lesson?

No. Choose a small number of focus children. Over time, rotate your observations across the class.

Does outdoor oracy need to be a separate lesson?

No. Oracy can be built naturally into maths, English, science, history, geography, play and other curriculum areas.

Can observations be used as assessment evidence?

They can contribute to your wider professional assessment picture. Short observations, photographs of outcomes, pupil explanations, audio or video clips can all help teachers build a richer understanding of learning.

Ready to Take More Learning Outdoors?

The Muddy Puddle Teacher® helps schools and nurseries make everyday learning practical, active, sustainable and inclusive.

You do not need a forest.

You do not need expensive equipment.

And outdoor learning does not need to become another initiative.

Start with the curriculum you are already teaching and use your outdoor space to create more opportunities for movement, communication, collaboration and memorable learning.

Explore more outdoor learning ideas, training and downloadable resources inside the Muddy Puddle Teacher® Knowledge Hub.

Join with a 60-day free trial and start taking your everyday curriculum outdoors.

I’d also internally link this one strongly to your Outdoor Oracy, Storytelling Outdoors, SEND Outdoor Learning and Outdoor Learning Observation/Assessment pages, because it could sit nicely in several of your topic clusters.