Bring English to life through active, purposeful outdoor learning
A practical staff meeting, CPD or training presentation for EYFS, KS1 and KS2.
Teaching English outdoors does not mean taking books, worksheets and clipboards outside.
It means giving children something worth talking about, playing with, creating, imagining and writing about.
The Teaching English Outdoors Masterclass from The Muddy Puddle Teacher® is designed to help teachers take key areas of English outdoors using simple, active and sustainable methods that can be used again and again.
Using resources such as:
- bamboo sticks
- hoops
- ropes
- cones
- chalk and chalk pens
- clay
- natural loose parts
- leaves, sticks, stones and seasonal finds
staff will discover how outdoor learning can support children to become more confident speakers, storytellers, readers and writers.
New to Outdoor Learning? Explore the Complete Guide to Teaching Outdoors or, for subject-specific guidance, discover the Handbook to Teaching English Outdoors.
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Make it. Play it. Say it. Write it.
This masterclass introduces our simple Muddy Puddle Teacher® approach to English outdoors:
Make it
Children physically create ideas using loose parts, natural resources and simple equipment.
They might build a character, map a story, construct vocabulary, create a sentence or physically represent a grammatical concept.
Play it
Before expecting children to write, give them opportunities to explore the idea through movement, imagination, role play and play.
Say it
Children rehearse vocabulary, sentences, stories and explanations orally.
Talking comes before writing.
Write it
Once children have experienced the learning physically and verbally, they return to writing with more ideas, vocabulary, confidence and purpose.
The outdoors becomes the experience.
The classroom becomes the place children capture it.
What will staff learn?
During this masterclass, staff will explore practical ways to teach:
Oracy Outdoors
Develop speaking, listening and communication through:
- storytelling trails
- partner challenges
- vocabulary hunts
- drama and role play
- physical sentence building
- describing natural objects
- collaborative problem-solving
- discussion prompts
- character hot-seating
- sequencing and retelling
Staff will consider how outdoor spaces can encourage children who may find formal classroom discussion challenging to communicate more naturally through movement and shared experiences.
Storytelling Outdoors
Help children experience a story before asking them to write one.
Explore ideas including:
- giant outdoor story maps
- story journeys using hoops and ropes
- creating characters from clay and natural materials
- building story settings
- acting out stories
- creating physical story sequences
- developing beginnings, problems and endings
- oral storytelling games
- collaborative storytelling
- using movement to explore narrative
Children can make the story, play the story and say the story before writing it.
Purposeful Writing Outdoors
Writing becomes far more powerful when children have a genuine reason to write.
Staff will explore ways to create real writing opportunities including:
- signs
- instructions
- clues
- maps
- warning notices
- advertisements
- invitations
- menus
- information boards
- eyewitness reports
- news reports
- character descriptions
- persuasive writing
- instructions linked to practical challenges
Instead of simply being told what to write, children experience something first.
SPaG Outdoors
Grammar does not always need to begin in an exercise book.
The masterclass includes practical ideas for teaching spelling, punctuation and grammar through movement and physical resources.
Explore activities for:
- nouns
- verbs
- adjectives
- adverbs
- sentence construction
- expanded noun phrases
- conjunctions
- punctuation
- sentence types
- word classes
- prefixes and suffixes
- vocabulary development
- spelling patterns
Children might physically build sentences using cones, create punctuation with ropes, represent vocabulary using natural objects or move between hoops to construct increasingly complex sentences.
SPaG becomes something children can see, touch, move and manipulate.
English Outdoors Across EYFS, KS1 and KS2
The session includes adaptable ideas for different ages and stages.
EYFS
Focus on:
- communication and language
- imaginative play
- storytelling
- vocabulary
- mark making
- listening
- sequencing
- phonological awareness
Explore the Early Years Outdoor Hub
KS1
Explore:
- sentence building
- storytelling
- vocabulary
- oracy
- phonics
- descriptive language
- instructions
- purposeful writing
Discover the KS1 Outdoor Hub
KS2
Develop:
- sophisticated vocabulary
- grammar
- character development
- narrative structure
- persuasive writing
- reports
- discussion
- drama
- complex sentence construction
You can adapt the activities to suit your children, curriculum, and available outdoor space.
Find out more in the KS2 Outdoor Hub
You do not need a forest
One of the biggest misconceptions around outdoor learning is that schools need acres of woodland.
You do not.
A playground, courtyard, small outdoor area or strip of grass can become a highly effective learning environment.
The Muddy Puddle Teacher® approach focuses on helping schools use the space and resources they already have.
No expensive outdoor equipment.
No elaborate setup.
No endless laminating.
Just practical methods teachers can realistically use.
Ideal for staff meetings and CPD
This masterclass is perfect for:
- whole-school staff meetings
- INSET days
- English subject development
- EYFS teams
- KS1 teams
- KS2 teams
- teaching assistants
- SEND teams
- trainee teachers
- school improvement programmes
- outdoor learning development
Use the presentation as a practical introduction to English outdoors or as part of a wider whole-school approach to outdoor learning.
Support different learners
Outdoor English can provide another route into learning for children who struggle with traditional classroom-based approaches.
Active learning can particularly support children who benefit from:
- movement
- sensory experiences
- practical learning
- visual approaches
- repetition
- collaborative learning
- reduced writing pressure
- opportunities to rehearse ideas orally
Rather than lowering expectations, we can change how children access the learning.
What do you need?
You can deliver many of the activities using a very small toolkit.
We recommend starting with:
- hoops
- bamboo sticks
- ropes
- cones
- chalk
- chalk pens
- clay
- natural loose parts
These simple resources can support hundreds of different curriculum activities.
Use them.
Reuse them.
Adapt them.
Keep outdoor learning simple.
Move away from “classroom learning outside”
The aim is not to recreate the classroom outdoors.
We want children:
heads up, not heads down.
Moving.
Talking.
Collaborating.
Creating.
Problem-solving.
Imagining.
Then, when appropriate, children can return indoors and use those rich experiences to support high-quality English work.
Help children find something worth writing about
We often ask children to write imaginative stories while giving them very little opportunity to use their imaginations physically.
Outdoor learning can help change that.
Let children build the character.
Walk through the story.
Act out the problem.
Create the setting.
Discuss the vocabulary.
Tell the story aloud.
Then ask them to write.
Because sometimes children do not need another writing scaffold.
They need an experience worth writing about.
Bring The Muddy Puddle Teacher® approach into your school
Discover practical, curriculum-focused ways to take English beyond the classroom and give staff ideas they can begin using immediately.
Perfect for schools wanting to develop:
Oracy • SPaG • Storytelling • Vocabulary • Purposeful Writing • Communication • Active Learning
Teaching English Outdoors Masterclass
Practical. Sustainable. Curriculum-focused. Easy to implement.
Take English outdoors.
Make it. Play it. Say it. Write it.
Explore more training, resources and outdoor learning support from The Muddy Puddle Teacher®.
New to Outdoor Learning? Explore the Complete Guide to Teaching Outdoors or, for subject-specific guidance, discover the Handbook to Teaching English Outdoors.
You need an Ultimate Membership to access these resources.
