Juliette Green
When the children at Kings Norton Primary School, Birmingham, returned from lockdown in March, Year 4 began a cross-curricular theme based on the book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Over a period of four weeks, we carried out a range of activities based on the characters, settings and events of the story. The school has a fenced-off area of woodland – known as ‘the coppice’ – and this was used weekly by the pupils to play games and carry out activities linked to the book.
“I strongly believe that having regular access to an outdoor learning setting has greatly benefited my class. I have seen improvements with engagement and creativity in writing lessons and a more focused attitude to the topic itself. The children show enthusiasm and are talking more positively about English lessons and are able to link real-life experiences to their writing, e.g. using their five senses to describe settings.
I have found it increasing beneficial for lower achieving children who in previous topics I’ve found lacked confidence when sharing and planning ideas. I have found that these children are much more confident in sharing thoughts that link directly back to the outdoor lessons and are able to use this new confidence in other lessons too.”
Year 4 Teacher
Due to the shorter-than-usual time frame for this theme (after missing the first two weeks of term due to lockdown), we listened to the BBC Radio version of the book, abridged in 10 episodes1. Each episode was linked to either a classroom or coppice lesson and the children also had access to copies of the book.
The main cross-curricular links covered were:
English: reading extracts from the book and writing, e.g. diary entries for Mole and Toad
Drama: hot seating characters and creating freeze frames of events2
ICT: internet research3 and creating fact files about the animals in the book
Science: teeth and eating – carnivores, herbivores and omnivores; learning about native British animals and threatened species (water voles)
Maths: directions; code breaker activity4
Geography: compass work; creating maps
The outdoor sessions took place on a Thursday morning, with each class having about an hour and a half in the coppice. The first session was during most children’s first week back at school, so they used this time to explore and familiarise themselves with the coppice. The three main outdoor lessons are detailed below.
Coppice lesson 1: the animal characters
We began with a guided improvisation, where the children pretended to be Mole doing his spring cleaning and then emerging from his hole. This prompted a discussion about the differences between the characters in the book and the real animals, starting with the fact that moles spend most of their lives underground. I also pointed out to the children that Ratty – who is referred to as a ‘water rat’ in the story – is actually a water vole.
I then read an extract from the book where Ratty describes to Mole what he has in his picnic basket – mainly ‘human’ foods such as cold meats, pickled gherkins, cress sandwiches and ginger beer. We discussed what foods the children thought these animals would really eat and used the scientific terms carnivore, omnivore and herbivore (also checking their understanding of the words mammal and amphibian). The children were shocked to hear that Badger would probably eat all of the other characters in reality!
Information cards had been hung on the trees in the coppice to show various plants and animals and what would eat them. Each child had a grid with the four main animals and used the information on the cards to match the foods to their consumers. The adults also had fact sheets to provide additional information about the animals if the children asked for them. The session finished with a plenary where the children shared their findings and we played the game ‘Wild Wood’ (based on the game ‘Fruit Salad’5).
The next day’s classroom lesson focussed on the part of the story when Mole tries to find Badger’s house and becomes lost in the Wild Wood. The children were able to use their experiences of being in our ‘Wild Wood’ and sensory vocabulary to enhance their writing.
Coppice lesson 2: story settings
We looked at a map of the settings shown at the start of the class copies of the book and the children identified the main places where events in the story are set. Each group was provided with a large sheet of cardboard and an A3 copy of the map and the children were tasked with creating their own 3D versions of the map. They were encouraged to use natural materials, collected responsibly from the coppice, and were also provided with ‘junk’ and some art materials.
The only criterion specified was that each map must include the three main settings for the story – Riverbank, Wild Wood and Toad Hall – plus any other features they wanted to include. The maps were photographed to be stuck into their theme books and labelled in a later lesson. We discussed the concept of ‘leave only footprints, take only photographs’ and the children ensured that they returned any natural materials and collected up non-natural objects when finished.
Coppice lesson 3: recreating events
The final outdoor session of the theme began with hot chocolate in the coppice story circle before the children went on to create freeze frames of events from the story. They decided how many people would be in their group and were allocated cards from the story that included that number of characters. We also raided the costume cupboards and many of the children chose clothing or props for their characters; however, they were also encouraged to use facial expressions and body language to make the characters’ actions clear.
Each freeze frame was photographed and the children were then given free time in the coppice. Many asked to keep their costumes and props, and were keen to continue their role play for the rest of the session – some even carried on whilst on the playground during break/lunchtime! This showed how much the children engaged with the story and the characters, and reminded us that KS2 pupils still enjoy role play and dress-up!
Later that day, the freeze frame photographs were displayed on the whiteboard and children from the opposite class had a go at working out the events from the pictures.
“Outdoor learning with ‘Wind in the Willows’ was a great sensory tool to inspire the children through
physical activities. It helped to develop their vocabulary and created more discussion points. Children had the learning opportunity they don’t consider a lesson, as it is learning through play and experience. In the current situation, the children have missed out on lots of opportunities for socialising with each other after such a long time. Sometimes I think we forget that, even after primary school, children need these experiences for fun and exercise. In a world where technology plays an enormous part in entertainment, it’s important that children have these outside opportunities.”
Year 4 Teacher
The coppice at Kings Norton Primary School is becoming a much-loved and well-used part of the school grounds. As well as the woodland, there is a tyre area with a mud kitchen and benches. Most year groups now visit the area on a weekly basis for curricular-linked and wellbeing activities. The wider school community also engage with the coppice – bark chippings and logs for the story circle were donated by a parent who is a tree surgeon; staff, parents and pupils volunteer at ‘Coppice Days’ held at weekends (hopefully these will be able to start again soon); and the PTA have raised money to maintain and improve the coppice.
References
1. BBC Radio abridged audiobook of Wind in the Willows, read by Bernard Cribbins tinyurl.com/2sew29fm
2. Drama ideas adapted from Polka Theatre’s teacher resource pack polkatheatre.com
3. Suggested child-friendly websites: Wildlife Watch Wildlife Explorer tinyurl.com/9h4fub9d; Wildlife Trusts Wildlife Explorer–water vole tinyurl.com/7sv9fbwp; Young People’s Trust for the Environment ypte.org.uk.
Video clips: badgers tinyurl.com/a7f45h48; water voles tinyurl.com/4sa6r4ze; moles tinyurl.com/742n53rw;
common toads tinyurl.com/nxjtp3ya
4. Wind in the Willows maths puzzles (from tes.com) tinyurl.com/2m8234
5. Circle game ‘Fruit Salad’ tinyurl.com/2tt9bcbx
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Juliette Green is a primary teacher, environmental educator, writer, member of the NAEE Executive and Joint Editor of NAEE’s Environmental Education journal.
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This article was first published in Summer 2021 in Vol 127 of the NAEE journal which is available free to members.