Activities for Outside

[Jetgirly]

I am teaching an ESL course to students from Grade 6 through 9. The course is four hours daily, for three weeks, and is run by the public school board to improve students' English before the next school year.

I would like to take the kids outside as often as possible. At least once every other day. However, I need activities that lend themselves naturally to being outdoors. I am thinking of a spelling "scavenger hunt" where they have to to write down and spell correctly as many items as possible that they see outside in five minutes (I'll be more articulate in my instructions!). I also might do a mapping activity, where they give directions from one part of the school grounds to another. However, I still need LOTS more ideas! Help!

If it's any help (and it probably isn't), our class is going to be based around the theme of coming to a new place. We're going to be doing a novel study around "Ticket to Curlew" (grade four level, about pioneer immigrants to Canada) and lots of exploring different things that are "Canadian". The other two sub-topics that I've got ready to go are Dinosaurs (because the boy in the story finds fossils) and food (because they cook yucky pioneer food).