Get your detectives hat on with our series of animal crime scene investigations! These activities will teach your students about animals and their habitats as well as developing their observation, problem solving and inferring skills. They are a great lesson to be use as part of your Living Things topic… or just for some outdoor fun! The crime scenes are easy to set up with printable props, clue cards, and suspect cards. If you want to add extra elements or real props this can help to bring it alive for the children even further! The Egg Thief will take your class through an investigation involving the mystery of a broken egg that is found outside of Mrs Jones’ house. They will need to use the clues as well as their own inference skills to figure out which of the suspects is guilty. Contents: Teacher Guide Prop Cards Crime Scene Report Suspect Cards Clue Cards Clue Record Sheet Verdict Record Sheet Our Verdict Check out our ‘Hedgehog Horror’ crime scene pack! Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

These challenges are a great addition to your light and shadow unit. They will get your students exploring shadows in a fun and practical way as they attempt to complete each of the challenges on the cards. These challenges encourage self-discovery and independent thinking as well as teaching them how shadows are created and the influence that the angle of light has on the shadow. This activity works best on a sunny day first thing in the morning when the sun is lower in the sky so that the shadows are larger. These cards contain a main challenge as well as some having an extension to the task (written in purple) for more of a challenge. Cards 1 - 10 are more simple activities. Cards 10 - 20 are more complex. Some of these cards work much better when students are working in a small group. For the cards where students are required to make their own shadows, it’s really effective if you get them to use chalk to draw around the shadow they’ve created. Digital version: You could get them to take photos of their shadows and upload it to the Google Slides. There is also a printable answer sheet where they can record their challenges. Check out our ‘Light & Sight’ Powerpoint. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

This is a great challenge to set as home learning, use for distance learning, or as a home holiday project. It will get your students outdoors and exploring and enjoying the nature around them. For this activity students must try to complete the photo challenge by getting a photo of all the things specified on the worksheet. This is a free version of a bigger resource. For more photo challenges and the digital version check out the other resource in our store. Check out our full photo challenge pack here.

This is a great challenge to set as home learning, use for distance learning, or as a home holiday project. It will get your students outdoors and exploring and enjoying the nature around them. For this activity students must try to complete the photo challenge by getting a photo of all the things specified on the worksheet. There are a few ways you can get them to complete the challenge. Tick box: Get them to tick the challenges off as they complete them on the worksheet. Photo book: Get them to print out and complete their very own photo book. Google Slides: Get them to upload their photos on to the Google Slides photo challenge. Click here to get access to the Google Slides. Check out our Outdoor Maths Bundle Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also, be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

Get your detectives hat on with our series of animal crime scene investigations! These activities will teach your students about animals and their habitats as well as developing their observation, problem solving and inferring skills. The crime scenes are easy to set up with printable props, clue cards, and suspect cards. If you want to add extra elements or real props this can help to bring it alive for the children even further! The Hedgehog horror will take your class through an investigation involving the mysterious death of the friendly local hedgehog. They will need to use the clues provided to them as well as their knowledge of the local wildlife to determine who or what is guilty of the murder. Contents: Teacher Guide Prop Cards Crime Scene Report Suspect Cards (Blank and Complete) Clue Cards Clue Record Sheet Verdict Record Sheet Our Verdict Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

This is a great team activity to get children thinking carefully about composting. They will have to sort object cards based on whether they can be composted or not in a fun relay race. **Teaching structure: ** Discuss what composting is and why it’s so important. - Put the students into teams of 3 or 4. Have two labeled zones or tubs for ‘compost’ and ‘don’t compost’. Get the students to line up in their teams a good distance from the zones or tubs. The first person from each team collects an object card from the teacher and takes it back to their team (if you want to make this even more exciting you could use real items!). The team discusses whether it can be composted or not before the first player runs it to the correct zone / tub. The next child then runs to collect a new card. - Do this activity for an agreed amount of time or until all of the object cards have been used. Go through the object cards to see if they are all correct. To add a greater level of competition you can get each team to write or put a colored sticker on each of the cards they collect and then count up how many cards each team got correct. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

Slide science is a fun and practical outdoor science investigation where students will look into which materials create the most friction when sliding down a slide as part of your forces and motion topic. We love to add a competitive element to this activity by explaining to the students that their challenge is to figure out which material has the least friction before choosing one of the materials to use for a slide race! Teaching Structure: 4 – 6: For younger students, they can simply carry out the investigation and complete the results table (with support if needed). 7 – 9, 10 – 12: Get the students to complete the investigation method sheet. Carry out the investigation by sitting on the different materials and timing how long it takes to go down the slide. Complete the bar chart to show their results. Have a slide race! Get the students to choose the material that they think has the least friction and see who can get down the slide the quickest. Equipment needed: A slide (the longer the better). Activity pack A selection of materials big enough for students to sit on. Stop watches Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

This pack contains three differentiated science investigation plan templates. They are a great way to help students organize their thoughts and ideas before carrying out the investigation. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also, be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

This camouflage worm activity is great to teach your students the importance of camouflage in nature. It’s a very simple yet effective activity that clearly shows how animals are colored to suite their environment. Teaching Guide: Before the lesson cut lots of different colored wool into 10cm lengths. Hide the wool around your outdoor space. Discuss what the word camouflage means and explain that they are going to look into what it is and why it’s important. Tell the students that for the next 15 minutes (approx.) they are going to be birds on the hunt for some yummy woollen worms! Let them go outside and hunt as many of the woollen strips as possible. Once you’re back in the class get the students to discuss what they discovered when trying to find the wool. Which colors were hard to find? What can this tell us about the color of animals which may live in that area? If appropriate, get students to complete the question sheet to encourage them to think about what camouflage is and why it’s so important in nature. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

Dinosaurs and math. What’s not to love! For this activity your students will walk like dinosaurs as they draw different species footprints onto card using their scaling and measuring skills before cutting the footprints out, strapping it to their own feet, and walk like the dinosaurs. This outdoor math activity is great if you’re looking at measuring, scaling up, and ratio. Teaching structure: Explain that they will be investigation the size of dinosaurs feet. Go through the Google Slides to help to introduce the activity. Assign each student (or pair) a foot to go off and draw to scale either on card or on the playground using chalk (if you choose chalk on the playground you obviously can’t strap it to their feet!). Give the students time to look at each others dinosaur feet and compare them. This activity has two levels of differentiation. Diff. 1: Students simply read the measurements and draw the foot. Diff. 2: Students must first work out the true size by using the scale. There is an extension sheet where they will figure out the body and leg length based on the size of footprint. Enjoy outdoor learning? Check out our outdoor home learning pack! Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

This activity gets students thinking about the materials used to build different items that you will find in your outdoor space. They will consider what material has been used and why that material is appropriate for the intended use as well as what other material could also be suitable to use. This investigation is perfect for your materials and their properties science unit. This pack contains two levels of differentiation. Diff. 1: They will draw a picture, write what the item is used for and what material has been used. Diff 2: They will draw a picture, write what the item is used for, the material is it made from, and the properties it needs to have. They will then consider other materials which would also be appropriate for the job. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also, be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

For this outdoor science investigation your students will become weather forecasters using only the clouds! Different kinds of clouds can give us a very good indication as to what weather is likely to follow. Your students will keep a record of the cloud types as well as the weather which follows for a few days / week before analysing their data to see if they can spot any patterns between the cloud types and the type of weather which follows. This investigation is great if you’re looking at weather, forecasting, pattern spotting, and investigation skills. Before you start the investigation, explain that before modern weather forecasts many people would depend on their knowledge of the clouds to predict the weather and help to keep them safe. Get the students to complete the table, recording the cloud types and the weather in the following days. Once they’ve done this for a good amount of time (9 or 10 days) they can then look at their data and see if they can spot any relationships between the cloud types and the weather which followed. Once they’ve analysed their data they can complete the investigation evaluation questions. Extension - Get them to complete the research sheet to see if their results were correct. Before you get the students to do their diary, it’s worth looking at the weather forecast to try and choose a period with varied weather. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

Woodland tracker is a great way to investigate which animals are sneaking around in your outdoor space or local woodland. It’s a great activity if you’re looking at observation skills or habitats and can be differentiated for all age ranges. For this practical science investigation students will mark out an area using sand or fine soil and leave it overnight before returning to see if they can spot and identify any animal tracks that have been left behind. This can be done as a one off investigation or as an ongoing project where you could introduce different variables such as location, season or food. Contents: Teacher’s Guide 2 x Match The Tracks activity sheet and answers(US & British animals) 2 x Investigation Method worksheets 3 x Results Table 4 x Investigation Question Cards 2 x Evaluation Question Sheets To further differentiate this activity, get students to carry it out multiple times choosing something to change. They can complete the investigation method sheet and questions to help guide them through this. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also, be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales.

This is a great outdoor experiment that demonstrates how the earth is kept warm enough for life (as well as global warming) through the greenhouse effect. They will carry out an experiment comparing the difference in temperature between the air in a glass jar compared to the air outside of the jar. This demonstrates the effect the greenhouse gases have on the Earth. They will go onto think about what happens when we add to the greenhouse gases and the effect this has on the Earth’s temperature. **Equipment needed: **tall jar, 2 x thermometers, 2 x pieces of white card, timer, sunshine & an activity pack. Teaching Structure: Ask the students how they think the Earth is kept warm. Explain that there are gases in the atmosphere that trap the warming radiation in and keep the Earth warm. Explain that they are going to demonstrate this process by looking how the air warms up in a glass compared to the air outside of the glass. Get the students to complete the method sheet. Place 2 pieces of white card on the floor in a sunny spot (to keep the floor variable the same). Put the jar with a thermometer in on one piece of card and put the lid on (if the lid is opaque put the jar upside down). Place the other thermometer on the other bit of card. Record the temperature of both thermometers at the decided intervals and record the results in the table. Complete the discussion questions and evaluation sheet. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also, be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

This resource contains a whole years worth of outdoor homework challenges with one activity per school week. The challenges are cross-curricular and contain loads of fun and practical activities from art to geography. It’s a great way to encourage students and parents to enjoy the outdoor space. All of these activities are designed so that they can be done in a garden or small outdoor space using equipment you’ll find around the home. Check out our Outdoor Science Bundle Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also, be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

Have you ever wondered what lurks beneath the soil? With this science investigation you’re about to find out as your students become geologists to investigate what is underneath a patch of land. They will look into classifying what they find before creating their very own soil explorer museum. It’s a great resource if you’re looking at rocks and soil, geological skills, history, as well as the classification of materials and animals. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

This outdoor science investigation teaches your students about the properties of materials as they plan, investigate, record, and evaluate the rate in which different items melt. This investigation is perfect for that hot summers afternoon where you simply need to get outside on. Students compare items that melt and investigate if these items have a different melting rate. It’s perfect if you’re looking at states of matter or materials and their properties. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also, be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

This is a great cross curricular activity where students will create a video tour on the nature around your outdoor area. It’s perfect if you’re looking at script writing, living things (habitats, animals, etc.) and video making. This activity is best done in pairs or small groups. Teaching Structure: Explain to the students that they’re going to create a virtual video tour for nature around your outdoor space. Get them to complete the ideas sheet that encourages them to think about what they may want to include and how they will create the video. It can be good for them to walk around the outdoor space while doing this to help them get ideas. Examples of things they could talk about: different habitats, trees, plants, animals, etc. After this they will complete the script where they’ll write exactly what they are going to say and what video will be played during the audio. Once they’ve completed their script it’s time to film, record the audio, and edit it all together. These videos can be used in loads of different ways. You can create them into QR codes and put them up in your outdoor space, put them online, or simply share them with friends, family or other students. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

This activity looks at how plants and trees survive by dispersing their seeds which is a key aspect of the life cycle of plants. Your class will collect seeds and classify them based on the key dispersal definitions. Teaching Structure: Discuss what a seed is and why it’s important that they are dispersed. Explain that plants and trees have different seed dispersal tactics. Go outside and collect as many different seeds as you can. This can either be done during the school day (it can make a great trip!) or set as a home learning challenge. Put the class into small groups and give each group a set of the definitions. - Get the children to sort the seeds into the correct seed dispersal classifications. You can then take a photo or get them to draw the seeds onto the activity sheet and answer the questions. As an extension, get them to design their own seeds with a chosen dispersal method. Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store Saving The Teachers and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!

The space map is a great cross-curricular activity to get children to think about the size of the planets in relation to each other as well as the distances between them. Get children to create a line of planets using the planet sizes table by drawing them on chalk on the playground. If space is limited it is good to do the sun as a whole class due to the massive size! As an extension you can get the children to write in between each planet the distance it is away from the sun as well as any fun facts they can think of or find out. This pack contains two planet sizes sheet; one with decimals and one without. Equipment needed: Resource pack Chalk Please don’t forget to rate this resource to let us know what you think. Also be sure to visit my store Saving The Teachers and FOLLOW ME to see my new products and hear about upcoming sales!