Outdoor ELA Activities for Middle School: Take Learning Outside This Spring

As the weather warms up and the days get longer, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of the outdoors while keeping students engaged in meaningful learning with these outdoor ELA activities for middle school! 

Learning outside isn’t just about soaking up the sun—they can offer new inspiration, increase focus, and encourage creativity in your middle school ELA students.

5 Outdoor ELA Activities to Try This Year

Here are some simple yet effective outdoor ELA activities you can implement while staying aligned with your curriculum goals:

#1 | “Escape” in the Open Air

Take your laptops or tablets outside and let your students engage in a thrilling digital escape room. These activities are great for practicing reading comprehension, problem-solving, and collaboration.

How It Works:

• Set up a spot with access to Wi-Fi or pre-download the escape room materials.
• Have students work in small groups to solve puzzles and “escape” while enjoying the fresh air.

Pro Tip: Try themed escape rooms that align with the season, like spring-themed figurative language or poetry challenges.

In this blog post we outline many of the holiday/seasonal escape rooms we have in The Sparkly Notebook store!

Sign Up for a FREE plot structure digital escape room!

#2 | Reading Groups with a View

Bring a stack of printed paired passages or maybe the class novel and let your students read and discuss in small groups outdoors. This change of scenery can make reading time feel less like a chore and more like an adventure.

How It Works:

• Split the class into reading groups and assign each group a paired passage set.
• Provide discussion questions or annotation prompts to guide their conversations.
• Students can even participate in a debate about the topic while walking a lap around the school, and then report on what they decided when they get back to you.

Resource Tip: Check out paired passages with engaging topics like “Superheroes” or “Cats vs. Dogs” to spark lively discussions.

#3 | Outdoor Creative Writing Workshop

Inspire your students with outdoor-themed creative writing prompts. The sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors can fuel their imagination and make writing more exciting.

• Give students prompts such as:
  • “Describe a mysterious object you find in the woods.”
  • “Write a poem inspired by the sounds you hear outside.”
• Let them spread out and write in their journals or on their devices.

4 | Play “Catch” While Improvising a Story

Play a game of catch or pass with a ball, and also improvise a story or discuss how a story develops.

How It Works:

• Get a ball of some kind to play “catch” with.
• Kick off the story with a title that you provide to students (i.e. Welcome Home Grandma Mimi!)
• Then, toss the ball to someone else in the group, who will “write” the first sentence of the story. (i.e. Once upon a time, there was a family of squirrels who lived in a tree.”
• After that person adds a sentence, they will toss the ball to someone else who will add the next sentence. 
• As students create the story, stop the game periodically to give feedback on the development of the story. Maybe students rushed the exposition, or they didn’t develop the characters enough. When you give feedback, back up a little bit in the story and then start tossing again. 
• Have one person in the group either record the session or type out the story as you go. In the end, students will get to see the short story they created.

This activity involves being outside, receiving instruction and feedback, and creating something new.

#5 | Character Analysis Walk-and-Talk

Give your students a chance to stretch their legs while diving into character analysis.

How It Works:

• Pair students up and assign each pair a character from a story or novel.
• Provide discussion questions like:
  • “What motivates this character’s actions?”
  • “How has the character changed throughout the story?”
• Let them walk and talk while discussing their ideas.

At the end of the activity, come together as a class and have each pair share their insights.

Why Take Your ELA Class Outdoors?

Outdoor activities are more than just a fun change of pace—they can:

• Boost student focus and engagement.
• Create a memorable learning experience.
• Help students connect with nature and each other while building essential skills.

One of the best ways to reignite your student’s interest as the year moves on is by introducing novelty to either the content, activities, or environment. By stepping outside, you may be able to accomplish a few of these all at once!