26 June 2024
Everyone comes back from a residential trip buzzing with excitement about everything they did. They’ll be chatting about what their favourite activity was and eager to share skills they learnt. Harness that excitement and desire to share their adventures by linking it back to the classroom and keep the magic of the residential trip alive at the same time.
Give a presentation
Parents and carers are always desperate to hear about the tips, and by sharing what happened with other classes in the school, it can create a buzz and excitement around what they have to come. Why not…
- Give a class assembly to parents
- Create a talk for the class below so they can start getting excited for their trip
- Make a newspaper where every student contributes a different article
- Write a thank you letter and send it to the trip provider, telling a story about your favourite part
- Get into groups so students can come up with their own way to share some of their stories and learnings from the trip
Link the trip to lessons
It’s so difficult to write or create art around things you’ve never experienced, but the residential trip will provide the most wonderful inspiration you’ll never find when sitting in the classroom. As well as English and art, classes like science can be brought to life when related back to the residential adventure.
- Imagine a story based around the adventures experienced.
- Write a story from the point of view of a mouse living in the Rootd camp watching the residential trip happen.
- Use the perspective of being on the high ropes to create a setting description.
- Write a poem about the sounds you could hear from inside your woodland pod.
- Create a newspaper and each write a different article about the trip.
- Use all the photos from the trip to create a photobook.
- Create artwork inspired by the trip.
- Draw and label pictures of the animals / plants / trees seen on the trip.
- Create an image of the Rootd camp in the style of another artist.
- Create a non-fiction fact file or report about a specific element of the trip.
Link residential trip experiences to curriculum topics or to support specific areas of topics. A good example would be using the Rootd campfire time or outside living as an amazing starting point for understanding the Stone Age.
Use trip photos as a teaching resource
As moments everyone in the class can relate to, photos of the residential trip are amazing visual tools. They can,
- Remind everyone of personal experiences they can apply to the lesson
- Bring learning to life
- Be circle time prompts
- A tool for communication to help solve conflict between friends
Residential school trip photos are especially useful for PHSE lessons as you’ll find plenty of photos of skills everyone can develop, including examples of,
- Independence
- Resilience
- Problem solving
- Teamwork
- Bonding
- Good communication
Support mental health
Residential school trips are a fantastic support to mental health, providing the opportunity to disconnect, unplug from devices and live in the here and now.
Talk about these benefits, the best parts of being unplugged, and how you can bring this feeling into the classroom and at home.
Reflect and talk about the experience
Everyone will have been through development and done a lot of growing up on their residential trip. Reminisce, reflect, look at photos, talk and laugh about the experience. Discussion topics can include,
- What was the best part?
- What was the biggest problem?
- What was the most surprising part?
- What could be changed or done differently?
- What are you proudest of yourself for?
- What was the funniest moment?
Show off the skills learnt
Which activities were most enjoyed and what they made them enjoyable and effective? Think about how this strategy can be used in the classroom.
Even better, why not set up a club in school that focuses on the best parts of the trip and keep the excitement of the adventure going.
How Rootd can help
During their time on a Rootd residential trip, alongside enjoying the time away, we get the children thinking about how they can apply what they learn and experience to the classroom or at home. Whether it’s building a bug hotel in the garden or trying something new for the first time with their enhanced self-confidence, it is amazing how children develop on a residential trip.
Find out more about Rootd Residential School Trips and how to book.