Year 5 Zoo Visit – Learning Beyond the Classroom

As part of our learning journey, Year 5 students recently visited the zoo, where they had the opportunity to observe a wide variety of animals up close. During the visit, students focused on carefully watching animal behaviour, habitats, and physical features, while also listening to interesting facts shared during a guided tour.

After returning to school, we built on this real-life experience as we began to write our informative writing. Using their observations from the zoo, students selected one animal that interested them most and began working on a visual representation of it. This helped them organise their ideas and recall key details from the visit.

Students then used a worksheet to write an informative paragraph about their chosen animal. In their writing, they explained what the animal is, where it lives, why it is important, and included one interesting fact they remembered from the guided tour. This activity allowed students to connect first-hand experiences with structured writing, making their learning meaningful and engaging.

The zoo visit provided a valuable opportunity to combine observation, discussion, and writing, helping students understand that informative texts are based on real facts and careful attention to detail. It was wonderful to see students excited to share what they learned and apply their knowledge through writing.