Negotiating belonging in an outdoor setting through kinship bonds in a secondary ELA class

Purpose This study aims to examine a partnership formed between two Black girls during outdoor English language arts (ELA) lessons for the purpose of determining what aspects of the lessons facilitated the partnership, which helped one girl renegotiate her personal relationship to the outdoors. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a case study drawn from a qualitative action research study that featured 26 secondary students from two required ELA classes. This study consisted of nine outdoor literacy events, each of which consisted of three parts: a shared read aloud, a physical task in response to the read aloud and a writing prompt to reflect on the outdoor activities. Findings Findings reveal that Kellie, a Black girl expressing apprehension about spending time outdoors, negotiated her sense of belonging in the outdoors by partnering with Arielle, another Black girl in class, and by rejecting the expectations for outdoor exploration of the white males in the class. Research limitations/implications While limited in its small focus on two girls within a study of eight weeks focused on students’ responses to outdoor lessons, this study offers practical implications for secondary ELA teachers. Practical implications This study suggests that outdoor literacy events that afford choice in outdoor exploration and in how students respond to outdoor lessons can foster meaningful relationships among students and with the natural world, thereby eroding barriers to the benefits of outdoor learning. Originality/value Black girls face unique constraints for outdoor recreation; outdoor ELA classes that feature choice and self-expression have the potential to reduce some of those constraints as students learn to restory the traditions of who belongs outside.