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Lesson 4 of 5
  • Year 4

Art that shows nature’s resilience

I can create an artwork that expresses how nature can recover or heal.

Lesson 4 of 5
New
New
  • Year 4

Art that shows nature’s resilience

I can create an artwork that expresses how nature can recover or heal.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Nature can recover and grow back after damage, showing its resilience.
  2. Nature’s changes inspire artists to create artwork that also changes or disappears.
  3. Creating art that is ephemeral helps us understand and appreciate the ongoing cycles of growth and repair in nature.

Keywords

  • Ephemeral - describes something that lasts for only a short time or is temporary

  • Resilience - ability to recover quickly from difficulties and continue growing

Common misconception

Pupils may think that art has to last forever to be important or valuable.

Remind pupils that art can be ephemeral - meaning it lasts only a short time - and still be very important. Just like nature’s changes, temporary art helps us notice beauty, tell stories, and understand ideas about growth and resilience.


To help you plan your year 4 art and design lesson on: Art that shows nature’s resilience, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Encourage students to observe and reflect on the natural changes happening around them - not just in their artwork but also in the environment. Use questions like, “What do you notice changing right now?” or “How do you think nature repairs itself?”.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Natural materials (leaves, sticks, stones, pinecones, flowers, bark, seeds, etc.).

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these natural objects can you use to make a sculpture?

plastic toy
Correct answer: leaves
bottles
paper clips

Q2.
When making a sculpture outside, you might use , twigs, and stones.

Correct Answer: leaves

Q3.
What happens to natural sculptures over time?

They stay exactly the same forever.
Correct answer: They change or disappear.
They turn into plastic.

Q4.
A is a piece of art that is made by shaping or building materials into a three-dimensional form.

Correct Answer: sculpture

Q5.
Which of these is NOT a natural object you might use in a sculpture?

pinecone
pebble
Correct answer: plastic spoon
twig

Q6.
Put these steps in the right order for making a natural sculpture:

1 - Choose your spot outside.
2 - Collect natural materials.
3 - Build your sculpture.

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
What does ephemeral mean?

something that lasts forever
Correct answer: something that lasts a short time
something that never changes

Q2.
What does resilience mean in nature?

giving up when things get hard
Correct answer: being able to grow back after damage
staying exactly the same all the time

Q3.
True or false? Ephemeral art is still important, even if it disappears.

Correct answer: true
false

Q4.
Why might artists make ephemeral art using natural materials?

Correct answer: to show how art can change like nature
to make something that lasts forever
to use plastic and metal