Art that shows nature’s resilience
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can create an artwork that expresses how nature can recover or heal.
Key learning points
- Nature can recover and grow back after damage, showing its resilience.
- Nature’s changes inspire artists to create artwork that also changes or disappears.
- 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.
Teacher tip
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?”.
Equipment
Natural materials (leaves, sticks, stones, pinecones, flowers, bark, seeds, etc.).
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these natural objects can you use to make a sculpture?
Q2.When making a sculpture outside, you might use , twigs, and stones.
Q3.What happens to natural sculptures over time?
Q4.A is a piece of art that is made by shaping or building materials into a three-dimensional form.
Q5.Which of these is NOT a natural object you might use in a sculpture?
Q6.Put these steps in the right order for making a natural sculpture:
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What does ephemeral mean?
Q2.What does resilience mean in nature?
Q3.True or false? Ephemeral art is still important, even if it disappears.
Q4.Why might artists make ephemeral art using natural materials?
To help you plan your 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...
To help you plan your 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.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 art and design lessons from the Recording, noticing, and caring: responding to nature and the planet unit, dive into the full primary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.