Eco-Art - Cool Australia

Activity Introduction

Activity details: Students use their observation skills in a structured way to explore our environment. They explore some of the amazing colours, shapes, patterns and textures that can be found in nature, then they create a nature-inspired piece of art. The Student Worksheet encourages students to describe pictures of nature using descriptive words.

Key lessons and understandings of activity:

Using observation skills and the senses, students describe, compare and sort colours, shapes, textures and pattern of natural objects.

Module: Biodiversity

Year levels: 3 and 4

Indoor or outdoor activity: Outdoor

Duration of activity: 60 mins

Learning areas addressed: Science, Art.

Resources needed: One average size shopping bag.

Homework and extension opportunities: None.

Keywords: see, think, hear, feel, senses, nature, biodiversity.

Australian Curriculum Link:

Year 3 Science: Living things can be grouped on the basis of observable features and can be distinguished from non-living things (ACSSU044)

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.

* Joseph Cornell, 1998, Sharing Nature with Children, California, Dawn Publications.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Introduction

There has been a dramatic shift in childhood activity from outdoor play to indoor activity in the space of one generation. Research has found that one in ten children today play outside once a week or less. There is an emerging body of local and international research linking childhood contact with nature with a range of health and wellbeing benefits, including:

Positive mental health outcomes
Physical health benefits
Enhanced intellectual development
A stronger sense of concern and care for our environment in later life.

This activity is all about getting students outside to connect with nature in a fun and engaging way. They will be inspired to create a piece of eco-art..

Activity outline

Take your students outside and walk around the schoolyard or a local park seeing how many different colours, shapes and textures you can find in nature. Encourage children to stop and observe, touch and feel objects along the way (although discourage the touching of ins

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Student Worksheet

Activity outline

Walk around the schoolyard and look for different colours, shapes and textures that you can find in nature. Stop and observe, touch and feel objects along the way. Be careful not to touch any dangerous items.

Identify natural objects of interest

What kinds of shapes, patterns and textures can you find?

What colours did you see?

How did things feel?

What textures, colours and shapes can you identify in the picture below?

Eco-Art

Your job is to create a drawing or painting that has been inspired by the object you collected from the nature walk. Be creative!

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Activity: Eco-Art

Activity Introduction