Lesson plan: Nature's Colours

There are some outdoor learning activities that we just love. They can be standalones that get repeated with different groups or at different times of year, or starting points for learning that leap off into many different directions. Colour palettes are a particular favourite – try the activity in its purest form, or have a go at some of our extensions, it is a fantastic way of taking learning outdoors and connecting your pupils with nature.  

Resources

You need the following equipment to do the basic colour palette activity:

• thin white card
• double-sided sticky tape

Curriculum links

This session can be adapted to fit nearly all Primary School subjects. However, the ‘classic’ version of the activity and our suggested extension activities, cover the following Early Years and National Curriculum objectives:

ELG: Creating with Materials

• Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
• Share their creations, explaining the process they have used.
• Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories.

ELG: The Natural World

• Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures.
• Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter. 

ELG: People, Culture and Communities

• Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation and discussion.

ELG: Writing

• Write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.

Art and Design- KS1

• To develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.
• About the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

Science-Year 1- Seasonal change

• Observe changes across the four seasons.

Design and Technology- KS1

• Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing]
• Select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics.

Writing- Composition- Year 1

• Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by writing poetry.

Downloads

• Nature's Colours Lesson Plan

Each child will need a small, sticky collecting palette. Thin card and double-sided sticky tape will do the trick. The task is for the children to collect as wide a range of natural colours as they can find in a given area, sticking tiny bits of each colour to the palette. 

By using close observation the children will be able to find a surprising amount of colour – even in unpromising locations or at duller times of the year. Encourage them to look at the edges of things, under things and round the back. You can have useful conversations about natural and unnatural objects, and about limiting damage to plants by collecting only tiny bits.