This is a lesson I used during the last couple weeks of Art class with my third and fourth grade classes. Everything was coming to a close, and most of the supplies have been cleaned up and put away for the summer.
So, the students looked at images of Andy Goldsworthy's artwork, and I explained that he only used what he had around him, in nature, to create his works. After we talked about our inspiration, they were allowed to break off into teams (choosing to collaborate), or they could work by themselves when creating their own nature-work. They had five minutes to gather everything they needed to create their piece. They then had 15 minutes to work on it.
It was really cool being able to see them problem solve with what they had available to them - their material choices, what to do when the wind blew, when they had to balance pieces, etc.
After they completed their work, we strolled around and looked at everyone's pieces, explaining one aspect they liked, and one aspect they could improve upon - a mini end-of-year critique of sorts. It was a great experience, and I will definitely be doing this again this fall, with the leaves changing color! They were very proud of their work and had a good time outside! Bonus: They learned about impermanence too - all of their work had to be cleared and cleaned up before we went back inside!
Here are some great examples:
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