Art Institute of Chicago
Color Combinations
Explore color through an examination of pointillism and light. Class members view Georges Seraut's famous painting on a computer, zooming in and out to see the details and effects of the technique. They then cover how light and color are...
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Color Mixing Trophy Fish
Students compare colors. In this color lesson, students determine which colors are primary and which are secondary. Students investigate rainbows and create a piece of art organizing colors as they appear in a rainbow.
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Chromatography Lab
Students discover the components of primary and secondary colors. In this physical science lesson, students create a set up in which water will separate a color into the component colors along a piece of filter paper. Students will then...
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Mixing Colors with "Little Blue and Little Yellow"
Students mix colors to make new colors. For this color mixing lesson, students listen to Leo Lionni's Petit Bleu et Petit Jaune, before retelling the beginning, middle, and end of the story. They watch as the teacher mixes food coloring...
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Rain Orchestra
First graders mix secondary colors from primary colors and simulate a rainstorm by using body percussion.
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Help Wanted: A Lighting Engineer For Popular Rock Group
Students are assigned to groups, and determine each member's role in the group. They will design an experiment to determine a way to produce the three primary and five secondary colors. Students discuss color and mood. They listen to a...
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Color Wheel
Second graders mix different combinations of the three primary colors to create the three secondary colors, then create new colors by mixing two or more different colors. They identify the colors they create.
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The Connection Between Pigment and Light Colors
Students learn the procedure for mixing secondary colors from primary pigments and observe the results of mixing two primary colors.
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The Purple Cow
Students read and discuss the poem, The Purple Cow. For this poetry lesson, students discuss the rhyming words in the poem and why this piece of literature is silly or unusual.
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Vertical and Horizontal Lines
First graders view works from Mondrian such as "Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue" receiving explantion of the primary and secondary colors and the color wheel and vertical and horizontal lines. They glue black strips to the...
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Color Wheel Project
Middle schoolers review the relationship between primary and secondary colors. As a class, they are introduced to the tertiary colors and use photographs to show them in a room design. To end the lesson plan, they create a new color...
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What You See Is What You Get
Young scholars explore light and colors. They see how white light is made up of various colors. They need to have some background knowledge about prisms, light wave lengths, and behavior of light, primary and secondary colors, and ratios.
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Visual Arts
Students create a finger painting which exhibits both the primary and secondary colors.
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Color Wheel Introduction
Students are introduced to the primary and secondary colors. Using a worksheet, they follow the directions from their teacher to complete the activity. To end the lesson plan, they use the worksheet to create a separate color wheel.
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From Smithson to Smithsonian: The Birth of an Institution
Students identify and evaluate primary and secondary sources relating to James Smithson and his gift to the United States. In this Smithson to Smithsonian lesson, students also examine the debate surrounding how to use the gift from...
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Tasty Color Mixing
Students discover the "magic" of color mixing in this fun, elementary lesson using vanilla cake frosting, food coloring, mixing bowls, popsicle sticks, and plain vanilla cookies (optional). Emphasis is placed on the difference betweeen...
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Color Wheel Project
High schoolers identify and describe the primary, secondary and tertiary colors.
They also identify the order in which these three categories of colors fit on the color wheel. Students then create a color wheel using any medium...
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Secrets of Painting
Students explore colors and shapes. In this art concepts lesson, students discuss shapes, lines, and color while creating a variety of abstract designs. The instructions for several art activities are provided. Basic art vocabulary and a...
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Horse of a Different Color: An Introduction to Color in the Visual Arts
Students examine how artists use color to create a sense of depth in a two-dimensional space. They view and analyze prints, complete worksheets, and write a paragraph on how color is used to draw the viewer's eye to a central figure.
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Spicy Hot Colors
Second graders investigate the book Spicy Hot Colors. In this colors lesson, 2nd graders experiment mixing paint and creating different colors. Students make text to world connections and record their responses and draw pictures.
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Weaving a Watercolor
Students examine the color wheel and work with watercolors. For this color lesson, students go over primary, secondary, and intermediate colors before watching a demonstration of watercolor brush techniques. They choose a shape to paint...
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But Where Is It On This Modern Map? A problem-solving, mind-boggling experience!
Trace Columbus' voyages by locating them on 21st Century maps. Using a navigators lesson, 4th graders will examine the Age of Exploration and trace Columbus's routes accurately on laminated world maps using different maps. Note: You...
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Color Wheels and Schemes
Young scholars explore how to use the color wheel in selecting fabric colors for a quilt. They define and demonstrate monochromatic, complimentary, and analogous color schemes. Lesson plan and worksheets are attached in .pdf and .doc...
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Color My World
Second graders experiment mixing primary colors to form other colors using frosting.