for 5th graders one year we did an Amish quilt design as an assessment on
what we covered... 12 x 18 black paper for quilt top and I had three sizes
of squares in different colors of construction paper (I use Tru Ray and the
colors are pretty bright, and we have also painted what we needed - tints,
tones, shades) -
Divide the black paper into twelve 3" squares -
Then they had to map out color families -
warm
cool
primary
secondary
tertiaries if you've got them
monochromatic
analogous
neutrals
tints
tones
shades
value scale
free choice
We just finished a painting using a simple geometric shape as the focal
point and then rippling or echoing the shape alternating warm and cool
(colors were mixed in baby food jars using turquoise, magenta and yellow),
and then tested the product using our Chomatek 3-D glasses - they jump off
the page.
for my 2/3 graders we do watercolor flower gardens, but they will have to
paint it with the three colors of paint I give them (the primary colors) -
and they have to experiment - but they couldn't use the colors I gave them -
they had to mix -
We just finished a design project using geometric/organic shapes in the
composition to create a non-objective painting - using water soluble oil
pastels - making color choices based on what they knew about the color wheel
- what affect they wanted -
K-1 - I start with the modeling clay color wheel someone (sorry - can't
remember who) shared on the list a while ago - we 'mount' the color wheel on
mat board and they use it in their paintings -
4th graders - we read the book Hailstones and Halibut Bones - wrote about
colors, recreated the poems and then made a large color wheel - each group
of kids tore out magazine pages that were predominately one color - they
were cut into 2"squares and mounted onto a large sheet of white paper with a
2" grid... then we made a color wheel.
I have to be honest - 20 years ago or so as a new teacher with no elementary
background - I just assumed everyone knew primary, secondary etc... and I
wasn't very deliberate about the color wheel. Now I focus on it almost
obsessively -
Over the summer my room was painted - and I never got my elements and
principles posters up before school started - nor the big color wheel.
During the first weeks of school I noticed when I asked a question about
color, the kids heads all turned to the blank wall - all of them - even the
ones that were K's last year. It was pretty amazing. I still have the
wheel, but not up - they still turn.
> Does anyone out there have any good ideas for teaching color theory to
> grades K-6. I do not have a sink or much room, so painting (except with
> water colors) is pretty much out. Help!
>
>
