The Secret Life of Colours: A Magical Colour-Mixing Adventure!
Designed for: Marissa (Age 7) | Subject: Art & Science (Colour Theory)
🎨 Materials Needed
- Liquid Food Colouring: Red, Yellow, and Blue
- Clear Plastic Cups: 6 cups (filled halfway with water)
- Paper Towels: Folded into strips
- Paints: Washable tempera or acrylic paint in Red, Yellow, and Blue
- Paper: Heavy white paper, cardstock, or paper plates (2-3 sheets)
- Paintbrushes & Water Cups: For rinsing brushes
- Black Sharpie/Marker
- "My Colour Diary" Printable: Or a blank notebook
🎯 Learning Objectives & Success Criteria
What Marissa will learn (Objectives):
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What success looks like (Success Criteria):
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🌟 Lesson Flow
1. Introduction: The Walking Water Magic Trick (15 Minutes)
The Hook: Set up 3 clear cups of water with red, blue, and yellow food colouring. Place empty cups in between them. Connect them with folded paper towel strips. Watch the water "walk" up the paper towels to mix in the empty cups!
"Marissa, today we are going to be Colour Detectives! Look at these three magical colours in front of us: Red, Yellow, and Blue. These are the Kings and Queens of the colour kingdom. They are called Primary Colours because they can make almost any other colour, but no other colours can make them! What do you think will happen when the red water and the yellow water walk up the paper towel and meet in the middle?"
Interactive Questioning: Let Marissa make predictions. Write her predictions down in her "Colour Diary."
2. Body: I Do (Teacher Modeling - 10 Minutes)
The Concept: How to mix paints cleanly and how to group colours by "temperature."
Demonstration Steps:
- Take a paper plate and squeeze out a nickel-sized dollop of Red paint and Yellow paint, keeping them apart.
- Show how to take a tiny bit of Red, pull it to the middle, and mix it with a larger amount of Yellow to make a bright Orange.
- Introduce "Temperature": Explain that colors have feelings.
- Warm Colours: Red, Orange, Yellow (like a cozy campfire or the glowing sun).
- Cool Colours: Blue, Green, Purple (like cool ocean water or shady forest trees).
3. Body: We Do (Guided Practice - 15 Minutes)
The Activity: "The Colour Scientist Lab"
Now, parent/teacher and Marissa work together to discover the rest of the secondary colours using paint.
"Let’s work together, Marissa! Let's take our paintbrushes. I want you to dip your brush into the Blue paint, and I will dip mine in the Yellow. Let’s paint them side-by-side on your paper. Now, let’s swirl them together right in the middle. What color are we whispering into existence? Yes, Green! Let's write down: Blue + Yellow = Green."
Active Check for Understanding: Have Marissa mix Blue and Red to create Purple independently while you guide her brush-cleaning technique (wipe, rinse, wipe!).
4. Body: You Do (Independent Practice - 20 Minutes)
The Creative Project: "Marissa’s Colour Wheel Sun"
Marissa will create her own artistic colour wheel using her newly mixed paints.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Marissa:
- Draw a large circle on your paper and divide it into 6 slices (like a pizza) using a black marker.
- Paint the slices in order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple. (Ensure primary colors alternate with secondary colors).
- Once dry, Marissa can draw little faces on each slice to turn them into "Colour Monsters" or "Sun Rays."
- Challenge: Draw a line down the middle of the wheel to separate the "Warm Monsters" from the "Cool Monsters."
5. Conclusion: Show, Tell, & Tidy (10 Minutes)
The Recap: Have Marissa present her Colour Wheel Sun.
- "Marissa, if you wanted to paint a hot, boiling volcano, which side of your colour wheel would you use?"
- "What is your absolute favorite secondary color you made today, and how did you make it?"
The Clean-up Routine: Make cleaning up fun! Sing a "Clean Up" song while washing the paintbrushes together.
📊 Assessment Methods
| Formative (During the Lesson) | Summative (End of Lesson) |
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✨ Differentiation & Extensions
For Support (If Marissa struggles with color mixing):
- Use pre-colored playdough instead of paint. Physically mixing red and yellow playdough is easier to control and clean up than liquid paint.
For Extension (If Marissa wants more challenge):
- Introduce Shades and Tints. Give her white and black paint. Ask her: "How can we make 'Baby Blue' or 'Midnight Blue'?"
- Introduce the concept of Complementary Colours (colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel and make each other look super bright!).