Color Creations

Theme:  Art, Creative Thinking
Grade Level: elementary

Lesson Overview
Students will mix primary colored tempera paints together and observe the changes that occur.

Lesson Objectives

• Students will learn the difference between primary and secondary colors.
  
• Students will learn that mixing two primary colors results in a secondary color.
  
• Students will explore the role of art in self-expression.
  

Supplies

• White construction paper; folded in half
  
• Red, yellow, and blue tempera paint
  
• Syringes (you can get these from the pharmacy)
  
• Markers
  

Questions

• What will happen when we mix the red and blue paint?
  
• What will happen when we mix the red and yellow paint?
  
• What will happen when we mix the blue and yellow paint?
  
• What do you see when you look at the color creation that you made?
  

Process

• Tell the students that red, blue, and yellow are called primary colors. 
  
• Tell the students that mixing primary colors makes other colors.
  
• Hand out folded white construction paper (opened up)
  
• Help students squirt a couple of drops of two of the primary colors on the white paper, one color on one side and one on the other side.  
  
• Students will fold the paper in half at the crease and rub the paint around.  
  
• They will open the paper to discover what color they made.  
  
• Repeat with other colors. 
  
• Students will look at their color creations and talk about what they look like.
  
• Once dry, students will use markers to create something out of their color creations.