Color mixing

Students are introduced to the basic steps in mixing secondary colors from primary colors of paint.

A lesson plan for grade 1 Visual Arts Education

By Gwen Auman

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Related topics

• Learn more about arts, colors, hands-on, paintings, primary colors, and secondary colors.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• identify primary and secondary colors.
• mix primary colors of paint to create secondary colors of paint.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

40 minutes

Materials/resources

• Tempera paint: red, yellow and blue (in paint trays)
• 2 pieces of 9″x12″ white paper per student
• Painting smocks
• Water
• Water containers
• Paintbrush, 1 per student
• Paper towel, 1 per student

Pre-activities

Review color wheel and primary colors.

Activities

1. Explain that students will learn to mix paint. Focus on the color wheel. Ask students which colors can be mixed together to make orange, green, and violet.
2. Point out that yellow, red, and blue are called primary colors because you can mix them together and make other colors. Orange, green, and violet are called secondary colors because they can be mixed from two primary colors.
3. Demonstrate mixing yellow and blue to make green, yellow, and red to make orange and red and blue to make violet. Review painting steps previously learned (wash, wipe and blot) while demonstrating color mixing.
4. Discuss how colors on the color wheel are the same as colors in a rainbow. Demonstrate how to use the colors given as well as the colors mixed to paint a rainbow.
5. Ask students to explain what the samples of mixed paint show (mix red and yellow to make orange, etc.).
6. Distribute supplies. Students will practice mixing colors on one sheet of paper and then make a rainbow painting on the other sheet.
7. Have students paint three yellow circles, then wash, wipe and blot their brushes. Next, have students add a dot of red paint to the first yellow circle and mix it together. Have them increase the number of dots in each circle each time. Help them see that different amounts of red make yellow-orange, orange and red-orange.
8. Guide students similarly through mixing blue into yellow and mixing red into blue. Some students may need clean water before the next part of the activity.
9. Collect the color experiments on a flat surface to dry, such as a drying rack. Have students mentally prepare to paint a rainbow by visualizing a real rainbow. Encourage students to paint the parts of the rainbow in sequence like the color wheel, beginning with red, then orange and yellow. Then have them add green, blue and violet.
10. Explain that the class can enjoy painting lessons again if everyone helps clean up. Be sure students understand their specific tasks.
11. Collect artwork on a flat surface to dry, such as a drying rack. Collect supplies.
12. Compliment students on helpful cleanup.
13. Have students verbally review how to mix orange, green and violet.
14. Close the lesson by paraphrasing the objectives.

Assessment

Assess student understanding by observing completed artwork.

Supplemental information

Adventures in Art by Laura Chapman Publisher: Davis; Teacher edition, 1998
ISBN: 0871923238

Comments

This is a good way to introduce color mixing for first grade students.