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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Mixing colors with Little Blue and Little Yellow

This is an integrated lesson based on a French book entitled Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni. Within the lesson, students will experiment with various colors to create new colors and eventually write their own version of this story.

A lesson plan for grades K–1 Visual Arts Education, English Language Arts, and Science

By Lisa Tartaglia

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

  • retell the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
  • analyze, synthesize, and organize information and discover related ideas, concepts, or generalizations.
  • mix primary colors to create secondary colors.
  • create a new story, changing colors to develop new characters.
  • present their new story to the class.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1.5 hours

Materials/resources

  • Little Blue and Little Yellow or a book that involves mixing colors,such as Mousepaint.
  • color wheel chart
  • food coloring
  • clear plastic honeybear jar or clear animal container
  • eye dropper and bleach
  • lined paper
  • finger-paint paper
  • pencils
  • tempera paints
  • paintbrushes
  • blackboard
  • chalk

Technology resources

No technology is required. However, students may eventually type out their story and create a book using Writer’s Workshop or other software.

Pre-activities

When I do this lesson, I enjoy talking first about friendships, since the main characters, Blue and Yellow, are two best friends.

Activities

  1. Allow students to predict the story by looking at the front cover of Little Blue and Little Yellow.
  2. Students will respond to questions throughout the story (vocabulary word questions, questions that predict the plot of the story, “what will happen at the end?”, and so forth).
  3. At the end of the story, discuss other colors that could have been used to create this story. Web the responses on the blackboard. Hold up the color wheel to show visually how primary colors produce secondary colors when mixed. Ask questions such as “what happens if we mix red and blue or yellow and red?”
  4. Using the clear plastic animal jar filled with water and food colors, tell a story about an animal friend who, similar to Little Blue and Little Yellow, decided to play in some paint. Here you can experiment with different colors to demonstrate how two colors change. The students can predict the colors before you shake up the jar. At the end of the little story, you can then change the animal back by placing a bit of bleach into the jar. It’s magical for the students. Note: Only the teacher should handle the bleach and food colors.
  5. Next, the students retell the story in small groups. Then they will compose the story individually in writing, changing the colors of the characters. When finished, allow them to experiment on their own using finger-paint paper and paints. They may then illustrate their finished story.
  6. Finally, the students will share their story with the class.

Assessment

  • The teacher constantly monitors the students, asking questions for understanding. (Ask students questions about the characters or to retell the story for you, etc.)
  • A K–2 assessment checklist may be used to record understanding of the objectives taught.
  • The final product will help to determine whether or not the student understood the objectives.

Supplemental information

Any other books involving colors and mixing colors, such as Mousepaint, would be appropriate.

Comments

This lesson can be easily adapted for all grade levels. Different products could be obtained, such as: dioramas, skits, puppets and much more. I usually extend this lesson for about one week and create a Big Book or skit with the class as a culminating activity.

North Carolina curriculum alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 1

  • Goal 2: The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.06: Compose a variety of products (e.g., stories, journal entries, letters, response logs, simple poems, oral retellings).

Science (2005)

Kindergarten

  • Goal 3: The learner will make observations and build an understanding of the properties of common objects.
    • Objective 3.02: Develop and use a vocabulary associated with the properties of materials:
      • Color.
      • Size.
      • Shape.
      • Texture.

Visual Arts Education (2001)

Grade 1

  • Goal 7: The learner will perceive connections between visual arts and other disciplines.
    • Objective 7.01: Uses reading, writing and math in the creation of art.

Kindergarten

  • Goal 1: The learner will develop critical and creative thinking skills and perceptual awareness necessary for understanding and producing art.
    • Objective 1.11: Use all the senses to gain information and awareness about their environment.
  • Goal 3: The learner will organize the components of a work into a cohesive whole through knowledge of organizational principles of design and art elements.

  • Common Core State Standards

    • English Language Arts (2010)

      • Reading: Literature

        • Grade 1
          • 1.RL.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
          • 1.RL.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
        • Kindergarten
          • K.RL.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
          • K.RL.2 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.

        • Writing

          • K.W.3 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.

  • North Carolina Essential Standards

    • Science (2010)

      • Kindergarten

        • K.P.2 Understand how objects are described based on their physical properties and how they are used. K.P.2.1 Classify objects by observable physical properties (including size, color, shape, texture, weight and flexibility). K.P.2.2 Compare the observable...

    • Visual Arts Education (2010)

      • Grade 1

        • 1.CX.2 Understand the interdisciplinary connections and life applications of the visual arts. 1.CX.2.1 Identify the role of functional art in various communities around the world. 1.CX.2.2 Identify connections between art and concepts from other disciplines,...
        • 1.V.3 Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes, safely and appropriately. 1.V.3.1 Use a variety of tools safely and appropriately to create art. 1.V.3.2 Execute control of a variety of media. 1.V.3.3 Use the processes of drawing, painting,...

      • Kindergarten

        • K.V.1 Use the language of visual arts to communicate effectively. K.V.1.1 Identify various art materials and tools. K.V.1.2 Create original art that expresses ideas about oneself. K.V.1.3 Recognize various symbols and themes in daily life. K.V.1.4 Understand...
        • K.V.2 Apply creative and critical thinking skills to artistic expression. K.V.2.1 Recognize that artists may view or interpret art differently. K.V.2.2 Use sensory exploration of the environment as a source of imagery. K.V.2.3 Create original art that does...
        • K.V.3 Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes, safely and appropriately. K.V.3.1 Use a variety of tools safely and appropriately to create art. K.V.3.2 Use a variety of media to create art. K.V.3.3 Use the processes of drawing, painting,...