Lesson 8: Working with Colour – Mix It Up

 Preparation

Equipment

• cartridge paper (to paint on)
• acrylic paints
• paintbrushes
• paint palettes
• scrap paper
• black markers

 Lesson Plan

Tuning In

• Ask volunteer students to share their favourite colour with the class. Allow others to state what they think about or what emotions they associate with this colour.
• Watch The Element of Colour video on YouTube (Teacher note: You may wish to point out the American spelling of the word ‘color’ on the video and reiterate the Australian spelling of the word). After watching, revise the meaning of key terms such as ‘primary’, ‘secondary’, ‘tertiary’, ‘harmonies’, ‘analogous’, ‘complementary’ and ‘triadic’.

Teacher Instruction

• Revisit the fundamentals of colour theory, as outlined on slides 7–14 of the Visual Arts Elements Colour PowerPoint – Upper Years presentation. Ensure the students understand the definitions of the terms ‘complementary’, ‘harmonious’ and ‘monochromatic’ (as these terms are used in the upcoming activity).

Guided/Independent Learning

• Read through the activity on slide 21. Explain to the students that they will be using their knowledge of complementary, harmonious and monochromatic colour schemes to create an artwork using acrylic paints.
• Display the Mix It Up Activity on the board and read through the instructions as a class. On the board, list some simple objects that could be used as the feature shape in the artwork, e.g. fruits, flowers, animals. Allow the students to choose one of the objects to draw. Provide them with the necessary materials to complete the task.
• Monitor and support the students as they draw and paint their artworks. Students may wish to outline their feature shape with a black marker; however, their paintings must be completely dry before doing so.

Wrapping Up

• Gather the class together and allow volunteer students to share their artworks. Ask reflective questions, such as:
  • How did you use your knowledge of complementary, harmonious and monochromatic colour schemes when creating your artwork?
  • What challenges did you face throughout the process, and how did you overcome these?
  • What emotions do the colours used in your artwork evoke within you?

 Differentiation

Extending Students

• More-capable students may wish to draw an object of their own choosing for the activity. Monitor, support and guide these students in doing so.

Supporting Students

• Allow less-confident students to replicate the fish example on the Mix It Up resource.

 Assessment Strategies

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• used strategic whole class or individual questioning
• observed student participation during learning activities
• recorded student progress on a checklist
• annotated student work samples
• collected and reviewed student work samples
• facilitated whole class or peer feedback sessions
• encouraged student self-reflection
• administered formal assessment tasks.

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