Lesson Plan - Color Wheel

Color Wheel 

Art 141 Art for Elementary Teachers 

Instructor Kelly Parker 

10 pts 

4th grade 2 - 55 minute class periods 

Description - Students are introduced to the basic steps in mixing secondary colors from primary colors of tempera paint. You will create a color wheel using tempera paint and poster board creating an interesting composition using the primary, secondary, tertiary, and complementary hues of the color wheel. 

 Objectives - Students will: 

1. Point out and name the primary and secondary colors. 

2. Mix primary colors of paint to create secondary colors of paint. 

3. Know which colors are warm and which colors are cool on the color wheel. 

4. Develop skills in painting and mixing colors. 

Vocabulary – primary color, hue, secondary color, color wheel, palette, complementary color 

Primary colors – red, blue, yellow 

Secondary colors – orange, violet, green 

Tertiary colors – red-violet, red-orange, blue-green, blue-violet, orange-yellow, yellow-green 

Complementary colors – opposite hues mixed to create brown – red-green, yellow-violet, blue-orange  

Materials - 

Tempera paint: red, yellow, and blue 

White paper, 9" x 12", 2 per student

Water and water containers

Paintbrush, 1 per student

Paper towel 

Palette 

Sharpie Marker 

Examples – color wheel and teacher samples of assignment 

 Cue set – tell the students this will be a painting project 

 Best shot – demonstrate color mixing Guided practice 

Art Production – Day 1 

1. Students will create at least 4 concept sketches of the finished design in their sketchbooks. Choose your best one and recreate it into a color wheel on a poster board with a pencil. 

 2. All 15 hues must be in the design and all colors must be labeled. 

 3. Finished work will be 8 1/2” by 11”, horizontal or vertical format. 

 4. Demonstrate mixing complementary colors (red + green = brown, etc) 

 5. Distribute supplies. Students will practice mixing complementary colors on the palette 

 6. Then students will sketch out designs on their paper mixing complementary colors to make brown. (red + green = brown, orange + blue = brown, yellow + violet = brown) 

Day 2 – 

1. Explain to students that they 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. Explain complementary colors and how they are mixed. 

 3. Demonstrate mixing yellow and blue to make green, yellow, and red to make orange and red and blue to make violet. 

 4. Ask students to explain what the samples of mixed paint show (mix red and yellow to make orange, etc.). 

5. Review the color wheel again along with color mixing. 

 6. Paint each shape with its correct color. 

 7. Label each design with the color's name with a Sharpie marker. 

 Extensions – Have students create a work of art similar in style to a Pop Artist 

 Use the color wheel to make art prints 

 Closure – Have students answer questions on color mixing let them know what we will be doing next class period clean up all supplies and sinks 

 Formative assessment – review of color mixing in next lesson 

 Summative assessment – color wheel test