Academy Curricular Exchange
Columbia Education Center
Miscellaneous

TITLE:   Mixing Primary - Secondary colors

AUTHOR:  Lois Ann Lynn, Rosamond, UT

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:  (K-6)

PURPOSE:  This is a visual teaching method and reinforcement
of primary-secondary colors and color mixing.

OBJECTIVE(s):  By the end of the lesson, each child will
have made their own color wheel by mixing colors of Play
Doh. Each child will be able to name the primary and
secondary colors.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
1 worksheet for each child labeled with colors.

                         YELLOW

ORANGE                                            GREEN

RED                                               BLUE

                         PURPLE

(PRIMARY - red, yellow, blue)
(SECONDARY     red = blue = purple
               red = yellow = orange
               yellow = blue = green)


Play Doh - 1 container each of red, yellow, and blue.
(Approximately 6 ounces each for 1 class of 25 children.)

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
1.   Pass to each child one piece each of red, yellow and
     blue Play Doh about the size of a small pecan nut.
2.   Child breaks each color into 3 equal pieces and places
     these on desk.
3.   Pass out basic color sheet to each child.
4.   Direct each child to press one small piece of yellow
     Play Doh onto the worksheet above the word 'yellow'.
     Repeat with red and blue.
5.   direct children to take 1 piece of yellow and one of
     blue and squeeze it together until it has completely
     turned green. Then press it above the word 'green' on
     worksheet. do not tell the children what is going to
     happen when they combine the 2 colors. Let them
     discover it.
6.   Complete worksheet by combining red with yellow to make
     orange and red with blue to make purple.
7.   for older children you may want to remove color names
     from part or all of worksheet and leave blanks for
     children to fill out.
8.   Allow Play Doh to dry for one or two days so child can
     take worksheet home.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Each child could make his own color paddles out of
cellophane of red, blue and yellow in tagboard frames.

'Mix' colors by holding color paddles together.

Hold individual paddles over various colored pictures and
see what happens.
Draw a colored design using different mediums and look at it
with different paddles.

Mix colored water together and see what colors they make.

Add white and black to different colors and see what
happens.

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