Emotions Through Colour

Overview

Lesson Title: Emotions and Colours
Unit Title: Creative Colour Explorations (Lesson 3 of 5)
Year Level: Year 2
Duration: 45 minutes
Class Size: 12 students
Curriculum Area: The Arts – Visual Arts
Australian Curriculum Alignment:
Content Descriptor (ACAVAM107)
– Use and experiment with different materials, techniques, technologies and processes to make artworks
General Capabilities:
– Personal and Social Capability
– Critical and Creative Thinking

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Learning Intentions

By the end of the lesson, students will:

• Understand that colours can be used to express and represent emotions.
• Identify and discuss how certain colours make them feel.
• Use colour choices purposefully to create an artwork expressing a specific emotion.
• Reflect on their own and others' artworks in a positive and respectful way.

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Success Criteria

Students will demonstrate success by:

• Identifying at least three colours and linking them to specific emotions.
• Creating an artwork that clearly conveys a chosen emotion through colour, shape, and texture.
• Explaining their emotion choice and colours in a guided reflection at the end of the lesson.

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Required Resources

Materials for each student:

• A4 cartridge paper or canvas paper
• Oil pastels and/or soft crayons
• Watercolour paint sets and brushes
• Mixing palettes
• Cups with water and paper towels
• Emotion word cards (e.g. happy, sad, angry, excited, calm, lonely)

Other:

• Colour and emotion chart (teacher-created visual poster)
• Calm background music (optional)
• Exploratory emotion mirror (small mirror per student if available)
• Teacher sample artwork showing emotion expressed in colour

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Lesson Sequence

1. Welcome & Warm-Up (5 minutes)

Activity: Mirror Emotion Faces

• Begin with students sitting in a circle.
• Pass around small mirrors. Call out an emotion (e.g. happy, sad, scared).
• Students mimic the facial expression and briefly describe how it makes their bodies feel (e.g. “My smile makes my heart feel warm”).
• Connect this to today’s goal: “We’re going to explore how colour makes us feel and how we can use it to share emotions in our art!”

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2. Class Discussion: The Language of Colour (10 minutes)

Prompt Questions:

• What colours make you feel happy/sad/calm/angry?
• Do warm colours feel different from cool colours?

Teacher Modelling:

• Show the class a chart connecting common emotion words to colours (e.g. red = anger/excitement, yellow = happy, blue = sad/calm).
• Showcase a sample artwork the teacher has prepared (e.g. swirls of blue and grey with jagged lines to represent sadness).
• Ask students: What emotion do you think I felt when making this? Why?

Student Participation:

• Each student picks one colour they like and names an emotion it reminds them of.
• Record student responses on the board or create a "Colour Emotion Wall" for display.

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3. Creative Task: Make Your Emotion Visible (20 minutes)

Instruction:

• Students will choose ONE emotion to focus on.
• They will create an abstract artwork using colour, shape, and line to represent that chosen emotion (no realistic images necessary, just feeling through form and colour).
• Encourage them to think:
  • What colours show my emotion?
  • Are my lines smooth or jagged?
  • Will I use dark or light shades?

Process:

1. Students choose a word card representing an emotion (or select their own).
2. Briefly sketch out shapes or colours they associate with that emotion.
3. Use oil pastels and watercolours to complete their work.

Teacher Role:

• Circulate, prompting deeper thinking (“You chose blue—how does that feel to you?”).
• Remind students they’re expressing their personal feelings—there are no right or wrong answers.

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4. Gallery Walk & Reflection (8 minutes)

Instructions:

• Arrange student artworks on desks or floor.
• Do a quiet “gallery walk” – students move around observing the colours, shapes and energy in everyone’s work.
• After the walk, gather and sit as a class.

Reflection Questions:

• What emotion stood out to you in someone’s art? What colours helped you understand that?
• How did it feel to make your feelings into colours?

Optional Pair Share:

• In pairs, students describe their emotion and why they used the colours they chose.

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5. Cool Down & Clean Up (2 minutes)

• Students assist with cleaning brushes and putting away materials.
• Brief mindfulness moment to “close” the emotion exploration (e.g., take three calming breaths together while looking at one calming artwork on the board).

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Differentiation & Inclusion

• Visual Supports: Use visual aids (emotion face cards, colour wheels) for diverse learning needs.
• Verbal Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters like “I chose red because…” for students needing language support.
• Sensory Adjustments: Offer alternative tools (e.g., textured sponges) for tactile sensitivities.
• Cultural Sensitivity: Encourage students to share any cultural associations with colours (e.g. red may have different meanings in different cultures).

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Assessment

Formative Assessment Strategies:

• Observation: Use a checklist during the activity to note:
  • Colour-emotion understanding
  • Engagement in the creative process
  • Ability to reflect on work
• Work Sample: Collect the artwork as an ongoing portfolio piece and note alignment with the success criteria.

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Extension Opportunities

• Students can keep an "Emotion Colour Journal" for the week, colouring a box each day based on how they feel.
• Integrate with English: write a poem or short imaginative story inspired by their artwork.
• Collaborate with the school counsellor on a display discussing emotions, using the class's artworks as part of it.

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Teacher Reflection (Post-Lesson)

Reflect on:

• How confidently did students make links between emotions and colour?
• Were students able to express their feelings through visual means?
• How might students build on this next lesson when exploring the same theme in a new way?

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Notes for Next Lesson (Lesson 4 of 5)

In Lesson 4, students will explore "Colour Collage Stories", using torn coloured paper to create scenes that express a mood, linking storytelling with visual elements.

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This lesson celebrates the authentic emotional intelligence of young learners—through vivid colour, gentle reflection, and vibrant self-expression.