Colour and Matter

Overview

This 45-minute lesson is the third in a five-lesson unit titled "Exploring Matter Through Art." It focuses on how colours can symbolise different materials. Students will engage in a hands-on exploration of primary and secondary colour mixing and create an abstract painting representing a material of their choice.

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Curriculum Connections

British Columbia Curriculum – Visual Arts (Grades 3-5)

• Big Ideas:

  • Artists use colour to evoke feelings, create meaning, and visually represent the world around them.
  • Artists use a variety of materials, technologies, and processes to create art.

• Curricular Competencies:

  • Create and communicate: Use the elements of art (colour, shape, texture) to express ideas and feelings.
  • Reason and reflect: Explain how different colours and materials convey meaning or mood.
  • Connect and expand: Explore the properties of materials through art-making.

• Content:

  • Explore primary colours (red, blue, yellow) and secondary colours (green, orange, purple).
  • Understand how mixing colours can represent characteristics of different materials (e.g., smooth, rough, shiny).

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Identify and mix primary colours to produce secondary colours.
2. Experiment with colour to create an abstract visual representation of a chosen material (e.g., water, wood, metal).
3. Describe how the colours in their painting relate to the material’s qualities.
4. Reflect on how colour can express meaning beyond realistic portrayals.

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Materials Needed (per class of 25)

• Tempera or acrylic paints: red, blue, yellow
• Paint palettes or paper plates for mixing
• Water cups for rinsing brushes
• Brushes of various sizes
• White paper (approx. A3 size) for final painting
• Colour mixing handout (simple primary to secondary colour wheel)
• Aprons or smocks
• Paper towels

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Lesson Breakdown

1. Introduction (7 minutes)

• Hook: Show students 3 jars of primary-coloured liquids (red, blue, yellow water with food colouring). Ask: “What do you notice about these colours? What happens if we mix them?”
• Brief discussion about primary colours as “building blocks” of other colours.
• Introduce the idea that colours can represent different materials in art — e.g., shiny metal might be silver/grey, water can be blue, wood might have earthy tones.

Curricular Competency: Connect and expand

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2. Colour Mixing Exploration (10 minutes)

• Demonstrate mixing red + yellow = orange, yellow + blue = green, blue + red = purple on a palette.
• Distribute paint palettes and primary colours to students. Encourage experimentation mixing their own secondary colours.
• Use colour mixing handout as a reference.
• Circulate and prompt: “What happens when you add a little more red? What colour can you make that looks like metal or water?”

Curricular Competency: Create and communicate

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3. Guided Painting Activity (20 minutes)

• Ask students to choose one material to represent in an abstract artwork (e.g., stone, water, wood, fabric, metal).
• Encourage them to think about: “Which colours show the qualities of that material? Is it smooth or rough? Cool or warm?”
• Students use mixed colours to paint freely on their paper, focusing on expressing the material’s feel rather than making a realistic picture.
• Play soft background music inspired by natural sounds (water flowing, rustling leaves) to inspire creativity and mood.

Curricular Competency: Create and communicate, Reason and reflect

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4. Sharing and Reflection (8 minutes)

• Invite volunteers to share their artwork with the class.
• Each volunteer briefly explains:
  • What material they chose
  • What colours they mixed and why
  • How their colours express the material’s qualities
• Discuss how the use of colour helps convey emotions or qualities in abstract art, rather than clear pictures.

Curricular Competency: Reason and reflect

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Assessment

• Observational: Teacher monitors colour mixing skills and engagement during the painting activity.
• Formative: Through sharing, assess students’ ability to explain their colour choices and connection to the material’s properties.
• Exit Ticket: Students name two secondary colours and one material their painting represents (can be oral or written on sticky notes).

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Differentiation and Inclusion

• Provide visual colour charts and examples for students needing extra support.
• Allow students who might find painting challenging to use coloured crayons or pastels to achieve similar effects.
• Encourage all students to express their individual interpretations freely — emphasize process and creativity over “correctness.”

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Extension Idea (Optional)

For homework or a follow-up activity, students could collect different materials (paper, fabric, metal) and create colour palettes that represent their textures and appearances, reinforcing the day’s lesson.

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Teacher Reflection Questions

• Did students successfully mix and identify secondary colours?
• Were students able to connect colours to their chosen materials conceptually?
• How engaged were students during abstract painting?
• What strategies supported struggling students in using colour for expression?

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This lesson balances hands-on experimentation with thoughtful reflection, encouraging young artists to think critically about the relationship between colour and material qualities while fostering creative confidence aligned with the BC curriculum’s key visual arts competencies.