Lesson #5 - Warm and Cool Colors

Objective

The student will recognize that warm and cool colors can show mood in a work of art.

Focus Element - color

Focus Principle - unity

Standards

(AP) Artistic Perception - Identify the elements of visual art. (1.2)

(CE) Creative Expression - Create original works of art. (2.2, 2.4)

(HCC) Historical and Cultural Context - Understand the place of art in history and multicultural studies. (3.1)

(AV) Aesthetic Valuing - Analyze one's own and others' artwork. (4.2, 4.3, 4.4)

Open Court Themes

Sharing Stories Fossils

Kindness Courage

Look Again Our Country and Its People

Concept

Colors in artwork can express feelings. Some colors are warm and some are cool.

Resources

ADVENTURES IN ART: pp. 42&43

ART CONNECTIONS: pp. 58-59A

ART EXPRESS: pp. 48&49

PORTFOLIOS: pp. 12&13

Art examples:

Mesas at Sunset, Juanita Cruz

Carnival Evening, Henri Rousseau

Vocabulary word

warm colors (red, orange, yellow)

mood

cool colors (blue, green, purple)

neutral

Materials

  • drawings from the previous week OR 9" x 12" white drawing paper if students are beginning a new drawing
  • watercolor sets
  • watercolor brushes
  • water cups.
  • palettes- either wax paper stapled to chipboard OR white styrofoam plates
  • alternate media: crayons, colored chalk, or oil pastels

Second Grade, lesson #5

DIRECTED LESSON

Get Set

Which colors make us feel warm when we look at them, and which make us feel cool? Chart warm (red, yellow, orange) and cool (blue, green, purple) colors on the board.

Focus

Compare and contrast Mesas at Sunset and Carnival Evening. Which of these examples was painted with warm colors? Which was painted with cool colors? How do the pictures make you feel? How did the artists use colors to communicate those moods?

Develop

  1. Tell students they will be painting their drawings from the previous week. They should each choose a mood they would like to express with their colors.
  2. Should they use warm or cool colors to create the mood? The consistent use of either warm or cool colors should create unity in their pictures.
  3. Students may use black, brown, and gray as neutral colors. Remind them to fill in the whole paper.
  4. Review use of watercolors, how to mix colors, etc.

Evaluation

Looking at all students' work, have students tell how others' artwork makes them feel, and what mood they are expressing in their own work.

Summary

Art can express feelings. Artists may use warm and cool colors to express mood.

Journal writing prompt

Write about the mood of your picture. How did you use warm or cool colors to create the mood?

Extensions

  • READING - Read FREDERICK, by Leo Lionni. How did Frederick use colors to warm up the mice?
  • VA - Develop a classroom chart of moods you discover in illustrations or other artwork, such as peaceful, frightening, angry, exciting, etc. Discuss how the use of color contributed to the effect.

Assessment

(AP) I can name warm and cool colors. I can say some moods they create in art.

(CE) I can use watercolor paints to make a picture. I can use warm and cool colors to express a mood.

(HCC) I can explain how an artist might use color to communicate a feeling.

(AV) I notice that my classmates and I respond to the same artwork in different ways.

(CRA) I can group pictures according to mood.