LESSON PLAN COLOR HARMONIES

Teacher:

Jacqueline Abend

Unit:

Relationships

Course:
Topic:

Color Harmonies

Art I_________________
Grade:

9-12_ _

Essential Questions:
1.

How does art imitate life?

2. What kinds of relationships inspire art?

3. How have artists used their knowledge of relationships throughout history and today?
New Jersey State Standards:

1.1 The Creative Process: All students will demonstrate an understanding of the elements and principles
that govern the creation of works of art in dance, music, theatre, and visual art. (1.1.12.D.1)

1.2 History of the Arts and Culture: All students will understand the role, development, and influence of
the arts throughout history and across cultures. (1.2.12.A.1)

1.3 Performance: All students will synthesize those skills, media, methods, and technologies appropriate
to creating, performing, and/or presenting works of art in dance, music, theatre, and visual art.
(1.3.12.D.3)

Daily Performance Objectives:

Knowledge: Able to identify color harmonies and schemes.

Skills: Analyze the various color harmonies by comparing the color combinations in pop-culture
and art historical images.

Understandings: Color combinations are a conscious part of design. Artists use color schemes to
influence how we react to artworks.

Prior Knowledge:

Knowledge: Able to identify primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.

Skills: Ability to mix colors and choose the right brush size. Ability to follow directions and note
observations.

Understandings: Color combinations create an aesthetic relationship.

Materials and Aids: Paintbrushes of various sizes, paper towels, water, tracing shapes templates,
pencils, rulers, 12 x 9 paper, tempera paint, paint palettes, slides and reproductions of artwork
and still images from the following music videos: Psy Gangnam Style; Drake Hotline Bling;
Mark Ronson Uptown Funk; Nicki Minaj Superbass; Beyonc Countdown; J. Cole Intro;
Selena Gomez Good to You
Time Frame for the Lesson:
Time Frame of
Activity
5 minutes

Student Will

Teacher Will
Give Directions for the activity
throughout each step. Call on students to
begin mixing with other colors.

10 minutes

Each student will be given a separate

piece of colored paper from the primary
or secondary color groups. Students will
be tasked with lining up on the
appropriate side of the room per their
color category (e.g. primary on the right
side, secondary on the left). Students will
mix with one color from the opposite
side/color group to create a tertiary
color. Students will be asked to use key
vocabulary during the activity.
Respond to questions and come up to the
screen and identify the colors being used
and what kind of harmony is being
shown.

Present students with a slideshow of the

various color harmonies. Teacher will
show stills from pop-culture music videos
in tandem with paintings from various art
movements (Impressionism, the Blue
Riders, Post-Impressionism) to illustrate
examples of color schemes in use. Call on
students to identify colors being used and
describe the color schemes.
Teacher will keep time of group
Students will be placed into groups and
be shown a series of images. Students will discussion and transition to next
slide/group when appropriate.
have 1-5 minutes per slide to discuss in
their groups what color scheme is being
used. Groups will be called on to share
with the class what they think the color
scheme is. Groups will have 2 minutes to
defend their choice and identify the
colors on the color wheel on the screen.
The rest of the class will vote whether or
not they agree by a show of hands.
Dissenting groups will be given 2 minutes
to explain their choice.

20 minutes

40 minutes

Students will spend the rest of the period

finishing their color wheels from the
previous lesson or beginning the scheme
projects.
Students will also give opinions on/work
with teacher to create assignment rubric.

Introduce the next assignment to the

students. They will choose one color
scheme and create a composition only
using those colors. Students will be given
a choice to create a painting using a
specific color scheme that either
a. Employs a geometric
design, being composed of
different shapes
b. Utilizes a color scheme to
create an optical illusion in
your design
c. Use a color scheme in a
painting of an object or
character (human or
animal) of your choice
Present students with rubric for
assignment. Take 5 minutes to review and
talk with students whether they agree
with the rubric and ask what they feel
should be added/removed. Revise rubric
accordingly if changes made.

10 minutes

Clean up and respond to review

questions.

What is an analogous color scheme?

Name three colors that fit this
combination. What are complimentary
colors? Name two. What is splitcomplimentary? Give an example on the
classroom color chart.

Assessment/Evaluation:

Formative- Completion of guided notes worksheet

Summative- Completion of color wheels and color scheme painting

Adaptations

ELL Learners: Writing the names of colors on color sheets during beginning activity. Allow ELL
students to sit next to another and work together.

Special Needs: Demonstration during explanation of assignment, allow students to choose from three
options for the color scheme project.

Homework: N/A

Student Name:

Date:

Teachers Name:

Period:

Color Schemes/Harmonies
1. Color Harmonies are basic ______________________ for creating ____________ _____________.

2. Complementary Colors are colors that are ____________________ each other

on the ___________ ____________.

3. ____________________ Colors are next to each other on the color wheel.

4. Triadic Colors are _______________ spaced around the color wheel.

5. ____________ - Complimentary colors include a base color and the two colors
that are ________________ to its complement.

6. ____________________________ and _____________________________ colors include two pairs of

complementary colors (4 colors in total).

Name:

Date:

Teachers Name:

Period:

Color Scheme Rubric

Understanding

Quality

Effort

Responsibility

5 points

4 points

3 points

2 points

1 point

Student chose a
color scheme and
use scheme clearly
throughout
project. Color
scheme is easy to
identify.
Student took time
to carefully paint
shapes using
proper brush
strokes. Colors, if
mixed, are mixed
well.
Student spent time
working on design.
Sketched design
before began
painting. Chose
different brush
sizes for
appropriate
technique.
Student kept work
area clean,
showed attention
in taking proper
care of art
materials (kept a
clean palette,
washed brushes),
and handed in
rubric with final
project

Students color
scheme is
mostly clear,
some
ambiguity.

Color scheme
can be
interpreted as
more than one.

Color scheme is
hard to identify,
unsure if color
scheme is used at
all.

No color scheme
used in
composition.

Project has an
overall nice
composition;
however, some
areas show
signs of
rushing.
Student spent
time on design
beforehand;
painting shows
that different
brushes should
have been
used.

Color sections
are mostly
defined, but
brushstrokes are
messy towards
edges of shapes.

Brushstrokes are
messy, edges of
shapes are
undefined. Student
did not take time to
paint carefully.

Student did not

take time to paint
carefully, colors
bleed into one
another, edges
are unclear.

A small amount
of time was
devoted to
planning
beforehand;
student only
used one brush
throughout the
composition.
Student leaves
splashes of paint
and water on
the table. Does
not clean
brushes
properly. May
be missing
rubric.

Student did not

spend much time
planning design.
Outline was not
complete before
student started
painting.

Student did not

outline a design
before beginning
to paint.

Student does not

take time to
properly wash
brushes and clean
materials. May be
missing rubric.

Student did not

keep workplace
clean. Brushes are
put away with
paint on them,
and leaves
materials on table
at the end of
class. No rubric
handed in.

Student kept
work area
mostly clean,
put away
almost all art
materials, may
be missing
rubric with
assignment.