DESCRIPTION: Students participate in a square dance to learn about the color wheel and the relationship between colors.

OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this activity is to educate students about the relationship between colors.

PROCEDURE: We are going to do a color square dance. Does anyone know what a primary color is? What about secondary colors? And tertiary colors? Do you know what complimentary, or opposite colors are? Let's create our own color wheel. (Hand out color cards) Have students hold their card in front of them and place them in a circle so that their colors correspond correctly with a color wheel. Make sure that they can visually see and understand the color wheel and the concepts of primary, secondary colors, etc. Have students trade color cards and find their spot on the color wheel on their own.

Now that we are a color wheel, we will begin the color square dance. Primary colors go into the center of the circle, bow to the other primary colors, and then return to the outside circle. Secondary colors go into the center of the circle, bow to one another, and then return to the outside circle. Now I am going to make it a little more challenging. Primary colors go find your complimentary colors in the center of the circle, do a do-see-do, and then go back out to the circle. Tertiary colors go into to the center, link arms and swing around once and return to your spot on the color wheel. (Continue this with warm and cool colors adding variations to the dance. If the students are attentive to the game, again mix up the color cards so that students have to rethink their relationships to each other.)

MINNESOTA GRADUATION STANDARDS:
(1) Read, View, Listen
(2) Write and Speak
(3) Literature and the Arts

Age level: Appropriate for grades 3-6.
Artworks used: Use this activity in an open area of the gallery that contains a lot of color. Discuss the paintings or sculptures by having the students utilize their new vocabulary about color.
Props needed: Twenty, 8" by 10" cards, each representing a primary, secondary or tertiary colors.
Related to Minneapolis Sculpture Garden: Yes


© 1998 WALKER ART CENTER