Elements of Art Color Art Projects Color Theory Art Lesso Color Wheel Activities

This Color Art Unit for Grades 4 to 9 teaches the Element of Art: Color. Students explore color theory, color schemes and color mixing through structured lessons, a color wheel, hands-on challenges and three full-length guided art projects.

It is made for classroom teachers, homeschoolers and art educators, with over 110 pages of fully planned content. Video and PDF presentations, printable handouts, warm-up activities and guided tutorials inspired by artists like Pete Cromer and Andy Warhol help students learn about warm and cool colors, complementary color schemes and the color wheel. It is a good fit for back to school, teaching the elements of art and building foundational art skills.

WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING

★★★★ “This resource has everything needed to teach color theory in an engaging and organized way. My students loved the hands-on projects, especially the warm and cool color bird collage and the Andy Warhol-inspired flowers. The lessons were easy to follow, highly engaging, and produced beautiful artwork for display.” Jennifer W.

WHAT'S INCLUDED (NON-EDITABLE, AMERICAN ENGLISH)

• Lesson 1: Understanding Color: About Color video presentation, PDF slide deck for teacher-led instruction, and printable student handouts with note-taking pages
• Lesson 2: Mini Color Challenge (warm-up): a quick hands-on color challenge with a complete lesson plan and worksheets
• Lesson 3: Color in Art History: how famous artists use color, with printable handouts and a note-taking page
• Lesson 4: Warm and Cool Color Birds Collage (inspired by Pete Cromer), with step-by-step guided instruction
• Lesson 5: Complementary Color Flowers Painting (inspired by Andy Warhol), a bold pop-art painting project
• Lesson 6: Bee and Flower Color Wheel Project, a mixed media project that builds the color wheel

Each art project includes: a 2-page lesson plan with learning outcomes and teacher/student directions, step-by-step drawing handouts, visual and text-based tutorial slides, an example of the completed artwork, an assessment rubric, student self-assessment and artist reflection pages, and a bulletin board sign.

HOW TO USE IT

Teach it as a complete multi-lesson unit, or break it into individual lessons to suit your schedule. Each lesson has clear directions and visuals for direct instruction or independent student exploration, and it works for full-class instruction, small groups or flexible lesson planning.

FAQ

Who is this art unit designed for?

Elementary classroom teachers, homeschool educators, art specialists and substitute teachers working with students in Grades 4 to 9, or anyone teaching foundational color theory.

How long will the full unit take?

Usually about 2 to 3 class periods per project, depending on your students' age, skill level, classroom behavior, your teaching style and how much time you allocate. Taught completely, the unit can span 8 to 12 lessons.

Is it editable?

No. It is non-editable and written in American English.

ALL TEACHER REVIEWS (7)

★★★★ “My students loved these worksheets. Easy to follow.” The S.

★★★★ “Very well laid out and easy to follow! Of what we were able to do, the results were great! Thank you!” Jessica K.

★★★★ “Very helpful resource for someone who has little art teaching experience. Super engaging and low prep!” Mrs D.

★★★★ “The children loved this” Caitlin C.

★★★★ “Thank you!” CT M

★★★★ “This makes teaching art a breeze as it has both lessons and sample projects for students. The art projects worked really well for grade 4 students and we had a lot of fun creating them.” Zainab J.

Get free, classroom-ready art lessons and printables in my Free Art Lesson Library.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen McGiveron (Ms Artastic) is an artist who has been featured on NBC LX News and designs art lessons for kids and educational resources for teachers. She is the founder of Ms Artastic and hosts the Ms Artastic YouTube Channel and Podcast.

TERMS OF USE

Images and lessons are copyright products.

YOU MAY: use this in your classroom or homeschool and with individual students. Additional licenses are available for school-wide use.

YOU MAY NOT: use this on OutSchool, share it with other educators or districts (please direct them to purchase their own license), post it online or give it away for free.

Sincerely,

Ms Artastic