Color Wheel Art Lesson Element of Art Color Fish Art Project Grade 3 Art Lesson

This Color Wheel Fish Art Lesson gives Grade 3 students a hands-on way to explore the element of art: color. Students create a bright underwater artwork with six colorful fish arranged in color-wheel order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

Instead of filling in a color-wheel worksheet, students put their learning into a complete artwork. They can use the included templates or design their own fish, fins, tails and details, so every piece is unique. With color theory, design, painting, collage, literacy and reflection all included, you can teach it as a single art project or a full mini unit. It is made for elementary art teachers, classroom teachers, substitute teachers and homeschool families.

WHAT'S INCLUDED (NON-EDITABLE)

• Detailed Grade 3 lesson plan with suggested visual art standards
• Teacher guide about color in art
• Critical-thinking and discussion questions
• Color in Art and Color Wheel anchor charts
• Primary and secondary color and warm and cool color instruction
• Color-wheel practice page and color-mixing fish activity
• Printable fish color-wheel pieces and bubble template
• Build-a-Fish creative planning page
• Visual step-by-step tutorial and finished artwork example
• Art rubric and bulletin-board display sign
• Fast-finisher fish coloring activity
• KWL chart
• Reading-comprehension activity and answer key
• Sight-word tracking list, art vocabulary word bank, and spelling list and test
• Writing activities
• Artist statement and artwork reflection pages
• Peer-feedback activity
• Goal-setting and extension activities
• Elements of Art and Principles of Design activities
• PowerPoint presentation about color, the color wheel and primary and secondary colors, with step-by-step project instructions
• Bonus link to a video demonstration

WHAT STUDENTS LEARN

Students identify red, yellow and blue as the primary colors and learn how they mix to make orange, green and purple. They compare warm and cool colors and think about how color choices can make artwork feel bright, calm, energetic, peaceful, joyful or dramatic.

Along the way they explore how artists use color to communicate ideas and feelings, create mood, build contrast and emphasis, make important details stand out, organize a color scheme and mix new colors. The PowerPoint introduces these ideas and then guides students through the fish project step by step.

FAQ

What grade is this resource designed for?

Grade 3, and it can be adapted for nearby elementary grades.

Is a PowerPoint presentation included?

Yes. It covers color theory and includes the step-by-step project presentation.

Is there a video demonstration?

Yes. A bonus link to a video demonstration is included. The video streams through the link and is not a downloadable file.

Can students design their own fish?

Yes. They can use the templates or create original fish with the Build-a-Fish planning page.

How long does the lesson take?

Most classes need about 2 to 4 art periods, depending on class length, drying time and which extra activities you include.

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 creative ways and have as much fun with it as you like. For clip art, you may use the images as clip art, website graphics, binder covers or bulletin board decorations. Additional licenses are available for school use.

YOU MAY NOT: use this on OutSchool, put it on your blog, share it with other teachers, administration or districts (admin can buy additional licenses), sell it, give it out for free or photocopy it for others.

Sincerely,

Ms Artastic