Lesson Plan
Personalized Color Intervention
Students will strengthen their grasp of hue, value, and saturation by actively mixing and analyzing color variations, preparing them to make informed artistic choices.
Understanding these core color properties empowers students to create balanced, dynamic artwork and builds confidence in their creative decisions.
Audience
8th Grade Student
Time
50 minutes
Approach
Hands-on mixing, guided discussion, and reflection.
Materials
- Hue, Value, Saturation Refresher, - Guided Palette Experiment, - Self-Assessment Reflection, - Color Pencils or Paints, - Sketch Paper, - Paintbrushes, and - Water Cup
Prep
Teacher Preparation
5 minutes
- Review Hue, Value, Saturation Refresher slides to anticipate student questions.
- Familiarize yourself with the steps in Guided Palette Experiment.
- Preview prompts in Self-Assessment Reflection.
- Gather and organize art supplies: pencils, paints, paper, brushes, water cup.
Step 1
Introduction & Prior Knowledge
5 minutes
- Greet the student and explain today’s goal: mastering hue, value, and saturation.
- Ask the student to share one recent art project and describe how they chose their colors.
- Note their responses to identify any misconceptions before proceeding.
Step 2
Hue, Value, Saturation Refresher
10 minutes
- Present key definitions using Hue, Value, Saturation Refresher.
- Show visual examples: hue wheel, value scale, saturation gradient.
- Ask quick-check questions: “Which version is lower value?” “How does saturation change mood?”
Step 3
Guided Palette Experiment
20 minutes
- Provide the student with paper, paints/pencils, and palette.
- Follow instructions in Guided Palette Experiment:
- Mix three distinct hues from primary colors.
- Create a 5-step value scale for one chosen hue.
- Build a 5-step saturation gradient by adding gray or water.
- Observe and prompt: “What adjustment made your color lighter? More muted?”
Step 4
Informal Understanding Check
5 minutes
- Ask the student to select one mixed swatch and explain its hue, value, and saturation choices.
- Pose targeted questions: “How would you adjust this for a brighter scene?”
- Provide immediate feedback and clarify any confusion.
Step 5
Self-Assessment Reflection
5 minutes
- Have the student complete Self-Assessment Reflection.
- Reflection prompts:
- Which color property felt most intuitive? Why?
- Which was most challenging, and how might you improve?
- How will you apply these mixing techniques in your next artwork?
Step 6
Closure & Next Steps
5 minutes
- Summarize the three properties and congratulate progress.
- Set a goal: incorporate one new color-mixing technique into an upcoming project.
- Schedule a brief follow-up session to review application and address any lingering questions.
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Slide Deck
Hue, Value & Saturation Refresher
An overview of the three fundamental properties of color:
• Hue – the name of a color (e.g., red, blue)
• Value – how light or dark a color is
• Saturation – how bright or muted a color appears
Let’s dive in!
Introduce the purpose of this refresher. Encourage the student to think about how color choices affect their artwork’s mood and balance.
What Is Hue?
• Definition: The basic color family or ‘color name’ on the color wheel.
• Examples: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, violet.
Hue determines the general feeling – warm vs. cool colors.
Explain hue as the purest form of color, with no tint or shade added. Relate to real-life examples (sky is a blue hue).
The Color Wheel
A visual representation of hues arranged in a circle:
• Primary Hues: Red, Yellow, Blue
• Secondary Hues: Green, Orange, Violet (mix of two primaries)
• Tertiary Hues: Red–Orange, Yellow–Green, etc.
Show a printed or projected color wheel. Point out primary, secondary, and tertiary hues.
What Is Value?
• Definition: The lightness or darkness of a color.
• Range: White (highest value) to black (lowest value).
Value creates contrast and depth in art.
Transition to value. Use an analogy: shading a pencil drawing from white to black.
Value Scale Example
- Pure White 2) Very Light Gray 5) Middle Gray 8) Dark Gray 10) Pure Black
Use value scales to see subtle shifts in light and form.
Display a value scale from 1 to 10. Discuss how artists use it to plan light and shadow.
What Is Saturation?
• Definition: The intensity or purity of a color.
• High Saturation = vivid, bright color.
• Low Saturation = muted, grayish color.
Saturation impacts mood and focus.
Define saturation with examples: a bright neon vs. a faded pastel.
Saturation Gradient Example
[Red – High Saturation] → [Muted Red] → [Gray – No Saturation]
Notice how adding gray mutes the color.
Show a gradient from fully saturated red to gray. Ask student to describe the changes.
Quick-Check: Hue
Question: Which hue would you use to create a calm ocean scene, and why?
• Hint: Think cool vs. warm colors.
Engage the student: quick-check ensures active participation. Provide hints if they struggle.
Quick-Check: Value
Question: You want a night scene. Would you choose a high or low value? Explain.
Continue interaction with value-based scenario. Adjust based on student response.
Quick-Check: Saturation
Question: How would you adjust saturation to make a background less distracting? What effect would that have?
Final quick-check on saturation, tying all three properties together.
Activity
Guided Palette Experiment
Overview: In this activity, you’ll mix colors to explore hue, value, and saturation. Completing the three parts will help you understand how to control these properties in your artwork.
Materials:
- Paints or colored pencils
- Palette or mixing tray
- Sketch paper
- Paintbrushes
- Water cup (if painting)
- Paper towel
Part 1: Mixing Hues (7 minutes)
Instructions:
- Choose two primary colors on your palette.
- Experiment with different ratios to mix three distinct hues.
- Paint small swatches of each hue in separate areas of your paper.
Guiding Questions:
- What new color did you create by mixing these two primaries?
- How did adjusting the ratio change the hue?
Part 2: Value Scale (6 minutes)
Instructions:
- Select one of your mixed hues.
- Create a 5-step value scale from light to dark by adding white (to tint) or black (to shade).
- Paint your swatches in a row labeled 1–5 (1 = lightest, 5 = darkest).
Guiding Questions:
- Which swatch is the lightest? Which is the darkest?
- How does changing the value affect the visual weight of the color?
Part 3: Saturation Gradient (6 minutes)
Instructions:
- Using the same hue, create a 5-step saturation gradient by adding gray (or diluting with water).
- Paint swatches ranging from high to low saturation and label them 1–5 (1 = most saturated, 5 = most muted).
Guiding Questions:
- How does the color change as you add more gray (or water)?
- What mood does a highly saturated color convey versus a muted one?
Part 4: Application Sketch (10 minutes)
Instructions:
- Sketch a simple scene (e.g., a tree, mountain, or still life).
- Apply one hue, one value scale, and one saturation gradient from your swatches in different parts of the sketch to show contrast.
- Label each area with the swatch number you used.
Guiding Questions:
- How did you decide where to place the lighter versus darker values?
- Which saturation level did you choose for the background versus the focal point, and why?
Cleanup: Rinse brushes and clean your palette.
Once you’re finished, we’ll move on to the informal understanding check and reflection in Self-Assessment Reflection.
Journal
Self-Assessment Reflection
Complete the following prompts thoughtfully. Use the space provided to write your answers.
- Which color property (hue, value, or saturation) felt most intuitive today? Why?
- Which color property was most challenging for you? Describe the challenge and one strategy you can use to improve.
- How will you incorporate the mixing techniques you practiced today into your next artwork? Be specific about how you will apply hue, value, and saturation choices.
- Reflect on your learning process: What study habit or mindset helped you during this session? How will you use it in the future?
- Set one goal related to color mixing for your next project. What is your goal, and what steps will you take to achieve it?