Color Lesson for Preschool: Create A Classroom Rainbow Collage
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A Colorful Classroom Rainbow Collage

Teaching preschoolers their colors is one of many basic goals for their pre-K experience. Why not take the time to teach them some color-theory and turn a classroom bulletin board into a work of art? This color for prekindergarten or preschool students is a community work-in-progress that can be revisited throughout the school year. Students will work together to create a classroom rainbow collage. The experience will enhance your students color awareness and knowledge and will provide the room with an outstanding visual display. Students are encouraged throughout the year to add pictures, paintings, magazine clippings or anything that can be glued, taped or pinned to the wall.

Materials:

  • A large bulletin board or plenty of wall space - preferably with cork or tag board for attaching items.
  • Divide the bulletin board into six equal spaces and label each space with the corresponding color word in this order: RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, PURPLE. You may find that your students will also insist on pink, brown, black and white.
  • magazines
  • scratch paper
  • scraps of yarn, wrapping paper, fabric, etc.
  • scissors
  • glue
  • tape
  • push-pins (teacher only)

Prior Knowledge: Students should have a basic understanding of what a rainbow is and what colors can be included in the spectrum.

Teach: Read A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman to begin a discussion of color and rainbows. You can extend the literary experience by reading Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert.

Procedure: To kick-off the rainbow wall, bring your own items from home (example: a red sock, a picture of a man in a yellow hat, an orange label from a bottle of soda-pop). Pull them one at a time from a bag or box and let the children discuss what they see. Provide them with open ended questions. Try to have items representing each color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Continue to encourage a guided discussion about the colors, what they see, and what it reminds them of.

Once all of the items are shown, arrange them in a pattern to form a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple). Do the students see the rainbow? Would they like to make their own rainbow?

Allow students access to age-appropriate magazines, scraps and scissors. Demonstrate to the children how to find colors to fit into the rainbow and how to cut them out of the magazines. Guide the students to decide where to place their colors on the wall. The children may need help attaching their items to the wall.

Encourage students and their families to continue to add items to the rainbow wall throughout the year.

Assessment:

Assessment for these art lesson plans for prekindergarten should include:

  • Fine motor control through cutting paper.
  • Correct color identification.
  • Continued assessment throughout the year by allowing each students several opportunities to create or share an item for the wall. Have them choose where their color might fit and why.

This color lesson for preschool students will make a beautiful display all year long in your classroom from the rainbow collage!

This post is part of the series: Colorful Preschool Lessons & Activities

Teaching your preschool class about colors can be a fun and creative process. Try the many ideas in this series to introduce colors to your class through songs, activities and games!

  1. Rainbow Collage: A Preschool Color Lesson
  2. Three Color Activities for Preschool Students
  3. Three Preschool Activities on Mixing Colors
  4. Rainbows & Collages: Two Preschool Lesson Plans on Colors
  5. A Collection of Preschool Songs About Colors