Date: May 1994

Grade Level(s): 2

Subject(s):

• Science

OVERVIEW:

Red, yellow, and blue are called primary colors. Every other color can be produced by mixing different combinations of these colors. Red and yellow make orange. Red and blue make purple. Yellow and blue make green. The newly created colors are orange, purple, and green. These colors are called secondary colors.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES:

The students will experiment with colors and discover which colors are created when the primary colors are mixed together.

MATERIALS:

white frosting; red, blue, and yellow food coloring; mixing bowls; 3 spoons; 3 measuring teaspoons; graham crackers; napkins; typing paper

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:

The teacher should color and mix frosting beforehand: 1 cup red, 1 cup yellow, 1 cup blue. This investigation can be done in small groups or with the entire class.

1. Each student will be given 2 graham crackers. S/he will leave one whole and break the other into fourths.
2. Each student will measure 1 teaspoon of each color on the whole cracker.
3. The students will predict what color will be made when red and blue are combined.
4. The students will mix red and blue frosting on one part of the other cracker using a popsicle stick.
5. The students will predict what color will be made when red and yellow are combined.
6. The students will mix red and yellow frosting on one part of the other cracker using a popsicle stick.
7. The students will predict what color will be made when yellow and blue are combined.
8. The students will mix blue and yellow frosting on one part of the other cracker with a popsicle stick.
9. The students will predict what color will be made when red and blue and yellow are combined.
10. The students will mix red and blue and yellow frosting on the last part of the other cracker with a stick.
11. Enjoy!

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Review what they learned by drawing a color wheel on the board. Students draw one on their piece of paper. Students help fill in the wheel on the board with colored chalk while the others color in the one at their desks.

Special Comments: Although red, blue, and yellow have traditionally been known as the "primary colors," teachers should be aware that magenta, cyan, and yellow are considered "primary colors" from a physics standpoint. See the the Internet sites below for more information:

* Primary Colors
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/lightandcolor/primaryhome.html

* Primary Colors of Paint, Ink, and Dyes
http://home.att.net/~jpzenger/RYBORCMY.htm

May 1994

These lesson plans are the result of the work of the teachers who have attended the Columbia Education Center's Summer Workshop. CEC is a consortium of teacher from 14 western states dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural, western, United States, and particularly the quality of math and science Education. CEC uses Big Sky Telegraph as the hub of their telecommunications network that allows the participating teachers to stay in contact with their trainers and peers that they have met at the Workshops.