COLOURColour is the element of art that is produced when light, striking an object, is reflected back to the eye. There are three properties of colour. First is hue, which simply means the name we give to a colour (red, yellow, blue, etc.). The second property is intensity, which refers to the strength and vividness of the colour. For example, we may describe the colour blue as "royal" (bright, rich, vibrant) or "dull" (greyed). The third and final property of colour, value, is so important that it is also considered one of the seven elements of art. Value refers to the lightness or darkness of what is seen or depicted. Without value we cannot perceive depth. Value is necessary for making images appear real.

PRIMARY ACTIVITY

Have each child paint one each of their hands a primary colour. Make hand prints of the primary colours and then rub hands together and make hand prints of the secondary colour these create. Have students label the colours used and write the colour equation they created.

INTERMEDIATE ACTIVITY

Introduce students to the concept of the colour wheel. Provide students with a wide array of magazines and scrap paper and have them create a colour wheel collage using these materials. They can incorporate different shades of the particular colours in the colour wheel using the resources available to them. This activity can also facilitate the exploration of texture in the different pieces the choose to incorporate into their collage.

SHAPEShape is a two-dimensional area that is defined by a change in value or some other form of contrast. All shapes are two-dimensional, meaning that they have only length and width. All shapes will fall into one of two categories. Geometric shapes (regular) are easy to recognize and generally have a specific name associated with them. Organic (freeform) shapes seem to follow no rules. They generally do not have a name associated with them. Shapes defined by objects are positive shapes (pace) while shapes defined around objects are negative shapes (space). The relationship between the positive and negative shapes help our brains understand what we are seeing.

PRIMARY ACTIVITY

Children will create paper bag monsters/dragons. Provide each child with a paper bag and a variety of materials to cut shapes out of. Have the children first colour their bags and then cut out shapes to make the elements of the face, ears, tongue, and body of their puppet. In providing a variety of materials to cut into shapes you can also assist children in exploring texture.

INTERMEDIATE ACTIVITY

This is a fall activity. Have children collect as many different leafs as they can find. Students then trace the outline of the leaf and then fill in that outline with strips of coloured tissue paper. Once their leaves are filled in they can trace over the outline of the leaf, draw the stem, and replicate the pattern of the veins on the leaf using a metallic felt (or other felt). Each leaf should be properly labelled.

VALUEValue deals with the lightness or darkness of a colour. Since we see objects and understand objects because of how dark or light they are, value is an incredibly important element in art. We see things because light reflects off of objects and goes into our eyes. Our mind processes the light and rationalizes what we are seeing. Without light we cannot see anything. A full range of value in an artwork means that there are many variations in light values - called tints, and dark values - called shades.

PRIMARY ACTIVITY Each student (or group of students) is given a stamp pad. If stamp pads are not available this activity can also be done with felts used to draw ink onto the students' thumbs. Each student presses their thumb firmly onto the ink pad and then makes five thumb prints in a row without re-applying ink. This will create five different shades of the same colour. Students should number each thumb print. Students then can use the ink pads and their thumbs/fingers to create images incorporating varying shades of this colour. Students should understand that they need not re-apply ink with each thumb print.

INTERMEDIATE ACTIVITY

Each student begins by choosing the primary colour they will be working with. This activity is best done with acrylic paints. All students begin by painting a strip of black at the top of their page. Students then blend some black paint into their primary paint colour and use this blended colour to create the next strip of the horizon. With this colour they also paint a tree on the black horizon. Students then paint the following strip of horizon using their primary colour as is. They also use this colour to paint a tree on the above darker horizon. For the next horizon students blend some white paint in with their primary colour. They paint a tree on the above horizon using this lighter blend. The bottom horizon is left white and students paint a white tree on the above horizon. For winter projects white paint can be used to add snow flakes on all the horizons.

TEXTURETexture refers to the way an object feels to the touch OR looks as it may feel if it were touched. 3D texture (tactile texture) refers to the way an object feels to touch whereas 2D texture refers to the way an object looks as it may feel. Visual texture creates the illusion of a 3D surface by simulating or imitating real textures. Rough texture reflects light unevenly whereas smooth texture reflects light evenly.

PRIMARY ACTIVITY

Provide students with an assortment of fruit to choose from (this sample uses an apple, however other fruit that could be used include figs, grapes, dried orange slices (otherwise too juicy), kiwi, etc...). Help students cut a cross section (preferably down the middle) of the fruit to use as a stamp. Students then paint the cut section of fruit and stamp pictures. Students should be encouraged to test a variety of colours with their stamps. Another variation of this activity is for students to add drawings to the shapes to turn the shapes into animals or other images.

INTERMEDIATE ACTIVITY

Provide students with a digital device to take photographs. This activity may best be done in small groups where resources are limited. Take students outdoors and encourage them to take photographs focusing on the intersection of a variety of textures (min. 3 per photograph). Print the photographs and have students mount their work and identify the textures on the back of their final work. Present the photographs to the class and have students guess where the photograph was taken on their school property and what formed the textures that are captured in the image

LINEIn art a line can control a viewer's eye, describe edges, indicate form as well as movement, and indicate value and a light source. The most common use of line is showing where an object ends. This type of line is called a contour (outline) line. Line quality is the thickness or thinness of a line. By varying the line quality an artist can show form in a drawing with just the use of line. Line can also indicate shadow and form through the use of cross contour lines. Cross contour lines follow the contours of the object. There are many different kinds of lines used in art: vertical lines, horizontal lines, diagonal lines, zigzag lines, and curved lines. The line quality or line weight refers to the thickness or thinness of a line.

PRIMARY ACTIVITY

Have students cover a blank piece of paper in colour. This could integrate the colour wheel. Students then cut different line shapes in the paper. The coloured paper is then mounted using glue on black (or another dark colour) paper with space left between the cut sections. This space will form lines. Students can experiment with the thickness of the lines by gluing the pieces closer or further apart.

INTERMEDIATE ACTIVITY

Students cut out a dark coloured silhouette of a flying animal/object (bird, bat, plane, rocket, etc...). This silhouette is glued to white paper and then students draw lines behind the silhouette to depict movement. These lines should take a variety of forms and incorporate different patterns. Each line or grouping of lines is then highlighted with a different colour.

FORMIn terms of art, form refers to objects that are three dimensional or have length, width, and weight. Geometric forms have specific names associated with them and are often man-made. Organic forms do not have specific names associated with them and are often associated with naturally occurring forms. When drawing representationally in 2D artists often try to create the illusion of form. To create this illusion it is important to understand how light reacts on the object. Light reacts on objects and is communicated to viewers through several factors. The highlight is the area where light is hitting the object directly. The midtone is the value of the local colour of the object. The core shadow is the area(s) that is shaded on an object. The cast shadow is the area(s) that is shaded on surrounding objects and surfaces because of blocked light. The reflected highlight is the area on an object that is lighter because of reflected light off of surrounding objects.

PRIMARY ACTIVITY

Provide students with scraps of corrugated cardboard collected from the recycling. Each student is to create a sculpture using glue and interlocking pieces of corrugated cardboard. Depending on the students and how this activity may integrate with other topics being covered in class you may want to provide a concrete form they are to represent or allow the students greater freedom to choose what form they want to represent.

INTERMEDIATE ACTIVITY

Provide students with a blank template for creating a simple box. Have the students colour the template. This portion of the activity can incorporate the elements of colour and line. Have students then cut out their templates and form boxes and see how the design or image they have illustrated is transformed when placed on a 3D plane. This activity can be done with various sizes of cubes.

SPACEIn terms of art, space is the area around, above, and within an object. There are six ways an artist can create the illusion of space on a 2D surface. Overlapping occurs when objects that are closer to the viewer prevent the view of objects that are behind them. Careful placement on the paper (or canvas) can create the illusion of space by placing objects that are further away higher within the picture. Size can communicate space since smaller objects appear to be further away from the viewer. To create the illusion of space objects that are further away should also have less detail than objects that are closer to the viewer. With regards to the use of colour and

value to depict space, objects that are further away are cooler in colour temperature, while objects that are closer are warmer. Objects that are further away are lighter in value, while objects that are closer are typically darker in value. Finally, perspective is used to create the illusion of space on a flat surface.

PRIMARY ACTIVITY

Provide students with a square piece of blank paper. Have students trace a portion of a large circle in each corner. Round objects such as coffee tins or cans can be provided to help students with this task. Then have students add heads to these large circles. Students can then decorate these circles to depict snowmen using whichever attributes or accessories they would like. Buttons should be drawn largest closest to the corner of the page and smallest closest to the head of the snowman. Encourage students to colour the space in-between the snowmen as sky and add snowflakes of various sizes to fill the space.

INTERMEDIATE ACTIVITY

Students will be drawing on black paper using coloured pastels. They begin by selecting a point in the middle of their page. Two lines are then drawn radiating from this point to the bottom of their page and in cutting the angle of these lines in half they draw a dotted line down the middle of the road. This can incorporate a math lesson on angles. Students then line the road with overlapping trees decreasing in size as they approach the point. Finally they colour the sky and add different sized stars to occupy the space of the sky.