Topic/Big Idea: Understanding How Colours Can Affect Our Emotions 
Grade: 5 Subject: Visual Art Time: 1 ½ hours   

Prior Learning: 
- Students would study the works of Yaacov Agam, an Israeli sculptor and experimental 
artist known for his contributions to kinesthetic and optical art.  
- Students would have an understanding of colour concepts such as complementary 
colours, hue, and intensity 
Curriculum Expectations and Learning Goals 
Curriculum Expectations  Learning Goals 
D1: Creating and Presenting  I can:  
D1.1 create two- and three-dimensional art works that  - Understand the 
express feelings and ideas inspired by their own and others’  relationships between colour 
points of view  and emotions 
D1.3 use elements of design in art works to communicate  - Understand the concept of 
ideas, messages, and understandings  colour psychology 
D2: Reflecting, Responding, and Analyzing  - Reflect on how my 
D2.2 explain how the elements and principles of design are  associations between 
used in their own and others’ art work to communicate  certain emotions and 
meaning or understanding   colours might be different 
than other students’ 
depending on our 
backgrounds and 
experiences 
- Express creativity through 
different mediums such as 
photography and online 
photo editing software 
Part 1: Minds On     Estimated time: 15 minutes 
1. The teacher will put up 5 pieces of chart paper around  Materials:  
the classroom, each with one of the words joy, sadness, 
fear, anger, or disgust written on them.   - Chart paper 
2. Students will have sticky notes or construction paper  - Different coloured sticky 
with tape of the colours red, blue, yellow, orange, grey,  notes or construction 
green, black, and brown.   paper and tape  
3. The teacher will ask, “What colour makes you feel joy?,” 
“What colour makes you feel sadness?,” and so on, and 
the students will walk around the classroom and stick a 
colour onto the emotion they associate it with.  
4. The teacher will then facilitate a class discussion by 
asking questions related to the emotions that the 
students associated with each colour: 
a. Why does red make you feel x?  
b. Was there an experience you had where x colour 
made you feel x?  

1
 

Part 2: Action Estimated time: 1 hour 

Activity 1: How Colours Affect Your Mood  Materials and Set up: 
- Camera 
1. Students will watch the video DNews video ​How Colours  - Coloured construction 
Affect Your Mood​.  paper 
2. The teacher will facilitate a class discussion by asking  - Tripod 
students the following questions:   
a. Can someone please s​ ummarize​ the video for   
me?   
b. What emotion did the host say that the colour red 
would evoke? What about green? 
i. Do you think this is true for everyone? Does 
anyone experience a different emotion 
when they see the colour red? 
c. Do you think different cultures/people from 
different parts of the world experience emotional 
reactions to colour differently? Why or why not?  
 
Activity 2: Agamographs 
1. Students will be asked to choose two different emotions 
and come up with the colours that they associate with 
those emotions. 
2. Students will be shown photos of completed 
agamographs. 

 
Picture sourced from: 
http://mvrmsart.blogspot.com/2015/04/altered-ego-6th-grade.
html 
3. The teacher will ask for a volunteer from the classroom 
to help demonstrate how to take portrait photos.  
a. Get into pairs and assign one person as partner 1 
and the other person as partner 2. 
b. Staple pieces of coloured construction paper of 
your choice to the bulletin board as a 
background. 
c. Set up the tripod in your desired area. Partner 1’s 
entire face should take up most of the frame. 
d. Take the first photo of partner 1 expressing the 
mood/emotion associated with the colour of the 
background that they chose. 
e. Without partner 1 moving, partner 2 will switch the 

2
 

colour of the construction paper on the bulletin 

board. 
f. Take the second photo of partner 1 expressing 
the mood/emotion associated with the colour of 
the background that they chose. 
g. Switch roles.  
4. The teacher will then demonstrate how to tint the photos: 
a. Students will then be required to upload their 
portrait photos onto a computer.  
b. Using ribbet.com, students will use the t​ int​ feature 
to change the colour of their photo to the colour 
that reflects their facial expression and matches 
the colour of their construction paper 
background.  
c. Repeat for the second photo. 
5. Once both photos are printed, students will divide each 
photo evenly into five vertical sections using a ruler by 
drawing lines with a pencil on the back of the photos. 
6. Students will then label each section of their photo in 
order: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 for photo 1, and A, B, C, D, and E for 
photo 2. 
7. They will cut out each strip and glue them in alternating 
order on a piece of construction paper. The order of the 
photos should be 1-A-2-B-3-C-4-D-5-E.  
8. Students will fold the construction paper accordion style 
and find that depending on the angle in which they look 
at their art, their facial expression and colour of the 
photo will change. 
 
Extension/Homework: 
This lesson would be paired well with an analysis of the Pixar 
movie ​Inside Out. 

Part 3: Consolidation Estimated Time: 10 min. 

 
Gallery Walk and Reflection:   
1. Students will walk around the classroom and look at 
other students’ agamographs.  
2. At the front of the class, there will be a piece of chart 
paper with the question, “Did your connection of emotion 
and colour differ from other students’? Why do you think 
that was the case?” 
3. Students will answer the question on a sticky note and 
stick it onto the chart paper.