Colour Literacy Exercises: Eye-Opener Pathway

To do:

  • Add new versions of 3D models to 3D model exercise

  • Do downloadable pdfs for each exercise


Experiencing colours

Colours are all around us

Surrounded by colours

Notice all the variations of colours in your surroundings

**check directions

Scavenger hunt

Find a range of colours in your environment

**need handout

Colour Diary

Create a colour diary

The changing colours of nature

Notice and document how light influences the colours you see



Describing colours

Expanded hue families

Free sort

Sort coloured tiles any way you wish!

Arranging hue families

Learn how to identify and arrange hue families

Arranging characters

Learn how to identify and arrange characters

Naming colours in the sorting set

Identify and name the coloured tiles used in the CHROMO sorting set


Describing colours

Colour characters

Character associations

What types of words do you associate with each colour character?

** Need link to Ellen’s work

Household sort

Sort household items into their colour characters

Odd one out

Test your knowledge of colour characters!

Hue planes

Map colour characters into an expanded hue plane

**Needs work

Placeholder - 2D to 3D - Character Model


Describing colours

Lightness/value and Chroma

Chromatic vs. achromatic sort

Discover the differences between chromatic and achromatic colours

Lightness/value sort

Sort hue families by the lightness/value attribute

Chroma sort

Sort hue families by the chroma attribute

Placeholder for 2D-3D Chroma model

3D colour models

Build 3D colour models and describe how the colours are arranged

**needs update


Perceiving colours

Colour interactions

Koffka Ring

Explore the nature of contextual colour

Munker-White Illusion

Explore the nature of contextual colour


Simultaneous contrast

Explore the effect of neighbouring colours

Finding afterimages

Explore afterimages


Perceiving colours

Colour is contextual

Lights on and off

What happens to colours when we turn the lights off?

Orange cube

Build an orange cube and notice how light affects colour

Changing spatial contexts

Notice how changing the spatial context affects a perceived colour