PROGRAM 5

Coloru GET READY TO WATCHBefore viewing the program, ask students what colors they see innature. Have some pieces of construction paper handy so that, asa color is mentioned, you can post it on the wall or board. Thendiscuss natural objects that represent each of the colors studentsidentified. Record their ideas on the appropriate color of paper(e.g., a grasshopper on the green sheet, an acorn on the brownsheet, etc.)

Pose some questions to start students thinking of what they knowabout color. For example, ask questions such as: “When are colorsbrightest?” (in the daytime—we can’t see color in the dark); “Whatmakes colors lighter?” (mixing with white) “What colors do we getwhen we mix colors?” (green by mixing blue and yellow, etc.)Record their observations on a chart entitled, “What We KnowAbout Color.”

u TALK ABOUTAfter watching, add ideas to the color pages and the observationchart that were started before the program.

Discuss how things might be different in nature if all animals werethe same color.

Brainstorm ways that people use color in their lives and why it’simportant.

u CURRICULUM INTEGRATION ACTIVITIESScienceMake rainbows. (Rainbows in nature are caused by sunlight pass-ing through droplets of water in the sky.) Hold a prism or a crystal(such as the kind found on a chandelier) in the sunlight. Turn theprism so that it casts a rainbow on a light-colored wall. Another wayto make a rainbow is to put a mirror in a pan of water and set it inthe sun so that the sunlight reflects off the mirror onto a light-colored wall. The rainbow on the wall has a rippled effect. An easyway to make rainbows at home is to turn on the yard sprinkler to afine mist and set it in the sun. Position the hose until you can seethe rainbow in the mist. To see colors of the rainbow in nature, poura little cooking oil in a shallow dish of water. Set the dish in the sun-light and look for colors on top of the water.

Explore color. Have students paint a paper plate or circular pieceof poster board in the three primary colors. The three colors shouldbe painted in solid blocks of color and each should take upapproximately one-third of the plate. On a day when there is lightrain, set the paper plates outside for a short time. Bring them inbefore too much of the color washes away. Discuss what happenedto the colors. What colors were created when they mixed? How didthe water change the colors?

u Program Description

Celia explores the uses of color in nature.She discovers that some animals usecolor as camouflage to protect them-selves. Other animals use color to attractmates, or protect their young. The col-oration of yet other animals warns theirenemies that they are dangerous. Shelearns that nature may even use color toperpetuate itself.

©1998 GPN/University of Nebraska-Lincoln. All rights reserved.Teachers who have purchased this Backyard Safari Backyard Safari Teacher’s Guide are granted permission to reproduce pages from this book for their own classroom use (notice or copyright and source mustappear on all copies of pages.) In all other cases, no part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of GPN.

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Experiment with color combinations. Gather food dyes in red,yellow, and blue, and put some water in clear containers. Have stu-dents put one or two drops of food dye (any color) into the water.Discuss what happens when the dye mixes with the water. (Makesure they keep the bowl very still!) Have them add a different colorto the container. What happens to the food dye? What happens tothe water this time? Since students are working with different col-ors, have them compare the activity of the dyes—do all the colorsact the same way?

Language ArtsDiscuss with students how feelings or moods are often associ-ated with colors. For example, red is loud, yellow is cheerful, blueis calm, etc. Explain how colors may represent ideas or objects,such as green for envy, purple for royalty, pink for baby girls, etc.

Have students write color riddles using three clues (e.g., “I amthe color of eyes. I am the color of the ocean. I am the color of thesky. What color am I?”).

Have students write color poems using the pattern, “________is...,” as in the following:

Yellow is sunshine.Yellow is a baby chick.Yellow is a butterfly.I love yellow.

MathMake a graph of the students’ favorite colors. Establish a base-line on a large sheet of paper. Have available small squares of con-struction paper (all the same size) in different colors. Studentschoose their favorite color from among the squares. Build a bargraph upward from the baseline, one color per bar. Use the graphfor some math discussion, such as “Which color is liked by themost people?”, “Which color is the least liked color?”, “How manymore people liked red than yellow?”, etc.

Social StudiesDiscuss some traditional uses of color that the students knowabout or have experienced. Colors often have significance in different cultures because of traditions, festivals or celebrations,holidays, or a country’s flag. For example, red, white, and blue represent the United States; red represents joy and luck in China;red, green, and black are the colors of Kwanzaa.

ArtAnalyze color in art. Choose some paintings that have a predomi-nance of warm colors (shades of red, orange, and yellow) andsome with primarily cool colors (shades of blue, purple, andgreen). Check the library for books with photographs of paintingsby famous artists or a museum store for postcards, calendars, andart prints. Discuss with students how these works of art make themfeel, and relate their feelings to the colors used by the artists.

Have students use paints to experiment with mixing colors.Begin with simple combinations such as purple, green, andorange. Have them paint a stripe of the first color they make on asheet of white construction paper. Then invite them to try someadditional mixing. For example, add more of one of the two colorsthan the other; add some white, black, or gray; put some of themixed colors together; etc. Make sure they paint a stripe of each oftheir creations on the white paper. Ask the students to describewhat happened with each of their experiments.©1998 GPN/University of Nebraska-Lincoln. All rights reserved.Teachers who have purchased this Backyard Safari Backyard Safari Teacher’s Guide are granted permission to reproduce pages from this book for their own classroom use (notice or copyright and source mustappear on all copies of pages.) In all other cases, no part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of GPN.

u Crinkleroot’s Corner

Animals use different types ofcamouflage: body colors that

blend with their surroundings; stripes,spots, or other body patterns that breakup the visible outline of the animal; look-ing like another object; and looking likeanother animal. Camouflage does not,however, protect animals from predatorsthat use their senses of touch, smell, orhearing to find their prey.

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Make camouflage pictures. Begin by having students draw pic-tures of different types of scenery, such as a forest, a desert, anunderwater scene, and the like. They should not draw any animalsin their pictures, just the backgrounds with appropriate plants andother objects that might be found there. Then on separate paper,have them draw a picture of an animal that might live in the habitatthey drew. They will need to color the animal to match the sceneryin the picture. (Ruth Heller’s “How to Hide...” series of books willgive the students many ideas.) Have them cut out the animal andglue a small strip of cardboard or a wooden craft stick to it. Displaythe pictures and have the students hold their animal in front of theirpicture. Discuss how the animals are difficult to see because theyare camouflaged.

u CRINKLEROOT SAYS, “DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?”

Check out your local library or bookstore for these books about color:

Arnosky, Jim. I See Animals Hiding. Scholastic, 1995.

Boyle, Doe. Summer Coat, Winter Coat: The Story of aSnowshoe Hare. Illus. by Allen Davis. Soundprints, 1993.

Ehlert, Lois. Planting a Rainbow. Harcourt, Brace, 1988.

Ernst, Lisa Campbell. The Bee.Illus. by Lee Ernst. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1986.

Heller, Ruth. How to Hide a Polar Bear and Other Mammals.Grosset & Dunlap, 1994.

Heller, Ruth. How to Hide a Butterfly and Other Insects.Grosset & Dunlap, 1994.

Heller, Ruth. How to Hide a Crocodile & Other Reptiles.Grosset & Dunlap, 1994.

Heller, Ruth. How to Hide a Parakeet & Other Birds.Grosset & Dunlap, 1995.

Heller, Ruth. How to Hide a Meadow Frog & Other Amphibians.Grosset & Dunlap, 1995.

Hubbard, Patricia. My Crayons Talk.Illus. by G. Brian Karas. Henry Holt, 1996.

McMillan, Bruce. Growing Colors. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1988.

O’Neill, Mary. Hailstones and Halibut Bones.Illus. by John Wallner. Doubleday, 1989.

Otto, Carolyn. What Color Is Camouflage?Illus. by Megan Lloyd. HarperCollins, 1996.

Powzyk, Joyce. Animal Camouflage: A Closer Look. Bradbury, 1990.

Serfozo, Mary. Who Said Red? Illus. by Keiko Narahashi.McElderry, 1988.

Sowler, Sandie. Amazing Animal Disguises.Illus. by Ruth Lindsey & Jane Gedye. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.

Walsh, Ellen Stoll. Mouse Paint. Harcourt Brace, 1989.

Westray, Kathleen. A Color Sampler. Ticknor & Fields, 1993.

Yoshi. Who’s Hiding Here? Picture Book Studio, 1987.

u Sass’s SceneFor some fun at home, make atie-dye cloth. Cut some squaresof cloth into pieces about the size ofa large handkerchief. Fold each of thepieces a different way. For example,tie one piece into a big knot; foldone into an accordion and tie itclosed in a couple of places withsome string; twist one piece and tie the twist closed in several places. Soakthe cloths in water and then put them in a cold-water dye solution (follow theinstructions on the dye packet for making this solution). Rinse the cloths in water, untie them, and allow them todry. After they are dry, iron the cloths to set the dye. Hang the cloths for a walldecoration.

©1998 GPN/University of Nebraska-Lincoln. All rights reserved.Teachers who have purchased this Backyard Safari Backyard Safari Teacher’s Guide are granted permission to reproduce pages from this book for their own classroom use (notice or copyright and source mustappear on all copies of pages.) In all other cases, no part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of GPN.

Additional ResourcesAnimal Colors. “Amazing Animals” video. DK, 1997.

Animal Disguises. “Amazing Animals” video. DK, 1997.

Opt: An Illusionary Tale. Reading Rainbow video. GPN.

©1998 GPN/University of Nebraska-Lincoln. All rights reserved.Teachers who have purchased this Backyard Safari Backyard Safari Teacher’s Guide are granted permission to reproduce pages from this book for their own classroom use (notice or copyright and source mustappear on all copies of pages.) In all other cases, no part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of GPN.

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