Rainbow Lesson Plans

Spring Poems, Songs & Rhymes

Spring Lesson Plans

Salty Rainbow

Lesson Plan:  ​

Salty Rainbow

Age Group:

Preschool

* Lesson plan objective and assessment can be adapted to use this activity with school-age children.

Objectives:

​​Children will:

• express themselves by creating a piece of artwork.
• tell about their work including techniques used.

CDA Competency Standard:  

​II.4.3a​

• Activities promote language development.

c) Activities provide frequent opportunities for children to listen, talk and express their ideas effectively

II.7.1a

• Activities and materials encourage children to express themselves through the visual arts.

a) Art materials and activities are available for children daily

Materials:

• Construction paper 
• Salt (shakers are easier for small hands)
• Glue
• Watercolors
• Water
• Glitter optional

Procedure:

• Begin by showing the children the new art technique.
• Put glue on the paper in desired design.
• Cover glue with generous amount of salt to ensure it get completely covered.
• Tilt paper over bin or trash can to remove excess salt.
• Use paintbrushes and watercolor to “paint” the remaining glue/salt on the paper.
• Encourage the children to create their own rainbow using this technique. 
• As they are working ask them questions like:
  • Why did you decide to use those colors? 
  • Explain how you made your rainbow? How do you feel about this technique? 
  • Has there ever been a time where you have seen rainbow? Tell me about it.
• Asking the children questions like these makes the activity more meaningful and may give the children inspiration as they work.

Assessment:

• Observe and record the children as they work.
• What did they have to say about their artwork?
• Did the children get creative and add other things to their art? (double rainbow, pot of gold ect...)

​Online Early Childhood Education
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Supporting Creativity in School-Age Children

Children who are creative are willing to try new ways of doing things. They see more than one possibility in how to play a game or use an art material.  They are curious about how things work and why things happen as they do. They are willing to take risks. When they try something new and it doesn't work, they learn from their mistakes, and try another approach. 

One of the easiest ways to promote children's creativity is to fill the environment with open-ended materials. Items children can use in a variety of ways are ideal for school-age programs because they are interesting to children of different ages and stages of development and trigger their imaginations. ​

• Provide open-ended materials with which children can do many things. Arrange the environment so children can spread out, explore, and be messy. 
• Provide sufficient storage space for projects and creations that cannot be completed in one day. Allow creations to stay in place for several days so children can continue using them and possibly expand them.  
• Provide sufficient time in the daily schedule for children to make plans and carry them out.  Follow a daily schedule that includes long blocks of time when children are free to organize their own games and activities without adult involvement. 
• Surround children with examples of creative work - reproductions of paintings and sculptures, award-winning children's literature, photographs of architectural treasures, biographies of investors and scientists, a wide variety of music on tapes and CD's.  
• Store materials and equipment where children can easily select, replace, and care for them without adult assistance.
• Offer materials that allow children to explore subjects and interests introduced at school or through experiences such as field trips. ​