End of Colors Unit Activities

Because the kids were familiar with the colors by now, I wanted to have them do more with the colors, like using the colors to describe the few objects they know how to say, stating likes and dislikes, and using them in simple sentences.  Because modifying objects with an adjective requires a connector between the adjective and the object, I find this unit to be perfect for that. 

I would give each group a stack of cards with familiar objects in different colors and have them identify the objects by placing various cards on my graphic organizer.  Students are also encouraged to be the ones calling out the objects on the card.  On my graphic organizer, I have a big heart for "I like", and another with an X through it for "I don't like".  Students need to listen carefully for "I like v/s I don't like", they need to decipher the colors, and then identify the objects.  As a closure, students would check their answers by taking turns to state what I like or dislike.

Another activity my third grades got pretty good at while practicing "I like___." was the use of names/colors chart.  As each person states what he/she likes, the rest of the class have to locate the person name and check off which color(s) he/she likes.  It allows the teacher to hear kids speak on their own and trains the entire class to listen to whoever is speaking.

Another listening/speaking activity is -- We would go around the circle telling everyone something personal (what colors we like, what kind of food we like to eat, etc.).  I would pick a person and ask the group his/her preferences.  Whoever listened, remembered and answered correctly can be the one others will guess about.  It does make kids want to pay more attention to what their peers say.

My second graders enjoy having the tactile thing, so my multi-color giant die is always popular.  They would take turn throwing it, and respond to the color with "I like ___." or "I don't like ___."  This gets even the shyest child involved.

Because we started learning the colors using 'lollipops' of different colors.  At the end of the unit, I colored the ends of craft sticks each with a different color.  I told the kids that they have somehow consumed the candies, and there's a little bit of candies left on the sticks.  I distributed the sticks to the students 'secretly' so nobody knows what others have.  They are to find out what color candies others have by asking them "Do you have (color) candy?"  When you do guess someone's candy color correctly, you can have that stick.  At the end of the activity, we can see who collected most sticks. 

Since learning any group of vocabulary in isolation is pretty useless and students are destined to forget the vocabulary in no time, I like to use the same vocab in different ways, different sentence structures and different contexts.