Blue + Yellow = Green

In the IB Primary Years Programme, one of the most important elements of learning is that students are presented with opportunities to make connections. Connections between math, language, music, and art for example. By experiencing the same concepts in different subjects and manners, students can better internalize what they are learning and then connect that learning into their own lives. What they are learning becomes much more powerful and relatable to everyday life.

The previous blog post introduced our Gr 1 students learning about measurements. To make the connection between their Unit of Inquiry and art, their art teacher led a discussion of how measurements will impact the mixing of primary colors to create secondary colors. For example, a paint-brush full of yellow mixed with a paint-brush full of blue creates one color of green. On the other hand, paint-brush full of yellow with a dab of blue will create a different hue of green. The students experimented with different primary colors and different measurements throughout art class.

According to Jay Nelson, our Elementary art teacher, by connecting their general classroom conversations to the art classroom, “The students think about what they are doing much differently. They understand the impact on mixing of colors faster because they see how it is connected to the concept of measurement they’ve had with respect to other things like height, weight, time, pressure, distance, etc. Plus, they are having a lot of fun experimenting which is the best way to learn!”