Color Chips

When and Why

Depending on the prompt you choose, this activity can help to adjust the energy and tone of your class or engagement. If the mood is low, ask participants to choose a color that gives them energy. If the group is having difficulty settling down, ask participants which color makes them feel calm. If there is a mix of emotions in the room, this can help participants understand how others may be feeling different or similar to how they feel.

In a small group (up to 20 participants), this activity can be done in a few minutes as a whole group. With a larger group, this will work best in subgroups of 4 or 5.

How to Facilitate

1. Prepare for this activity by gathering a stack of paint color chips from your local hardware store. Participants often respond as much to the color as the name of the color, so be sure to grab some with interesting names.
2. Choose a prompt for your group that matches the current context, participant interests, and the purpose of the activity, and explain your thinking to the group. “This activity is called Color Chips, and it’s a quick and colorful way to check in with everyone…”
   Example prompts:
   • What color would you paint our classroom and why?
   • What color represents something from your day?
   • What color gives you energy?
   • What color calms you?
   • What color reminds you of this class and why?
   • What color represents how you are feeling about the test tomorrow, and why?
3. Tell participants how they should choose a color chip. Depending on the size of your group, you can spread out a large selection of chips on one table and have participants gather around, or pass out a small stack of color ships to each small group. You might also choose to tape color chips on the walls around the room and have participants move to the color that matches their choice.
4. Model how you expect participants to share out by going first. For example, “I picked “Sunshiny Day” because I think it would make this room a fun place to work and think.”
5. Give participants a minute of think time to pick their color chip and formulate their response. Let them know it is okay to share a color if someone else chooses the same color chip as they do. Simply have them pass it to the other person when it is their turn to share.
6. Have participants share their responses “popcorn” style as a whole group (without raising hands, participants respond aloud in random order), in pairs, or in small groups as time allows.
7. Debrief by asking participants to share some highlights from their sharing in small groups or by asking what patterns they noticed in the group’s responses.

Modification

In a virtual setting (or if you don’t have paint color chips), create and display a slide showing a range of colors. Search “paint colors” online and you’ll quickly find images displaying a range of colors and tones.

Contributed by:

This is a modified version of the Color Chips activator, published by Engaging Schools.
Frazier, N. & Mehle, D. (2013). Activators: Classroom Strategies for Engaging Middle and High School Students. Engaging Schools. Download the full text for free here.

Engaging Schools was a national nonprofit organization that collaborated with educators to create equitable and engaging classrooms and schools that support students’ social, emotional, and academic learning and development. Many of their publications and resources are now hosted by CASEL at casel.org/engagingschools.