Paint Chips for Literary Perception

What are some of the ways that writers use color to connect readers to mood?  We used paint chips to think about this, while reading Fahrenheit 451, and it works equally well for any text.  

For this activity, your class will need:
Large quantities of paint chips -- many colors 
Glue sticks
Chart paper

SET UP:
​Seating arrangement: Groups of four if possible
Supplies: Equally distributed among groups 

Thanks to the National Portrait Gallery and The Home Depot for making this activity possible!

Step One

Teacher writes the name of a specific mood or emotion at the top of large chart paper. 
Students each select ONE paint chip apiece that represents that emotion, and glue them onto a single card.  One emissary brings them up to the teacher to be glued on chart paper.

Choose moods and emotions that are suitable to the text you are teaching.  I chose the following (be sure to balance positive and negative)

WARMTH
FEAR
JOY
NUMBNESS
WISDOM
IGNORANCE
​PHYSICAL PASSION
FURY
INNOCENT CURIOSITY
DESTRUCTIVE RAGE

I might have also tried: CONFUSION, YEARNING, RELIEF, FLOW, etc.

Step Two

Post this board prominently in class, and refer back to it frequently during reading, to help students connect between COLOR and the EMOTION a writer is referencing.  

For instance, consider how Guy Montag experiences book burning at the beginning of Fahrenheit 451:

"With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. "

If I asked the students to identify the paint-chip charts that most closely reflect Ray Bradbury's writerly choices, they might choose "physical passion," "ignorance," and "destruction."  Indeed, Bradbury is conveying ALL of these emotional states. 
WHAT TO EXPECT STUDENTS TO NOTICE:
Color->Emotion associations are highly individual, so there are not necessarily exact and correct answers. Get students to embrace this confusion!
Artistic choices are nuanced and imprecise.  Get students to enjoy nuance! 
There will be students who do not like the activity, thwart it, or act silly -- embrace that, too (see all the bright orange, above?)

EXTENSIONS -- Brief writing or discussion activities
  • Look closely at what you chose to wear today.  What emotions may you be conveying to others?
  • If you were going to a job interview, which color choices might make you a better candidate for a particular job?
  • What emotions might a writer access by mentioning the following:  daffodils;  autumn leaves;  beach sand; asphalt; bark of a tree; grass stains; worn denim; shady forest; blood; windows, bleach.
  • How did you go about choosing the colors for....