Direct each student to write a brief explanation of his favorite color without signing his name on the paper. The anonymity of the assignment should help lessen the assumed pressure of trends. When did this color become his favorite? Why? How does it make him feel when he sees it? Does he wear it? When he sees an object in the world that is his favorite color, does he associate with it? Gather the papers and tally like results for presentation at the end of the project.
Give each student a worksheet featuring a selection of 12 colors: white, black, blue, red, yellow, green, gray, purple, teal, pink, lime and indigo, or any twelve hues of your choice. Have students rate the colors either positive, negative or neutral. Gather the papers and tally results.
Line three-panel desktop work screens or three-panel project display boards with colored paper. Each screen should be one solid color selected from the twelve colors used on the worksheet. Randomly provide one screen for each student and instruct him to sit at his desk, facing the screen, and write. This can be free form writing and, again, it can be accomplished anonymously. Students should keep their eyes on their page or on their screen and do their best not to look anywhere else. At the end of the allotted time, ask the students to write one word that best summarizes how they feel at the bottom of the page. Gather the papers.
As the instructor, review the papers generated in the previous three stages and find a single color that produced interesting results from your students. A color without much commonality or consensus in response is a good choice. Paint the interior of a large walk-in wardrobe box or refrigerator box with this color. Cut off the top of the box so that it is open to the ceiling in the classroom and allows in light. Place a stool inside the box. Have students take turns sitting down in this small area surrounded by the color. Provide them with a silent span of 10 minutes and allow them to write what they're feeling in a notebook. Gather the papers.
Bind the papers together and provide students with copies or retype the papers and provide printed compilations. Discuss the results in class and ask students to formulate their own ideas about the findings. By taking students through an exploration of color from the personal-specific, to the broader spectrum and functional influences, all the way back around to the private and directed, allows them to experience firsthand the effects of color.
Though this project is geared for freshmen college students, junior high and high school students can benefit from the project as-is. Change the writing activities to verbal responses from the students to adapt the project for elementary school students.
During the fourth stage, be sensitive to students who may be claustrophobic or who are preteens or younger. Leaving the door to the wardrobe box open is an acceptable option.