Color Hunt Plan Teacher Guide Pre-K • 30 Minutes
Emotion Colors Hunt
Teacher-Facing Instructional Facilitation Plan
Objective
Match 4 colors to basic emotions, notice body cues, and share a story.
Key Concepts
Color-emotion links, body signals, self-regulation.
Materials Need
Slides, Scavenger Cards, Student Journals, Crayons.
Classroom Setup Checklist
Hide the 12 Classroom Color Scavenger Cards around the room at eye level.
Load the Rainbow Feelings Slides on the projector screen.
Prepare 1 copy of My Color Feelings Journal per student at tables.
Set out boxes containing Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green crayons.
Lesson Timeline & Flow (0-18 mins)
1
Warm-up: Meet the Rainbow Colors
0 - 7 Mins
Gather students on the rug. Use the Rainbow Feelings Slides to introduce the four basic emotions paired with colors: Yellow (Happy), Blue (Sad), Red (Mad), and Green (Calm). Have students act out each facial expression and notice physical body cues (e.g., matching heartbeats, smile muscles, heavy eyes).
2
The Active Classroom Color Hunt
7 - 18 Mins
Explain the safety rules of the hunt: "Quiet tiptoe walking only, kind hands, and quiet whispers!" Follow the Guided Color Hunt Script . Call out a color/emotion. Students hunt around the classroom to find one of the hidden Classroom Color Scavenger Cards matching that color, stand near it, and mimic the emotion face. Repeat for all four colors.
Page 1 of 2 • Pre-K Emotion Colors Hunt Lesson Plan
Lesson Timeline & Flow (18-30 mins)
3
Circle Sharing & Breathing Reset
18 - 23 Mins
Bring students back to the rug in a circle. Ask children to select one color they felt strongly today or want to share. Ask 2-3 volunteers: "When did you feel that color?" Then lead the Rainbow Candle Breathing exercise: "Smell the sweet green flower, blow out the yellow birthday candle."
4
My Color Feelings Journal
23 - 30 Mins
Dismiss students back to their workspace tables. Hand out My Color Feelings Journal . Instruct students to color the cute character template to represent their current emotion, trace the heart, and draw a picture showing why they feel that color. Assist by writing their dictated explanations.
Pre-K Socio-Emotional Pedagogy Tips
• Validate All Emotions: Ensure students understand that feelings like anger (Red) and sadness (Blue) are normal and healthy. Avoid calling them "bad feelings."
• Mind-Body Bridge: Connect emotional states with physical feelings. E.g., "When we are Mad, our fists might crunch up tight. When we are Calm, our bellies go slowly up and down."
• Scribing: Pre-K students are developing fine motor skills. Actively circulate during journal time to write down their verbatim spoken reflections under their drawings.
Differentiation & Support
Support Strategies
Provide hand-over-hand tracing support for journal writing. Use emotion face mirrors during slide warm-up for students struggling with body cues. Pair motor-restricted students with a hunt buddy.
Challenge Strategies
Encourage higher-level students to combine two colors in their journal (e.g., "I feel happy-excited and calm-sleepy at the same time") and prompt them to sound out and write initial letters.
Page 2 of 2 • Pre-K Emotion Colors Hunt Lesson Plan
Rainbow Feelings Slides Pre-K Circle Time
Rainbow Feelings
Let's explore how our feelings match colors, how they feel in our bodies, and play a fun active hunt game!
Introduce Colors & Emotions Slide 1 of 6
Happy Face 💛 Yellow
Bright & Sunny Happy!
Yellow is warm like the morning sun. It feels bubbly, light, and full of smiles.
😊
Body Signals
✨ Smile muscles pull up
✨ Energy is bubbly and bouncy
✨ Hearts feel warm and light
Action prompt: Show me your biggest sunny smile! Slide 2 of 6
Sad Face 💙 Blue
Gentle & Quiet Sad
Blue is gentle like a quiet rainy day. It is a slow, quiet feeling. It is okay to feel blue.
🥺
Body Signals
💧 Heavy, droopy eyes
💧 Slow or quiet voice
💧 Body feels heavy or sleepy
Action prompt: Make a soft pouting face and let out a gentle sigh. Slide 3 of 6
Mad Face ❤️ Red
Fiery & Strong Mad
Red is hot like a crackling campfire. It feels tight, fast, and strong inside.
😡
Body Signals
🔥 Eyebrows pull together tight
🔥 Fists curl up like rocks
🔥 Heart goes thump-thump-thump
Action prompt: Squish your face tight like a mad volcano! Slide 4 of 6
Calm Face 💚 Green
Quiet & Slow Calm
Green is calm like soft forest grass. It feels relaxed, steady, and peaceful.
😌
Body Signals
🌿 Soft, relaxed shoulders
🌿 Slow, gentle breathing
🌿 Steady heartbeat
Action prompt: Take a big, slow, green forest breath. Slide 5 of 6
Next Step 🎒 Color Hunt Rules
Let's Go Hunting!
👣
1. Tiptoe Walks
Quiet, slow feet around the classroom.
👁️
2. Find & Freeze
Stand next to a color. Do not touch or pull.
🤫
3. Show Feeling
Make the emotion face matching your color!
Teacher prompt: Read the Scavenger Hunt Script aloud now! Slide 6 of 6
Guided Color Hunt Script Teacher Read-Aloud Tool
Guided Color Hunt Script
Follow these verbatim prompts to deliver an engaging Pre-K lesson.
Verbatim Prompts Included
1 Introduction: Color-Emotion Pairings
Read: "Good morning, my little rainbow discoverers! Today we have a very special game. Did you know our feelings have colors? Yes, they do! Sometimes we feel bright and sunny like Yellow , and sometimes we feel quiet and gentle like Blue . Let's look at our slides together."
Do / prompt: "Let's practice showing each feeling on our bodies!
Show me your sunny Yellow Happy Smiles !
Let's shrink down quiet like Blue Sad teardrops .
Scrunched up tight! Show me Red Mad faces !
Let's float slow... show me a Green Calm breath ."
2 The Active Hunt: Call & Freeze
Read: "Now, look around the room. I have hidden 12 Classroom Color Scavenger Cards . There are red cards, yellow cards, blue cards, and green cards. When I call out a color, we will tiptoe like tiny forest mice to find a card of that color. When you find one, freeze right next to it and show that color's feeling face! Do not touch or grab the card!"
Round 1 (Yellow): "Find a sunny Yellow card! Go find your sunny yellow happiness! Freeze and show me those bright sunshine smiles!"
Round 2 (Blue): "Find a quiet Blue card! Walk slowly like little rain clouds. Freeze and show me a quiet, blue face."
Round 3 (Red): "Look for a fiery Red card. Tiptoe carefully. Freeze and pull your angry red eyebrows tight like a volcano!"
Round 4 (Green): "Look for a calm, quiet Green card. Freeze, relax your shoulders, and breathe slow and steady like green grass."
3 Circle Sharing & Breathing Reset
Read: "Let's tiptoe back to our sharing rug circle. Great job hunting! Look at all these beautiful feelings. Let's think: When did you feel one of these colors? Raise your hand to share."
(Allow 2-3 volunteers to share their story. Keep it brief. Scribe / validate: "Yes, falling down makes us feel Blue, and that is okay!")
Breathing Prompt: "Now let's do our Rainbow Candle Breathing! Hold up an imaginary flower in one hand and a birthday candle in the other. Let's breathe in slow to smell the sweet green flower... hold it... now blow out the bright yellow candle. Feel your shoulders melt down. Beautiful."
Classroom Color Scavenger Cards Classroom Color Scavenger Cards
Teacher: Print this page, cut along the dashed lines, and hide these 12 cards around your room.
12 Printable Cards
Happy • Yellow
☀️
Sunny Smile
Show a big, bright happy face!
Happy • Yellow
😊
Bubbly Joy
Wiggle your fingers happily!
Happy • Yellow
🥳
Big Cheer
Stand tall and do a tiny jump!
Sad • Blue
🌧️
Rain Cloud
Let your head hang down slowly.
Sad • Blue
🥺
Quiet Tear
Make a soft, quiet pouting face.
Sad • Blue
🧸
Soft Hug
Give your own arms a gentle hug.
Mad • Red
🔥
Volcano Heat
Squeeze your fists tight like rocks.
Mad • Red
😡
Tight Brow
Pull your eyebrows close together.
Mad • Red
🦁
Angry Lion
Blow out a big, hot fiery breath.
Calm • Green
🍃
Slow Leaf
Breathe in slow like a floating leaf.
Calm • Green
😌
Soft Grass
Let your shoulders drop down low.
Calm • Green
🌿
Quiet Forest
Close your eyes and stand completely still.
Pre-K Emotion Colors Hunt Lesson Series • Classroom Color Scavenger Cards
My Color Feelings Journal My Color Feelings Journal
Trace, color, and draw how you feel inside today!
🎨
Name: _____________________________________
Date: ____________
1 How do you feel right now? Color the cloud!
Color my fluffy tummy!
Yellow (Happy)
Blue (Sad)
Red (Mad)
Green (Calm)
2 Circle and trace your feeling word:
HAPPY
H A P P Y
SAD
S A D
MAD
M A D
CALM
C A L M
3 Draw why you feel this color today!
Teacher Scribing Helper (What did the student say?)
"I feel this color because ____________________________________________________________________________________________________"
Pre-K Emotion Colors Hunt Lesson Series • My Color Feelings Journal