Roses are red, violets are blue

Life without colours would be bleak and dull. A language without colours would be poor and flat. Colour up your English skills with some idioms and expressions related to colours. Roses are red, violets are blue, we should start this lesson, so I tell you!

Warm-up: fun facts about colours

As an introduction to the topic, the student decides which of the fun facts about colours are true (e,g, Yellow and red together make you hungry.)

Video: What is colour?

The student watches a video about the physics behind colours and answers video comprehension questions.

After that, the student matches the names of colours with the actual colours (e.g. nectarine, poppy red, dusk blue, linen, etc.).

Colour idioms

In the main part of the lesson, the student learns about the meanings behind colour idioms. It starts with the ‘blue’ idioms (e.g. out of the blue, feel blue, etc.) and the student matches them with their meanings based on the context.

In the following exercise, all the idioms have one colour in common, but it’s left out. The student tries to guess which one it is (black) and then guess the meanings of those idioms (e.g. pitch black, black eye, etc.)

In a matching exercise, ‘green’ idioms are presented (e.g. green with envy, have a green thumb, etc.). The student needs to match the sentence starters with the endings, and then try to guess their meanings from the context.

Colours in some idioms got mixed up, so the student needs to find the mistakes and correct them. 

After that, the student reads explanations for five idioms. They need to decide whether the explanations are true or false and click the correct button.

Next, the student fills in the gaps using colours and then tries to answer everyday questions using the idioms they learned. 

In another exercise, the student reads a text in which some parts of the ‘red’ idioms are replaced with pictures (e.g. red eye, red herring, etc.). The student tries to decipher them.

Video: What is the Colour Code

The student learns about the Colour Code Personality Profile by watching the video, and completes the sentences related to colours and motivation.