Paint-chip Storytelling

Activity

Ongoing engagement, Warm up activities

Paint-chip Storytelling

Kelley Cranford

This fun and energetic activity gets the creative juices flowing through co-created storytelling. A great activity for team building, fun, laughter, and creativity. Best done in person but could likely be adapted for virtual settings.

Tech needed: No tech needed, Paper / pens

Synchronous

Accessibility: Visual

Duration: 5-30 mins

Student preparation: None

Educator preparation: Minimal

ACTIVITY PURPOSE

This activity is designed to help students connect with one another in a relaxed and engaging way while fostering creativity, collaboration, and communication. Working together to create a short story using the colour names from a paint chip encourages imaginative thinking, shared problem-solving, and playful interaction. By sharing their stories aloud, students have an opportunity to build confidence, enjoy laughter together, and create a positive, welcoming learning environment that supports community-building and engagement.

USEFUL FOR

This activity is useful for building connections among students, encouraging creativity, and creating a positive classroom atmosphere. It promotes teamwork, communication, and imaginative thinking while helping students feel more comfortable participating and engaging with one another.

This activity works best when the emphasis is on creativity, collaboration, and fun rather than writing quality. The unusual constraint of using all the paint colour names encourages flexible thinking and problem-solving, while the group format helps students connect with one another in a relaxed, low-pressure environment. Reading the stories aloud creates a shared experience that often generates laughter and helps establish a positive classroom climate.

PREPARATION

Obtain paint chips from a local hardware or paint store (typically available free of charge) or make your own, organize students into small groups, and provide paper and pens for story writing. For online delivery, the activity can be adapted by using digital images of paint chips or creating virtual colour palettes that students can access and use collaboratively.

INSTRUCTIONS

Divide students into small groups of 3–4 people. Smaller groups help ensure everyone has an opportunity to contribute ideas and participate in the storytelling process.
Provide each group with a paint chip and ensure they have access to a pen and paper (or a shared digital document if working online).
Explain the challenge: each group must create a short story that incorporates all the paint colour names listed on their paint chip. Encourage students to think creatively about how the colour names can become characters, places, objects, or themes within their story.
Choose a story focus. You may provide a specific prompt (e.g., a mystery, a journey, a first day at college, or a fairy tale) or allow groups to choose their own topic. Offering a prompt can help groups get started more quickly, while open choice encourages greater creativity.
Ask groups to select a reader who will share their story with the class once the activity is complete. This helps groups prepare their final product with an audience in mind.
Allow 10–15 minutes for groups to collaborate, write, and refine their stories. Encourage participation from all group members and remind students that the goal is creativity and enjoyment not perfection.
Invite each group to read their story aloud to the class. Encourage students to listen for the creative ways groups incorporated the colour names into their narratives.
Celebrate the stories. Allow time for laughter, reactions, and brief discussion about the different approaches groups took. This sharing component helps build community and reinforces the playful, low-stakes nature of the activity.

DURATION

Approximately 15–25 minutes, depending on the size of the class and the amount of time allocated for sharing. Allow 10–15 minutes for groups to create their stories and an additional 5–10 minutes for groups to read their stories aloud and enjoy the creativity of their classmates.

ADAPTATIONS AND EXAMPLES

Here are some flexible adaptations you can weave in depending on your group, setting, or energy in the room:

Online version: Use digital paint chips, colour palette generators, or shared slides so groups can collaborate in breakout rooms and write in a shared doc.
Individual or pair version: Instead of groups, students can write solo or in pairs, which can deepen reflection or support quieter participants.
Genre twist: assign or rotate genres (horror, romance, sci-fi, documentary, comedy) to push creativity in different directions and show how tone shifts meaning.
Timed challenge rounds: add a playful constraint like “write in 8 minutes” or “you must include a plot twist in the final 2 sentences” to increase energy and spontaneity.
Role assignment within groups: give each student a role (e.g., writer, timekeeper, colour translator, reader) to support structure and inclusion.
Colour meaning expansion: ask students to interpret each colour name metaphorically (e.g., “Silent Storm” as an emotion or event), which deepens abstract thinking.
Gallery walk instead of reading aloud: post stories around the room (or online board) and let students circulate and read quietly, then vote on most creative, funniest, or most surprising.
Add a reflection layer: after reading, ask students what was easy, what was hard, and how they decided to connect unrelated colour names into a story.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

This activity requires minimal setup. In-person delivery needs paint chips (one per group, sourced from a hardware/paint store), pens, and paper, along with enough classroom space for small group work and a central area for sharing stories aloud. For an online version, access to virtual breakout rooms, a shared document or collaborative writing tool, and digital images or online generators of paint chips is required. A projector or screen may be helpful for sharing instructions and displaying colour palettes.

USEFUL RESOURCES

This activity can be enriched with a few simple supports. A list of sample story prompts (e.g., mystery, journey, transformation) can help groups who need a starting point. A word bank or synonym sheet for emotions and descriptive language may support students who want to extend beyond literal colour-name use. If desired, a timer can help keep the activity moving and maintain energy. For sharing, a whiteboard, sticky notes, or a digital board (such as Padlet or shared slides) can be used to display group stories or highlight memorable lines. Optional reflection questions can also be provided to deepen learning after storytelling.