Pre-Historic Rock Paintings

First Grade Art Lesson
2 Class Periods

Pre-Historic Rock Paintings, First Grade Art Lesson

This lesson is a follow up to the  Cave Art Drawings lesson that students completed the class period before.  Information about the Lascaux Caves (which we used as our inspiration) can be discovered in the above link.

Day 1:
Using paper mache sculpture paste students created a flat slab.  We used a fine wire mesh for backing on our project.

Students reacted differently to the paste.  Some loved the feel of the texture, others wanted to use gloves.  The projects were set on a rack to air dry.  The projects took one week to dry.

Day 2:
The wire backing was removed from the projects before handing them back to the students. 

Students drew a cave animal drawing on the paper mache rock using a pencil. Lascaux Cave photographs and student art journals were once again used as reference. 

Drawings were outlined with a sharpie marker.  Students were asked to reflect on how hard it was to draw on the paper mache rock surface and to think about how difficult it would be to draw and paint on an actual cave wall.

Tempera paint cakes in orange, yellow, brown and white were used to paint the rock.  Students were reminded not to use too much water.  Using too much water can cause the paper mache to soften and fall apart.  The pieces were set out to dry.

Student Examples: