1st Grade Cave Art

Cave art projects are simply made for first grade. What better way to show the simplistic drawing style of Paleolithic people? First graders naturally have a simple feel to their artwork and that style translates perfectly to this project.

Though examples of cave art have been found all around, the most famous is the work in Lascaux, France. There is even a virtual tour of that cave complex that students love to see. Most of the site is in French, but the pictures, of course, work for any language. 

Another cool thing that I like to do during this project is to set the cave art mood. That's a thing, right? I turn off the lights in my classroom and project a campfire on the big screen in my room. One year, a student teacher had the kids draw with all of the tables on their sides. It was really cool, but my tables are incredibly heavy. It definitely took two of us to get everything moved. 

What I like about this project is that it can be as complicated or simple as is needed. This year, it was a two class project because I had a student teacher starting who would be beginning his own lessons. No matter how long it takes, students are always very successful with it. 

Click here to download the full lesson plan!

1st Grade Cave Art

Cave art- the perfect project for young artists. Primitive art simply comes naturally to a first grader. My first grade students recently finished a cave art project. We learned that a group of young boys from France actually discovered the famous cave at Lascaux. First graders got a chance to discuss why people make art. We decided that early humans made art to tell stories about their lives. A big part of their lives were the animals that they lived around and hunted. 

To get in the proper cave art mood, certain steps are necessary. One can't make good cave art in a modern art room with bright fluorescent lights. The lights must be off and the shades of the windows must be closed. Next, a dark cave needs a fire to provide light for the artist. I found a video of a camp fire online that I played on a loop. The crackling sounds of the fire allowed my students to be fully immersed in the idea that they were in a real cave. 

I gave my students a handout with several animal choices. Simple ones included step by step instructions while there were also more challenging animals on the back page. Each student drew and colored their animal and "signed" their work with a hand print. The final work was crumpled and carefully torn around the edges to make it look like it really came from a cave.


Click here to download the lesson plan!

Click here to download the drawing handout!
(The handout was partially compiled by a former student teacher. I tried to find the source of her handouts, but was unable. If you know where they came from, let me know so I can give credit!)

Click here to download my artist statement!

1st Grade Cave Drawings

This is a project that is art show worthy! First grade classes just finished a project in which they studied cave paintings from Lascaux in France. My kids loved going on a virtual tour of Lascaux. People aren't allowed to enter the caves anymore due to the artwork being destroyed more in the few years the caves were open than the 17,000 years before they were discovered!


I don't have a digital copy of this lesson, so I'm going to describe the project a little more than usual. With this project, students started off with craft paper that was roughly torn from a big roll. I've seen other teachers use paper grocery bags as well. The students crumple the paper and carefully uncrumple it. They then use an acrylic gloss medium to cover the paper.


The second day of the project, students practice drawing various cave animals from a handout I made. After practicing, they drew their favorite animal on the paper with pencil. The pencil doesn't show up very well, so they immediately go over the pencil lines with black oil pastel to make it show up better.

Some kids worked on the cave "walls" and
some worked on the floor instead.

The third day of the project is the coolest. My student teacher was running this project and it was pretty necessary to have two adults for this portion of the project. Essentially, we turned the room into a cave. All of the tables were turned on their sides and faced inward. We put a fake Halloween prop fire in the middle of the room and turned off all of the lights. First graders had this last day to add a bit of limited color to their cave animals and then make a white hand print to "sign" their work. They could choose to work on the cave "wall" or on the floor. This is one of those projects that is successful across the board. I'm planning on turning the stage at school into a "cave" for the art show. I saw the idea on Pinterest and I think it will look outstanding.