Grade 4 students recently inquired into many different examples of cave art. One of the areas that is quite famous for its cave art is Lascau, France. Each Grade 4 class was divided into four groups. Each group had to organize their "community" into storytellers, artists, paint and tool technicians, and assistants. The plan was for each group to come up with an important event, then find a way to illustrate this event on the cave wall.

In the meantime, students worked very hard on making a life size cave in which they would do their art. First, they covered a wire structure, inside and out, with many layers of recycled paper. Next, they painted the structure with different shades of brown until it finally resembled a cave.

Once the cave was ready, groups of students took turns to paint their scenes inside it. Assistants stood by with lights and paints that were made from natural materials such as burned wood, berries, rocks, bird droppings, and more.

I think that having the students make their own cave made the experience more "real" and very exciting. It motivated them to come up with interesting events and really think about what it was like for people in the past to make art.We have planned for the cave to be on display soon (once we find a good spot for it). We are hoping that people will take flashlights inside and try to analyze the stories that these students left behind.

(Written by: Liza Botha, ES Visual Arts Teacher)