Key Ideas
Level 1

• People made art before they could write.
• Pictures can tell stories.
• Art helps people remember and share ideas.
• Handprints show that real people were there.
• Imagination helps humans connect with each other

Level 2

• Humans used art as communication before written language.
• Cave art reflects symbolic thinking and imagination.
• Hand stencils may show identity, group membership, or ritual.
• Storytelling and shared meaning helped early humans cooperate.
• Discoveries at sites like Cueva de las Manos and Lascaux help us understand human history.

Schedule

Day One	Day Two	Day Three	Day Four
Main Lesson and/or Story	Spine Reading	Literature Extension	Extension Videos or Books
Hands On Activity	Art Extension		Try something for "Other Activities"
Narration Page or Coloring Page	Notetaking Extension After writing 4–5 key words from a spine, learners draw what those words describe. Then, label or caption the drawing using their words.	ELA: Sentence Expansion	ELA Page: Choose Another One

Hands-On Activity
Cave Painting

Materials

• Brown paper (brown paper bags, butcher paper, kraft paper, or cardboard)
• Crayons, chalk, or washable paint
• Tape (to hang paper on walls or under tables)

Timeline Entries
c. 36,000 years ago
Chauvet Cave paintings (France)Artists paint detailed animals such as lions, rhinos, and horses in Chauvet Cave. The realism and motion in these images suggest careful observation and imaginative storytelling.

c. 17,000 years ago
Lascaux Cave paintings (France)The walls of Lascaux are filled with large animal paintings, possibly connected to hunting knowledge, storytelling, or ritual practices.

c. 13,000–9,000 years ago
Hand stencils at Cueva de las Manos (Argentina)People leave hundreds of hand stencils in Patagonia, marking identity, belonging, and shared ritual through repeated symbolic actions.

1940 CE
Discovery of Lascaux Cave (France)Four teenagers discover the prehistoric cave paintings at Lascaux while exploring near their village. Their discovery helps modern scientists learn more about Ice Age art, storytelling, and early human imagination.

Discussion Questions
Level 1

1. Why did people make pictures on cave walls long ago?Sample answers:

• To tell stories
• To show animals they saw
• To remember things
• To show other people what was important

2. What do you think a handprint means?Sample answers:

• “I was here”
• It shows a real person
• It shows who belongs
• It’s like a name or signature

3. How can a picture tell a story without words?Sample answers:

• You can see what is happening
• Pictures show animals and people
• You can guess what happened
• The picture helps you imagine

4. Why might people want others to see their art?Sample answers:

• To teach them
• To share a story
• To remember together
• To feel connected

5. How do pictures help us remember things?Sample answers:

• Pictures stay even when people leave
• You can look at them again
• They remind you of stories

Level 2 

1. Why do you think cave art appears in many parts of the world?Sample answers:

• Humans everywhere needed to communicate
• Art was a shared human behavior
• People used pictures before writing
• Storytelling helped groups survive

2. What can hand stencils tell us about identity and belonging?Sample answers:

• They show individual people
• They may show group membership
• They show someone wanted to be remembered
• They connect a person to a place

3. Why might art and ritual have helped early humans survive?Sample answers:

• They helped people work together
• They taught important knowledge
• They built strong communities
• They helped pass ideas to children

4. How is cave art a form of communication?Sample answers:

• It shares information without words
• It uses symbols and images
• It tells stories across generations
• It communicates ideas visually

5. Why is the discovery of cave art important to modern science?Sample answers:

• It helps us understand early humans
• It shows how people thought and lived
• It gives evidence of imagination and symbolism
• It connects archaeology and history