Prehistoric painting
This unit explores prehistoric art, recreating the style of cave artists using charcoal and natural pigments. Pupils experiment with colour mixing, and creating large-scale artworks, enhancing both artistic skills and historical knowledge. Use this unit hub to inform your medium-term plan and to navigate to related resources.
- Subjects >
- Art and design >
- Lower key stage 2 >
- Year 3 >
-
Painting and mixed media: Prehistoric painting
Unit outcomes
Pupils who are secure will be able to:
- Recognise the processes involved in creating prehistoric art.
- Explain approximately how many years ago prehistoric art was produced.
- Use simple shapes to build initial sketches.
- Create a large scale copy of a small sketch.
- Use charcoal to recreate the style of cave artists.
- Demonstrate good understanding of colour mixing with natural pigments.
- Discuss the differences between prehistoric and modern paint.
- Make choices about equipment or paint to recreate features of prehistoric art, experimenting with colours and textures.
- Successfully make positive and negative handprints in a range of colours.
- Apply their knowledge of colour mixing to make natural colours.
Suggested prior learning
Painting and mixed media: Life in colour
This assumes that you are following Kapow Primary’s Art & design Long-term plan – standard.
Lessons
Lesson 1: Exploring prehistoric art
- To apply an understanding of prehistoric human-made art.
Lesson 2: Charcoal animals
- To understand and use scale to enlarge drawings in a different medium.
Lesson 3: Prehistoric palette
- To explore how natural products produce pigments to make different colours.
Lesson 4: Painting on the cave wall
- To select and apply a range of painting techniques.
Lesson 5: Hands on a cave wall
- To apply painting skills when creating a collaborative artwork.
Key skills
Key knowledge
Related content
Unit resources
Knowledge organiser: Art & design – Y3 Painting and mixed-media
A pupil-facing summary document, capturing the key learning from the Year 3 Painting unit.
Vocabulary display: Prehistoric painting
A display version of the key vocabulary from the Prehistoric art unit.
Cross-curricular opportunities
History
Mathematics: Geometry – properties of shapes