Post Tagged with: "dioramas"

Classroom Spotlight: 2nd Grade Students Read a Favorite Book, Create Float-Like Dioramas

Second grade students selected a favorite book to read in February and then built and decorated three-dimensional dioramas that creatively depict a scene from their chapter book. Some 60 dioramas, made out of shoe boxes or large boxes, were on display during March in an elementary hallway and in a classroom.

In addition to the dioramas, the students also had to write a book report and give an oral presentation about their book to their classmates. Some of the books read by students in Mrs. Hockenberry’s 2B class included “Nate the Great and the Stolen Base,” “Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight,” “Cat Kid Comic Club,” and “The Adventures of a South Pole Pig.”

A sampling of books read by students in Mrs. Brossman’s 2A class and Ms. Leach’s 2C class include: “Dinosaurs Before Dark,” “Dog Man 10: Mothering Heights,” “I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912,” “Some Pig,” “The World of Emily Windsnap,”  “I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916,” and “Marion’s Got the Butterflies.”

“We want our students to develop a love of reading and learn how to dig deeper into a book to identify the setting, the main characters, and the main events,” said Mrs. Hockenberry. “The students did a really good job creating their dioramas and have learned about a lot of interesting books by hearing the oral presentations and seeing the dioramas their classmates created.”

 

 

Classroom Cameo: 4th Grade Dioramas Depict Life for European Settlers, Lenape Native Americans in NJ in 1600s

Students in Mrs. Jackson’s and Mr. Tardif’s 4th grade classes recently built large dioramas depicting the living environments of two people groups in New Jersey in the 1600s – the Lenape Native American tribe and the early European settlers. The dioramas were on display in April on tables in a 1st floor hallway near the school library. History class for students in the 4th grade focuses on the rich history of New Jersey.

The students used a variety of natural and man-made materials to build the living environments, including bark, ferns, tree branches, straw, pebbles, brown paper, and paint. The students learned that both groups of people relied primarily on farming, hunting, and fishing for their food. Facts about the types of homes the people lived in, their method of transportation, and the physical setting of their homes were detailed on index cards attached to each project and brought to life in the dioramas. The students also had to do oral presentations to their classmates about their projects.

“Life was often challenging for the early European settlers, as well as the Native American groups who had lived in New Jersey for hundreds of years,” Jackson said. “This project gave the students the opportunity to compare and contrast the different ways these people groups lived and to appreciate the unique challenges they faced,” Tardif said.

Classroom Cameo: 2nd Graders Learn About Habitats and the Animals That Thrive in Them

The students in Amy Williams’ second grade class have been learning about the different habitats that are home to polar bears, snakes, jaguars, parrots, and other animals and recently built creative three-dimensional dioramas as part of a winter science project.

The dioramas, which were completed on January 8, are now on display in the hallway outside Ms. Williams’ classroom. As part of the assignment, the students have also been giving oral reports on the animals they chose and their habitats. On Thursday, January 14, Lily Kimmerley and Dominik Gilbert presented their projects. Lily talked about pandas and their mountain habitat and Dominik presented his diorama on grey wolves and their mountain and forest habitats.

“The students have done a great job with their projects,” Williams said. “My favorite part is seeing them learn how an animal can be endangered if their habitat is disrupted if something they rely on is harmed or removed. God put us in charge of the animals and our job is to nurture and care for the environment so their survival is not threatened.”

In addition to the panda and grey wolf, other animals the students studied included deer, ducks, penguins, monkeys, and sea turtles and their habitats including the ocean, desert, jungle, rain forest, and savannah.

 

5th Graders Create Ecological Succession 3-D Dioramas

ACS 5th grade students have been learning about how the earth and its ecosystems develop and change over time and can be impacted by natural phenomenon, such as glaciers and volcanic eruptions, as well as by human activity, such as mining and logging.

The students recently completed a two-week biology project assigned by science teacher Grant Miller in which they built detailed 3-D dioramas showing primary and secondary succession.  The dioramas included examples of subtrate, trees, plants, and animals that could be found in developing and changing ecosystems.