How To Make A Rainforest Diorama

What was this science module about? Would you like to draw a cocoa tree for your diorama? Because the teacher said not to add people where they don’t belong. She said she’d count off! But there are people living in the Amazon,” I said. “They do belong there. If you were in my class, you’d probably make all A’s,” she said. “You like doing this so much! This looks so good! Sign in or sign up and post using a HubPages Network account. 0 of 8192 characters usedPost CommentNo HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites. Teach. I am glad you found this a worthwhile resource. It was an enjoyable and educational project, and we had a nice time working on it. I appreciate the detail you put into this article – it’s an incredible resource for parents and teachers who can direct families here for ideas. I hope you understand, though, that what you and your daughter executed was actually much higher level thinking than an essay or multiple-choice test.

Having to apply knowledge to another form stretches the brain in new directions. I am sure any teacher would be just as impressed by a crude pencil drawing labeled “parrot” as by a figure sculpted out of clay. You can be just as neat with simple materials as expensive ones. Grades for this project would be based on the knowledge that was demonstrated, not the means by which is was transmitted. I applaud you both on a well-done project showing off what she clearly understands! Last thing, thanks for being such an involved parent! I’m a high school science teacher and we also get students to present their understanding of concepts graphically/visually, as tests don’t always suit all students. As long as the students can show they have incorporated all the main ideas in their design, it doesn’t matter if they’re not all budding artists or designers. Teachergirl1, thanks for the input.

Making dioramas can be an enjoyable and educational activity. However, because it calls on arts and crafts skills, it just doesn’t seem fair to award a science grade based on the appearance of the model. I have the same issue when they award language arts grades based on projects that require drawing skills. The National Science Teacher Association promotes making Dioramas even at the high school level. I wouldn’t make it a test grade though. There is a Adopt a Dino Project that includes building one from NSTA. Emmanuel, you may be right. Maybe the teacher was hoping to learn more about the rain forest from the students. According to me, the teacher wanted to learn from pupils. What a triky and hard homework for kids to do. Diorama project isn’t funny at all as long as it require bunch of thing to make it work. Injurycase, I agree that teaching should be enjoyable and that teachers should use their creativity in teaching students. Students are creative, too, but each one in a different way. It seems unfair, though, to give science grades on the basis of the ability to show artistic merit in the design of a diorama.

It would be just as unfair as giving grades in mathematics based on the ability to draw pretty pictures of numbers, or grades in grammar and spelling based on the ability to complete a construction project. All these skills are valuable, but grading a student on artistic performance in a class that is supposed to be about something else is not helpful to the student or to the class as a whole. So a diorama project is a fun thing to do, but should not be for credit except in art class. Caitlin, my daughter used little twigs that she found outdoors, and then she attached Easter grass to them. Lisa, you’re very welcome. Sara, you’re quite welcome. I bet you made terrific dioramas when you were in school! It’s so nice that you dropped by! Aya, this Hub is amazing. I look forward to reading about your daughter’s castle building project!