A scenic representation in which sculpted figures and lifelike details are displayed.
The main project that my kids did for all of August was creating dioramas of habitats.
Dioramas are a good science and art projects, because they provide students with hands-on learning and facilitates a design process. In this case, they apply what they know about the different habitats we as a class had discussed in science -- oceans, forests, deserts, ponds, grasslands, and polar habitats -- to create accurate scenes that depicted what these habitats look like.
After gathering all the necessary materials (a challenge in its own) and introducing the project, one of the first things I did was create criteria. With as much involvement as I could get from my students, we agreed upon the following:
- The diorama must have a background and a foreground that is accurate and interactive.
- The diorama must include at least two animals.
I gave the students a week to complete the project in class, but because of the slow progress I decided it would be beneficial to have them bring it home for the weekend -- big mistake. When Monday came, I had a handful of dioramas that were clearly done by the parents. I had to rethink the way of assessing their learning, and I opted for an interview style using this rubric I created:
The rubric I had created puts as much emphasis on their knowledge of their habitats as on the creation of their dioramas. I thought to link the elements of their diorama with the knowledge they have acquired in class. I also thought it would be important to discuss the components of a habitat -- food, shelter, air, and water.
Here are some of the habitat dioramas that were submitted.
Dioramas are great for assessing students' learning using art as the medium. It also fosters creativity, problem solving skills, and fine motor skills.
"The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself."
- Alan Alda
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