Habitat Diorama Project

The class has been studying Georgia habitats. At home, each student will create a diorama depicting one of the six regions. On November 8, 2011. Each student will present their finished project to the class. To help guide them, a rubric that will be used to score their project and presentation is attached. I will be gi ing them some time in the classroom to conduct research. !our child will choose a habitat in class, "Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plain, Coast, Wetlands, and Atlantic cean# $ost of all, ha e fun and enjoy% A diorama is a small model of a real&life scene that has lifeli'e details and a realistic bac'ground. It can be anything you want it to be so get out the scissors, pencils, and pipe cleaners and let(s get started% !esearc" !esources )cience text boo' )cience wor'boo'

http*++www.lilburnes.org+)tudents+,abitats+ http*++library.thin'-uest.org+./0123400+ http*++georgiaregions.googlepages.com+ !e#uirements 2 5 6rite a paragraph with at least 7 sentences telling about your habitat. 8e sure to tell about the things that ma'e it different from the other regions. Ex* climate 1 5 Include at least 1 animals that li e in the habitat 3 5 Include at least 3 different types of plant life Types of 9iorama 1 $ %"oebo& dioramas '"e c"ild builds a miniature scene inside a s"oebo& A more elaborate diorama could be made by partitioning the shoebox in half with a cardboard crosspiece and cutting a peephole in each end.

The )hoe 8ox $odel is created by ta'ing the lid off of a shoe box, placing the box on its side and the lid under the box. If the lid is turned upside&down, it can hold part of the diorama. The objects and features in the lid and box maybe assorted items, similar to the :lat )urface $odel, or only construction paper, or a combination of either of these.

2 $ 'ra( dioramas ;se cardboard trays such as are found at food warehouses to create <open air= dioramas. These are easier for younger children to construct than the box type which re-uire a great deal of fine muscle control.

The :lat )urface $odel is build on a coo'ie tray, ca'e pan, or other shallow tray. The land forms are build using dirt, clay or paper mache and are then painted. The contents may include anything from mirrors for water, cellophane, toy animals, dirt, roc's, twigs, etc. ) $ Molded Dioramas Molded dioramas use modelin* cla(, +laster o, +aris, +a+er mac"e or "ome made saltdou*" to create to+o*ra+"ical dioramas. '"is +articular activit( is ideal ,or stud(in* *eo*ra+"( and ma+$ ma-in*. ) $ '"e 'ri$,old Model

To ma'e a Tri&fold $odel "loo's li'e the corner of a room#, ta'e a rectangular piece of paper+construction paper. ,old the paper hori>ontally and fold in half "hamburger fold#. ?eep it folded and fold again, while holding the paper hori>ontally "hamburger fold again#. Open the paper all the way. Turn the paper hori>ontally. In the center of the paper, rip or cut on the fold half way down "to the center of the paper#. :old the paper to o erlap the two s-uares adjacent to the cut@ staple these together. The surface you just created "folding one s-uare o er the other# is the base. This can be colored with crayons or pens before stapling or students can glue construction paper onto it. General 9irections 2. 1. 3. B. 7. D. E. C"oose a scene to re$create. $a'e s'etches of how you want your diorama to loo'. Alan the front, bac', sides, and top. $a'e the inside of the diorama loo' as deep and 3 dimensional as you can. $a'e a list of the things you will need to ma'e your diorama. ;se a ariety of materials. $a'e a base for the model out of a shoe box or other box about the si>e of a shoebox. $a'e sure your box is sturdy. :ind small figures to go along with your scene or ma'e them out of clay, printouts, pipe cleaners, or e en Cegos. !ou could also ma'e them from plaster. ;se your imagination. .ut out colored paper drawings for your project. 8e creati e. Anything you can find "cotton balls, lea es, twigs, etc.# will wor'. $a'e e ery detail count. ,ang flying objects with clear string such as monofilament used for fishing line, if you ha e it.

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Include the title of your story and be sure to clearly label things if necessary. 'i+s

Aut bigger items in the bac', lea ing the scene easy to see. The most important object of your diorama should be centered or just a bit off center to draw the iewers attention to it first. Green and brown pipe cleaners are great for plants. !ou can also buy miniature plants from a )upercenter or a crafts store. !ou can use cotton balls for clouds or snow also. 8e sure to use color all o er. !ou don(t want a blue s'y with brown "cardboard box# spots showing in it, do youG 9on(t be too big too fast. $a'e the bare minimum of your diorama then build up. ;se e erything% Hatural resources can be a big help. Try using twigs if your diorama has trees. ;se the right tool for the job. It is not wise to color in a cardboard lid with blue& the bright colors will fade and brown will show. In' can also cause the cardboard to sag or become flimsy. 6hen it comes to s'y or ground, colored construction paper is the way to go% :or more detail or wor'space, use a box that is larger than a shoebox. Warnin*s

9on(t become upset if you ma'e a mista'e when co ering your box in colored paper. !ou can usually co er up mista'es with other paper. "This part is optional anyway. It just ma'es the box neater in appearance.# %u**ested Materials

)hoe box "or cardboard box about the same si>e# .rayons, colored mar'ers, colored pencils, acrylic or tempera paints .onstruction paper, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, toothpic's, clay !arn, string, felt, foam, popsicle stic's, tongue depressors 9irt, sand, lea es, twigs Tape, glue, scissors )mall figures, Cegos, clip art printouts found on free Internet websites