Diorama....I just love that word. It just fills me with joy as I envision shoe boxes filled with creativity and a child's point of view. I am not sure why I have this obsession with dioramas. I assume it goes back to middle school book reports and getting to recreate a scene with how I saw it in my imagination. Any time I can find an excuse to get kids involved in this activity I will.
Last year I had my 1st-4th grade GT (gifted and talented) group make ecological habitats that contained at least seven items in nature found in that particular environment. That way when they went back to their classrooms and took them for show and tell, their classmates had the challenge of identifying the seven things.
This year I am starting the year off with my 5th-8th grade group learning about the Roman Empire. I knew I wanted to incorporate shoebox dioramas right from the start to see how creative they could get. The first assignment is to capture a typical day in the life during the Roman Empire. Rebecca is choosing to do a festival box. Some of the other children are showcasing things like a market, a wedding, fishing, inside the Colosseum, etc.
I think I am going to do a box along with them. Should I showcase the orgies? The vomitorium? The virgin priestesses? The slave market?
Well of course not! It is middle school and junior high kids after all. They have years before true history has to be known, right now we will stick with the generic white bread versions we all know.
Okay well maybe just a little animal sacrificial alter (maybe they won't notice).
Am I the only one who is a diorama mama?
No comments:
Post a Comment