Meadowlark Elementary Student Dioramas Reveal Learning about Biomes

 

March 18, 2020

In a science unit on ecology, Ms. Emily Scofield’s third graders at Meadowlark Elementary School studied biomes. To assess their understanding of the information taught, Ms. Scofield invited each of her students to create a diorama of a biome—an ecosystem where plants, animals, insects, and people live in a certain type of climate.

The Earth supports multiple biomes, with the five major biome classifications being aquatic, desert, grassland, forests, and tundra. However, scientists typically will classify these ecological communities into even smaller distinctive categories. In the aquatic classification, for example, the first subcategories include freshwater and marine, with further classification into multiple subsets: freshwater, freshwater wetlands and marshes, marine, coral reefs, and estuaries. Desert biomes break down into hot and dry deserts, semi-arid, coastal, and cold deserts. Next, savanna biomes fall into distinct classifications: temperate and tropical. Similarly, forest biomes include temperate, tropical, and boreal forests; while tundra areas on the globe include the North and South poles covered by ice.


After studying animal habitats and various biomes of the world, the third graders each selected a biome for further research. According to Scofield, the student biomes needed to include a minimum of two animals and two plants native to that biome, as well as two typical land forms.

To create their biome dioramas, students utilized paint, mossy material, and even crushed green paper to represent trees. Styrofoam and cotton were crafted to mimic ice and snow or to imitate clouds, and resin or hot glue created realistic representations of water. Sand, shells, pinecones, rocks, plastic or rubberized animal and plant-life, and various complementary items also went into their creations. One student selected a light as a stand-in for the sun; another used white, Christmas lights to resemble bugs.


“The goal was to expose students to biomes in a meaningful way, and their creativity in designing unique and interesting dioramas more than exceeded my expectations,” Scofield said. “Although all of their biomes were well-done, those that used labels, real grasses, or other details to create realism stood out as exceptional. I saw lots of evidence of extra work.”

There were biomes representing the desert, forest, grasslands, Arctic tundra, rainforest, fresh water, and coral reef. The students’ creative artwork was on display at the Meadowlark Library for several weeks in February before it was released to be taken home.


Scofield further expressed pleasure in the students’ oral presentations of their projects. “Some of them wrote a whole page about their research, and that wasn’t required. In their dioramas, I could see evidence of collaboration with parents, but the students themselves also worked hard and presented well-thought out projects. Their investment and engagement provided proof that learning happened,” she concluded.

 
 

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