At the end of the last half term, middle school combined their learning from geography, science and DT to create a diorama of a biome of their choice.
Children began by choosing one of the world biomes from ice, tundra, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, desert, rainforest or grassland. Children then researched their biome in geography lessons, learning and understanding what made their biomes unique and identifiable.
In science, children learned about the animals and plants that lived in each biome and classified them. They learned how life was adapted to survive in each biome and explored features of plants and animals in detail. Furthermore, children investigated the skulls of animals to understand their diet and the similarities of related animals across different biomes.
After their research, children planned their biome models in their DT time, considering which animals and plants to use and planning which materials their diorama would require to emulate their chosen environment.
We had a fantastic (and rather messy) time creating our biome dioramas and exploring many different methods to work with 3D modelling. There were some fantastic ideas for making trees, caves and even the animals themselves.
Some children found that their planned materials were more difficult to use than they had originally anticipated, so their plans had to adapt. Because of this, we wrote a short description about each biome during our English lessons. These explained what we chose to include, what went well and what we might change next time. Children used their computing skills to word-process their writing and display with their diorama.
To make things even more fantastic, the children created a brochure to explain to people what they might expect if they travel to their chosen biome.
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