2nd grade projects(dioramas)

[disneyhopeful]

Hello everybody. My dd7 brought home her 1st project for the year . I believe its for social studies. She has to make a neighborhood diorama out of a shoebox. It has to be turned in no later than October 17th. This is the 1st big project she's ever had since Kindergarten. I suck at projects so I wanted to get an early start on this as possible. Has anyone had to do this with their child? I'm looking on google to try to find websites for ideas. Any help is very much appreciated. I just need a good starting place. Thanks

 

[Cool-Beans]

After 1st grade I just had the kid do something - anything. It didn't have to be good. They didn't need to put in much effort.

If it was coloring or art crap, just do a little something and turn it in.

If they were into it and wanted help, I'd help them. If not, I just didn't care.

That was that.

 

[clh2]

Did this assignment come with a rubric (grading guide)?

If it did, it should be pretty self explanatory exactly what needs to be done. The only help I would be offering your DD is to make sure she "hit" all the points on the rubric.

At that age it is really easy to figure out which projects were done by kids, and which projects had an adult influence.

Somethings I found really nice when DD had to do stupid projects like this...happy meal toys sometimes are worth something And...once glued into a project, once the project was thrown out...the happy meal toy was gone!!! And my other advice...if you are doing a neighborhood...hot wheels is a nice sized car.

Oh - my other advice...don't ever through out another shoebox! You'll regret it.

 

[disneyhopeful]

After 1st grade I just had the kid do something - anything. It didn't have to be good. They didn't need to put in much effort.

If it was coloring or art crap, just do a little something and turn it in.

If they were into it and wanted help, I'd help them. If not, I just didn't care.

That was that.

This is exactly how I feel. I couldn't have said it better.

 

[disneyhopeful]

Did this assignment come with a rubric (grading guide)?

If it did, it should be pretty self explanatory exactly what needs to be done. The only help I would be offering your DD is to make sure she "hit" all the points on the rubric.

At that age it is really easy to figure out which projects were done by kids, and which projects had an adult influence.

Somethings I found really nice when DD had to do stupid projects like this...happy meal toys sometimes are worth something And...once glued into a project, once the project was thrown out...the happy meal toy was gone!!! And my other advice...if you are doing a neighborhood...hot wheels is a nice sized car.

Oh - my other advice...don't ever through out another shoebox! You'll regret it.

Yes, it does include a rubric. She also has a list of things she can include. I'll help her decide what she wants to put in it and get her started but she will do the rest. Thanks for the shoebox tip.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I hate when teachers do this. You are of course a good parent and want to help but few things happen that make the project worthless. First,many parents view it as a competition. They do not let the child do it for himself. Then there are the kids whose parents could not give a darn. They come in and feel embarrassed by the fact that their's looks like a child did it and the rest look like someone hired a designer. I think that this type of project should be done in school. That way the playing field is level and it is a true example of what the child can do. In addition, this should be a choice project. If the teacher is using differentiated instruction with respect to the child's strengths then there should be a choice of projects from which the child can choose and a rubric to go along with it.

 

[clh2]

I hate when teachers do this. You are of course a good parent and want to help but few things happen that make the project worthless. First,many parents view it as a competition. They do not let the child do it for himself. Then there are the kids whose parents could not give a darn. They come in and feel embarrassed by the fact that their's looks like a child did it and the rest look like someone hired a designer. I think that this type of project should be done in school. That way the playing field is level and it is a true example of what the child can do. In addition, this should be a choice project. If the teacher is using differentiated instruction with respect to the child's strengths then there should be a choice of projects from which the child can choose and a rubric to go along with it.

I started off my response just like this, and then I started over. But...since someone else brought it up - I think projects like this would be perfect for the main teacher to "hand over " to the art teacher. That way all the students will have age-appropriate art instruction, and have it evaluated relative to what a 2nd grade is capable of doing. And...I could go on and on and on.

 

[CajunDixie]

I saw the perfect shoebox for a diorama a few weeks ago!!! DS was shoe shopping and I think it was at Dick's Sporting Goods and the shoe was Under Armour brand. It had a clear plastic hinged lid! You can use Google Images and type in under armour shoe box to see it. Not that that helps you but my first thought when I saw it was diorama!

 

[M&N]

I hate when teachers do this. You are of course a good parent and want to help but few things happen that make the project worthless. First,many parents view it as a competition. They do not let the child do it for himself. Then there are the kids whose parents could not give a darn. They come in and feel embarrassed by the fact that their's looks like a child did it and the rest look like someone hired a designer. I think that this type of project should be done in school. That way the playing field is level and it is a true example of what the child can do. In addition, this should be a choice project. If the teacher is using differentiated instruction with respect to the child's strengths then there should be a choice of projects from which the child can choose and a rubric to go along with it.

I started off my response just like this, and then I started over. But...since someone else brought it up - I think projects like this would be perfect for the main teacher to "hand over " to the art teacher. That way all the students will have age-appropriate art instruction, and have it evaluated relative to what a 2nd grade is capable of doing. And...I could go on and on and on.

I hate to say this but, just like classroom teachers, art teachers have a curriculum to follow. The classroom teacher apparently gave suggestions. It is the student's job to decide how to carry it out. I'm sure the teacher can judge whether the student or parents have completed the project. I'm sure when the project is graded, the student's ability will be taken into account. Unfortunately, with the emphasis on state testing and schools having to show annual yearly progress, there is no time to do projects like this in school. I remember doing dioramas and 3D maps at home with the supervision of my parents. Maybe some parents are too busy to do this now.
The response of Cool Beans seems to sum up the attitude of some parents these days. -- "After 1st grade I just had the kid do something - anything. It didn't have to be good. They didn't need to put in much effort. If it was coloring or art crap, just do a little something and turn it in. If they were into it and wanted help, I'd help them. If not, I just didn't care. That was that." When does the caring start? If you don't care about that one assignment, what message are you sending your child for the other assignments along the way?

 

[Cool-Beans]

I hate to say this but, just like classroom teachers, art teachers have a curriculum to follow. The classroom teacher apparently gave suggestions. It is the student's job to decide how to carry it out. I'm sure the teacher can judge whether the student or parents have completed the project. I'm sure when the project is graded, the student's ability will be taken into account. Unfortunately, with the emphasis on state testing and schools having to show annual yearly progress, there is no time to do projects like this in school. I remember doing dioramas and 3D maps at home with the supervision of my parents. Maybe some parents are too busy to do this now.
The response of Cool Beans seems to sum up the attitude of some parents these days. -- "After 1st grade I just had the kid do something - anything. It didn't have to be good. They didn't need to put in much effort. If it was coloring or art crap, just do a little something and turn it in. If they were into it and wanted help, I'd help them. If not, I just didn't care. That was that." When does the caring start? If you don't care about that one assignment, what message are you sending your child for the other assignments along the way?

The message I sent was that I cared about knowledge and not about coloring or art.

My oldest is at Princeton. Didn't have to color to get in there. Hasn't had to color since he got there. Second kid is at a decent college, but not Ivy League. Coloring not required there, either.

I do not and never did care about the fluff stuff. My kids know it now and they knew it then. My focus - and theirs, by extension - was on the important stuff.

 

[paintnolish]

DD (2nd gr) had her first big project- she got assigned a sate and had to do 3 "mini" projects on it, each valued differently. Of course we chose the 3 with the highest point value- a travel brochure, a mobile, and a float (P.I.T.A.). The rubric evensaid- we hope this will be a project your whole family will enjoy. Oh yeah. It was a blast! I made dd do tons of work, but I still spent lots of time gluing and assembling!

 

[Tinijocaro]

Hello everybody. My dd7 brought home her 1st project for the year . I believe its for social studies. She has to make a neighborhood diorama out of a shoebox. It has to be turned in no later than October 17th. This is the 1st big project she's ever had since Kindergarten. I suck at projects so I wanted to get an early start on this as possible. Has anyone had to do this with their child? I'm looking on google to try to find websites for ideas. Any help is very much appreciated. I just need a good starting place. Thanks

Just be sure it ends up looking like a 1st grader did it. Help her brainstorm ideas, materials-guide her but don't give her the ideas. The actual work should be hers.

It's always easy to tell which projects were done mostly by the parent, and which were done by the child.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I hate to say this but, just like classroom teachers, art teachers have a curriculum to follow. The classroom teacher apparently gave suggestions. It is the student's job to decide how to carry it out. I'm sure the teacher can judge whether the student or parents have completed the project. I'm sure when the project is graded, the student's ability will be taken into account. Unfortunately, with the emphasis on state testing and schools having to show annual yearly progress, there is no time to do projects like this in school. I remember doing dioramas and 3D maps at home with the supervision of my parents. Maybe some parents are too busy to do this now.
The response of Cool Beans seems to sum up the attitude of some parents these days. -- "After 1st grade I just had the kid do something - anything. It didn't have to be good. They didn't need to put in much effort. If it was coloring or art crap, just do a little something and turn it in. If they were into it and wanted help, I'd help them. If not, I just didn't care. That was that." When does the caring start? If you don't care about that one assignment, what message are you sending your child for the other assignments along the way?

Sorry the art teacher should be working WITH the classroom teacher in this respect. I am a certified art teacher as well as a classroom teacher. There is no topic that cannot go across the curriculum and be interpreted in the art room. Working with the classroom teacher lets the student know that a particular topic is not limited to the narrow confines of the homeroom.
I do not care if the teacher can adjust for the student whose parent does the project for him. It is still not his/her project.

There are times when we have assigned projects and called them FAMILY projects just so kids can work with parnents at home and have the experience but they were not graded and optional . Anyone who does the project for their child is stifling the child's creativity. It is like giving a child crayons and a coloring book instead of giving him/her crayons and paper and saying, or create. The message you give is you CANNOT draw so I had someone else do it for you.
Obviously a grade 2 student cannot create what an adult could and therefore this does not foster independnence in the child. The playing field needs to be on the student's level. Think about this, I have a degree in ART as well as education would you really want a project created my me to go up against a grade 2 student?
While I would guide my own kids by teaching them various techniques to use on a project THEY needed to execute the project themselves. Sure they knew how to make faux wood and age a page so it looked like it came from the 1600's but they did it themselves. I even forced my son to learn how to knit as part of a collage he was doing for Tale of Two Cities. My kids would come to me with an idea for a project and ask if there were a technique to accomplish whatever they wanted to present.

I am well aware of NCLB BUT again if an art teacher has a curriculum to follow then show that he/she can truly be an ART teacher and incorporate academics into the art. IMHO.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Oh yea...

My dd had to do an animal habitat of the wild hamster.

It ended up pretty cool. We got styrofoam blocks and we drilled holes to do "underground" cross section.

A neighborhood will be a breeze. Just go to Hobby Lobby and get miniature things. Or if you can't spend the money for that, you can just cut out paper things and give them a backing.

 

[kristilew]

Ok, I have to speak up in favor of diorama projects. My dd11 gets at least one a year. They are always included on a a list from which she can choose - other options might be write a story or poem, or create a power point show. Each kid gets to do what appeals to him or her.

The diorama forces dd to think through how to best represent her research visually and to think through the main points she wants to be sure to emphasize. She has really grown creatively each year, and I've been very impressed.

I do not help at all, other than to save all shoe boxes so she has a variety available. The first year she did one, it was pretty lame, and she was embarassed when she saw the ones the parents had helped with. (didn't affect her grade - she was in 1st that year, just had to do it) That motivated her to really put thought and effort into the next one, and each one has benefitted from learning from her mistakes.

Now she sketches a plan, makes a material list, and starts early. The most recent one was pretty cool: she had studied Canadian Lynxes and she turned the shoebox vertical and created a forest scene with the Lynx hiding in the tree branches at the top, ready to jump on an unsuspecting snowshoe hare. I think the combination of creative problem solving and long term planning and time management are excellent benefits of doing projects like this.

 

[Carpenters]

My kids always came up with things that I'd have never thought of, so be sure to take a few steps back and make her think on her own, stepping in when she really gets stuck, of course. Legos and PlayDoh alwasy figured into their dioramas and projects. That blue saran wrap was ideal for the cover of the underwater dioramas. Take a picture of it when she's done, before it goes to school and gets destroyed on the bus! My daughter especially likes to look back at the pictures of her salt maps and projects. This is a fun time for them, so try not to get stressed, and enjoy it. She'll figure out how to do it her own way, and that's the whole point of the assignment. You sound like a mom that wants to get her on the right track, so she's going to do great.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Ok, I have to speak up in favor of diorama projects. My dd11 gets at least one a year. They are always included on a a list from which she can choose - other options might be write a story or poem, or create a power point show. Each kid gets to do what appeals to him or her.

The diorama forces dd to think through how to best represent her research visually and to think through the main points she wants to be sure to emphasize. She has really grown creatively each year, and I've been very impressed.

I do not help at all, other than to save all shoe boxes so she has a variety available. The first year she did one, it was pretty lame, and she was embarassed when she saw the ones the parents had helped with. (didn't affect her grade - she was in 1st that year, just had to do it) That motivated her to really put thought and effort into the next one, and each one has benefitted from learning from her mistakes.

Now she sketches a plan, makes a material list, and starts early. The most recent one was pretty cool: she had studied Canadian Lynxes and she turned the shoebox vertical and created a forest scene with the Lynx hiding in the tree branches at the top, ready to jump on an unsuspecting snowshoe hare. I think the combination of creative problem solving and long term planning and time management are excellent benefits of doing projects like this.

And you are right that is what it should be in a perfect world but some parents do not understand this.

 

[*Fantasia*]

you can use clay or playdough maybe for people, lego for houses/buildings, small silk or plastic plants, construction papers maybe for the roads/streets, cotton balls for the clouds, for lake/ponds/pools/ i guess you can use a blue clay/playdough or blue construction paper. cars, i suppose you can use the hotwheels or any car toy.

i haven't done one, but i have seen a lot from the previews years. my son and daughter usually use poster boards, it easy, and they have that choice.

it's not that hard to do, you just have to be creative and improvise. good luck and i am sure her project will be a successful one. don't stress too much, make it fun with your daughter.

 

[tw1nsmom]

And you are right that is what it should be in a perfect world but some parents do not understand this.

The thing is most of us as parents DO understand what the so called educational benefits of home art projects are. I have my masters in elementary education so I could make a wild guess that I know what the purpose is more than most.

However, I still think any art projects should be optional or done in school. Don't even get me started on group projects that are supposed to be done outside of school.

I have no problem with an art project being one of the options, as it was in the case of the poster you quoted. It just shouldn't be required. Every child has different strengths and weaknesses. Not every child has the resources at home to actually do an art project. If the same educational objectives can be met through a book report or research project (using materials that can be found in the school library) that should always be an option. Frankly, the book report/research project is more like what the kids will need to do in upper level classes, college and real life jobs.

My DS has special needs. He has fine and gross motor delays as well as visual/spatial deficits. He is graded on a slightly different rubric, but his art projects are displayed just like everyone else. You bet your butt I help him (DD too, but she excels at art so rarely needs help). I've been at school and heard the other kids laughing at DS and his projects. He's mortified. He's not stupid. He can look and see that his work isn't up to the same level as his peers. He's not the only one who struggles with these projects.

I honestly think that many of these projects are done to decorate the teacher's class. I'm actually fairly certain this is the case. When I was teaching the principal wanted the rooms decorated with student projects and art work. If you didn't have a room full of projects you were in trouble and it was assumed you weren't doing enough teaching. Even though written work may be more productive it's not colorful on the walls.

All home art projects should be just one of the options.

 

[disneyhopeful]

I saw the perfect shoebox for a diorama a few weeks ago!!! DS was shoe shopping and I think it was at Dick's Sporting Goods and the shoe was Under Armour brand. It had a clear plastic hinged lid! You can use Google Images and type in under armour shoe box to see it. Not that that helps you but my first thought when I saw it was diorama!

Wow, that's a cool looking shoe box.