I’m just saying. My daughters in the sixth grade are on their third set of dioramas for the year in Social Studies. As a modality – once – I’m okay, but this is crazy! And they come back from school like boomerangs in just a few short days. How does this teacher even begin to look these things over? No one mentioned that important school supplies for sixth grade are:
- a hot glue gun
- colored sand
- Popsicle sticks
- Model Magic
- shoe boxes
- corrugated cardboard
- twenty sheets of tag board
- pipecleaners
- “dries in 24 hours” clay in multiple colors
Not that I mind a non-essay to demonstrate understanding. I’m just running out of shoe-boxes and cotton balls.
photo by flickr member doubledareyaa
Living on the Lip of Insanity 
@ Kate
My boys are in second grade and i hear diarama time is around the corner. I’m not looking forward to it. I’m trying to sell the powers that be on having the kids turn in a digital project. I’d rather do something on animation-ish or I movie with my kids than the cut and paste crap.
@Charlie –
Can I add an Amen! to that? One of my girls has created a wiki as a place for middle school students to publish art and stories. She’s almost ready to start asking for submissions. They can do much more interesting work than a diorama!
You say ‘boys.’ Two second graders just like I have two sixth graders? Sure does make it all interesting.