Home Learning Idea 1 Topic: The Rainforests
Rainforest Diorama
Materials
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Shoebox or similar-sized box
Small box
A4 card
Brown construction paper
Green crepe/tissue paper
Green acrylic or poster paint
Crayons or coloured pencils
Scissors
PVA glue
Paint brush
Pencil
Hot glue gun
Small rocks and twigs (optional)
Instructions
Prepare the box.
For optimal space, use a large shoebox and
keep the lid attached. Positioning the box
upright also provides the vertical space
needed for tall rainforest trees.
Keep the box lid permanently fixed at a 90 degree
angle by attaching a small box at the bottom portion of
the hinge. Use a hot glue gun or tacky glue to keep the
small box in place.
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.
Home Learning Idea 1 Topic: The Rainforests
Paint the box.
Paint the box with acrylic or poster paint. Acrylic paint
is best used when the box has a glossy finish.
For the inside of the box, use a single shade of green or
go for several shades to create depth. You can also
paint some trees. Optionally, paint the outside of the
box with your preferred colour.
Prepare some trees.
Cut a rectangular section of brown construction paper
to make half a tree. The paper's height should be at
least an inch taller than the box height. At the bottom
of the tree and on one side, you need to add tabs for
gluing. These tabs are basically excess paper around
1cm from these two edges of your paper tree.
Draw half of a tree starting from the side tab margin
and branching out towards the opposite edge.
If you are using a smaller box or positioning the box
horizontally, you may be able to use this tree
template as a guide.
Cut out the tree. Fold the side and bottom tab towards
the back to crease them. Cut out about an inch from
the top and bottom of the side tab.
A whole tree can be attached onto the middle section
of the box. Draw one on brown construction paper,
making sure that the height of the paper is at least an
inch taller than the box height.
Draw a bottom tab about 1cm from the bottom of the
paper. Cut out the tree.
Notice how 2/3 of the bottom tab has been trimmed
off. This is because this tree will be positioned in the
middle of the box, right where the hinge is. The portion
of the tree with the bottom tab will lie on the main box
section while the portion without the tab will be glued
onto the box lid.
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.
Home Learning Idea 1 Topic: The Rainforests
Attach the trees.
Position the tree trunks inside the box. Glue the
bottom tabs and the side tabs.
Fold the tops of the branches and glue them to the
ceiling of the box.
Add leaves.
Add leaves, starting from the tree at the backmost part
of the box and working towards the front most tree.
Cut strips of green crepe paper and crumple them
slightly. Glue them to the branches and to the edges of
the box to add more foliage.
The more crepe paper leaves you add, the lusher the
trees. Try placing them so they extend outside the top
edge of the box. You can use different shades of green
for contrast.
Make some ferns and plants.
Create some ferns, philodendrons, and other rainforest
plants using plain paper or crepe paper. Step-by-step
instructions can be found here. Glue the plants to the
box using a hot glue gun.
Prepare some rainforest animals.
You can draw your rainforest animals or cut them out
from old magazines. You can also print out any of
these Rainforest Animal sets on A4 or Letter size card
stock. Colour and cut out the animals.
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.
Home Learning Idea 1 Topic: The Rainforests
Position the animals.
Position the animals inside the diorama. You can glue
them onto tree branches, behind the trees, amidst
ferns and plants, or even on top of the canopy.
Add more detail.
Small rocks, twigs, dried leaves, and other materials
from nature can be added to add texture to your
diorama. Heavier materials, such as small rocks, can be
glued in place with a hot glue gun.
Tightly twist strips of green crepe paper to make jungle
vines. To make your vines coily, wrap them around a
pencil. Glue one end of each vine onto a tree branch or
to the box's ceiling.
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.