5TH GRADE BIOME PROJECT
The world that God created for us is fascinating. Even the details like the leaves changing from green to fiery oranges, golds, and reds in the fall are God-designed and happen all by themselves year after year. Every tiny detail that helps an ecosystem function has been accounted for, and students need to understand the magnitude of God’s creation and how it all works together. Mrs. Hiller wanted to share that with her 5th-grade students through a “Biome” project.
Mrs. Hiller believes in allowing her students to have choices when it comes to demonstrating their learning, and this science project was the perfect example of that. After spending some time learning about biomes like grasslands, rainforests, and tundras, Mrs. Hiller explained the criteria for the project, and the students discussed as a class what types of projects they would do to show what they were learning. They decided on making stop motion videos, designing board games, or creating posters. They could determine if they wanted to work independently or with a partner. They were given some time in class to work together, but some of it had to be done as homework. The kids learned to set up zoom calls at home to work with other classmates. They also learned how to divide the project into pieces and determine who would be responsible for each section. This project was a perfect example of collaboration and gave the kids the opportunity to show their creativity.
When the students completed their projects, they presented them to the class. The students’ designs were so creative and well-made, and they were excited to show them off. In addition, they learned a lot about each biome, highlighting the animals, plants, climate, geography, and location. To end the week, they devoted one class period to playing the invented board games together. The kids were so animated as they talked about what they had made and how much fun they had with this project. The games, posters, and stop motion animation videos were phenomenal. Still, the most exciting part was seeing how enthusiastic the kids were about everyone’s projects and how freely they could talk about what they had created. They had fun, and they learned a lot at the same time!
This project demonstrated just how creative and resourceful our fifth graders are and has taught them not just about biomes but about project management, collaboration, and time management. The kids’ excitement over this project was evident, and they enjoyed having choices in what type of project they could do. And most importantly, they get to see how wonderful the world God made is while they were doing it. Great job, 5th grade!
