Third grade students in Kim Montgomery’s social studies class at Sister Lakes Elementary finished their dioramas for Michigan history last week.

Every year, students need to create their own Native American diorama for class. Montgomery assigns these projects to help students get an idea of what Native American life was like in Michigan.

Besides tests with paper and pencil, this project lets students show their creative side. Some creative dioramas are hand-painted, with campfires that light up, while others have Native American figurines sculpted and formed with clay, and some have corn made from painted Q-tips.

Students are given a description of what they are to incorporate into their finished diorama as well as a rubric to follow. Besides lessons during class, students had to research on their own time.

When they finished, they had a diorama complete with a paragraph describing Native American life.