Native American diorama project -Homeschool Fridays

It’s hard to think of a better way to combine social studies and art than making a diorama. This month my second grader has to learn about a Native American tribe and make a diorama. We have an entire collection of dioramas in our house! Especially since my Kindergartner started making them on his own.

He just LOVES dioramas! He did not have to make one for his homework this month, but he’ll -of course- join us in the journey. There are lots of ideas out there, but here’s how we made ours.

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Preparation

Pick a tribe. This time we were instructed to pick a local tribe. We picked the Kumeyaay last time, so this time we picked the Luiseno tribe.
Look for information about the tribe. There might be a local museum you can visit. Look for books at the library. I usually order them online from the library as soon as we get the homework packet. That way we will get the books needed in order to finish the homework packet on time. Be sure to check YouTube for additional informational videos as well.
Draw a picture and write a research about what you’ve learnt. This is the difficult part, but once you’re done, you can let your imagination loose and play around using your artistic side of the brain!

Actual making of the diorama

Gather the materials needed.

Shoebox or board to use as base. This time around we had no boxes left (I guess we don’t buy shoes the same pace we make dioramas!), so we used wooden boards. This was actually not a bad idea, because it helped us later on to build the hut.
Acrylic (non-washable) paint for base and people
Paintable silicone and silicone gun (for making the water)
Rocks, twigs and dirt for various uses
Drill and hot glue gun
Natural colored twine
Brown paper and scissors
Clay to make pots, pans and tools
Dental floss and washi or other colored tape
Black Sharpie for decorating
Small wooden people
Small pieces of fabric

Steps

Base

Start by painting your base. We used brown/beige for the ground and blue/green for the water. The kids also liked the idea of rubbing in some dirt into the paint. It definitely made the board look more realistic.

Water

Luiseno villages were always built near a supply of fresh water and therefore we had to make a river. Gather your rocks you’d like to use for the water. We usually like one or two big rocks and several smaller ones, to make it look like a river. Using your silicone gun, start squeezing out silicone on the water area. Use a plastic spoon to smear it out and dab it on the silicone surface to create the water texture. We learned this technique by watching this video by Akademee on YouTube. You might want to do this step outside or at least in a well ventilated room, as the silicone has a very strong (most likely unhealthy) odor.

Put an extra dab of silicone and attach the rocks where you want them. Let dry and paint with white on top of the waves to make the water look even more foamy and realistic.

The hut

Mark a circle where you would like to place the hut. The Luiseno people lived mostly in huts made of poles, bark and reeds. Drill approximately 10 shallow, small holes in the board. Gather 5 thin, fresh twigs. We found olive twigs to be very useful for this purpose, but I suppose it depends on where you live. They need to be fresh though, otherwise they will break when you try to bend them. Trim the twigs the length needed and bend them carefully to form a dome shape. Add a dab of hot glue in each hole and stick the ends of the twigs in the holes, to keep them in place. Tie them all together loosely at top. Then tie more twine all around the base structure.

Cut brown paper into 1-2 inch thick stripes and cut slits. Glue these paper strips onto base of hut, to build the walls. Leave an opening for the entrance. Next time we’ll make a diorama I think we’ll have to research an Indian tribe that used to live in tents. I’ve seen some really cute ideas on how to make those on Pinterest!

When you have all the basics in place, it’s time for the really fun stuff! Now you can add people, tools, pots and pans, animals, kayaks..whatever you’d like! Let your creative juices flow!

Making people, tools and other details

People

We started by painting our wooden people. Then we used small pieces of fabric to make loincloths for the men and tule skirts for the women. We also used small acorns for basket hats for the women.

Pots and tools

The Luiseno used to make pots from clay, so I bought terra cotta “Sculpey”. This is a clay you bake at low heat in the oven to harden. It’s kind of hard and a bit dry, so you’ll most likely have to help the kids knead it at first, but the end result is fantastic! We spent all Sunday afternoon at our friends’ house (they are in the same school and had the same homework) making tiny tools, weapons, pots and pans. The kids had fun looking up information on the internet to replicate weapons and tools the Indians used. When the clay had cooled down, the kids decorated them with black Sharpies. Here is the result. My Kindergartner who loves dioramas made most of these!

Tools and weapons

During our research we also learned that the Luiseno Indians used bows and arrows for hunting and defense. We made these using olive branches again (fresh!). Cut a tiny piece, bend it very carefully to create a bow. Then you make tiny slits at both ends and tie dental floss across. We added some washi tape as well, for decoration. Then we made arrows from the same twigs and added some washi tape at the ends. My son also made an “arrow holder” of paper all by himself!

Finally I made an attempt at making a kayak from craft sticks I had seen on Pinterest, but unfortunately it did not turn out very well. We decided to use a printable instead and to make it out of paper. Click here to see on Pinterest.

Finished Project

This will pretty much finish off this diorama project. Have fun with it! Please share pictures of your own dioramas below. We will share more dioramas as time goes. After all; this is a passion of ours! Let me know if you have any questions. Below are some pictures of our finished Native American diorama project.