Sara Stadem | Editor
Tri-Valley fourth graders got to learn about landforms in a creative way this year, creating the landform by either drawing one or building one.
“We have done landforms in the past, but we have watched videos and drew pictures of them,” fourth grade teacher Mrs. Sarah Kocmick said. “This year, I thought it would be more fun and hands on if the students got to make/design their landforms with materials of their choice. I also thought they would learn more and remember more if they were making/designing them.”
Mrs. Kocmick explained students were put into random groups and had 14 landforms to choose from to make/design. They could do it any way they wanted as long as the group agreed. Students could use items from Mrs. Kocmick’s room such as paper, clay, popsicle sticks, yarn, paint to list a few, or they could bring items from home to use.
There were a variety of different landforms created by the fourth graders. Mrs. Kocmick said some groups decided to draw landforms on paper, some used clay to form the landforms, some used boxes to set things in and some even brought Legos to use. “All ways were very creative,” Mrs. Kocmick explained.
The project was done in the classroom over the course of six class periods. Once the landforms were done, the class discussed the landforms and compared and contrasted each group’s work. After that, the students put their projects in the hallway for other students and staff to enjoy.
“The project went better than expected! I saw a different side to the students, their creative side of molding clay, drawing and coloring and putting Legos together. Sometimes it’s hard to see this side of students in science class outside of projects and I am so glad that I did it!” explained Mrs. Kocmick. She continued, “It seemed the students enjoyed it too because we weren’t reading out of the book, doing a worksheet, watching a video or just sitting in the classroom. The students got to sit around the room, work with their classmates and be creative! It was a great project that I think students learned a lot from. I am looking forward to doing it in years to come. The students did an amazing job with these and I am so proud of them and all their hard work!”