Seventh grade English students learn about setting through diorama projects

Mrs. Williams’ seventh grade English classes created diorama projects for their monthly investigations of the elements of literature.  This month’s element is setting.  Setting is the time and place a story takes place during.  Students were allowed to pick whatever book they wanted for the project, so there was a variety of genres the students selected.  Among the many books chosen were about former baseball player Derek Jeter, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Walt Disney.

The main objective of the diorama was to recreate the student’s version of the most important setting within the book they picked.  Presentations included discussions about the importance of the elements of setting, including location, atmosphere, and time period, along with how the setting impacts the story.

The seventh grade English classes will also explore many other elements of literature, such as plot and tone.  Every month, the students will do a different project correlated to the element of literature they are studying.  For instance, when the class talked about characterization (what makes a character who they are), they made character cans for the class.

Story by Andrew Lechner