Amish Barn-Raising Diorama

Amish communities are famous for their quilts and unique style of life. Show how the Amish work together by creating a realistic barn-raising diorama.

• 1.

  Find out about Amish traditions, dress, and customs. Why do the Amish reject modern conveniences such as electricity and cars? Discover why barn raising is so important to Amish farmers. To show what you’ve learned, create a shoebox diorama of a barn-raising scene.

• 2.

  On construction paper, use Crayola Twistables® and Markers to decorate a background for your diorama. Cut it to fit inside a shoebox with Crayola Scissors. Glue the background into the box with Crayola School Glue.

• 3.

  Using craft sticks, build a beginning barn structure. Glue it inside the box.

• 4.

  On recycled file folders, draw, color, and cut out male figures, in Amish dress, who are building the barn. Leave a tab at the bottom of your figures. Fold over the tab and glue figures into place.

• 5.

  Create a large table with traditional Amish foods. Include women and children, dressed in Amish attire, preparing to serve a meal to the men.

Benefits

• Students research Amish home life, dress, and social gatherings.
• Students understand the importance of a barn on an Amish farm.
• Students construct a life-like diorama depicting the Amish community helping to build a barn.

Adaptations

• Build dioramas of other aspects of Amish life, such as caring for horses, riding in a buggy, milking cows, and quilting.
• Identify locations on a map where the Amish live. Why have they chosen these areas?
• Research the history of the Amish. When did they come to North America? How do they influence their communities? What are their schools like? How do they travel?