Diorama of different forms of African housing

Diorama of different forms of African housing
Abstract: Africa is a huge continent made up of many different countries, climates,
peoples, cultures, and landscapes. Sometimes when students think about Africa they
have a very narrowed view of its contents. This project can help to open students’ eyes to
the great variety in Africa, using various forms of housing from across the continent.
Materials needed: Copies of templates (each child should have 5 sheets)
Scissors
Glue
Crayons
Procedures:
Color and cut out the 4 dwellings.
Choose one of the background pages. Start with the upper right corner. Pull the
corner down diagonally until the edge lines up with the dotted line. Make a fold.
It should look like a sail.
Open the page and color the upper triangle portion.
Skip this step for the Mali-Dogon Country page (see the next page
for instructions on how to do the Mali diorama)
Use the crease you now have to fold the paper back the opposite direction. Turn
the page picture side up and have the students cut along the 2 parallel dotted lines
to make a flap. Open the paper back up.
Take the upper left corner and fold it to the dotted line, just like you did with the
other corner. This will leave two folds that form an X on your paper.
Cut the bottom portion of the page off at the dotted line. Then cut along the
diagonal dotted line.
Now color the bottom triangle that is on the side where the flap is. This will be
the ground, so keep it simple. Leave the other triangle white because you will not
be seeing it in the finished product.
Push the flap you cut forward and bend the top triangle (the more detailed colored
section) up to a 90 degree angle.
The side with the flap now needs to slide over the top of the other side, making
the base into a triangle. Glue these together to create the 3-D effect.
Make sure the flap is pushed forward. Find the dwelling that goes with the
background and glue it to the flap.
You can use these individually and sit them on a flat surface, or glue them
together to make a hanging diorama.

Mali-Dogon Country
Take the upper left corner and fold it to the dotted line, just like you did with the
other corner. This will leave two folds that form an X on your paper.
Cut the bottom portion of the page off at the dotted line. Then cut along the
diagonal dotted line.
Find the cut-out of the Dogon family compound” and fold it on the dotted lines.
Glue the part of the dwelling that has an “A” on it to the “A” on the background
piece. You should glue it so that you do not see either “A” marking. You should
now see the back of the dwelling piece.
Bend the top triangle (the colored section) up to a 90 degree angle.
Slide one of the bottom triangles over the top of the other, making the base into a
triangle. Glue these together to create the 3-D effect.
Now glue the part of the dwelling that has the “B” on it to the “B” on the
background piece.