PERFORMANCE TASK IN SCIENCE 3

FOURTH QUARTER

TITLE: LANDFORMS AND WATERFORMS DIORAMA

DEADLINE: March 25, 2025

INSTRUCTIONS: This task is designed to evaluate the learner’s progress in

gaining the following competencies:
 Identify different landforms and waterforms.
 Apply creative thinking and artistic skills to make the diorama visually
engaging.

YOUR TASK
 WHAT WILL YOU MAKE?
For this task, the learners are expected to be able to create a diorama
that shows different landforms and waterforms.

MATERIALS NEEDED
 Base: Cardboard, foam board, or a wooden board (to build your
diorama on).
 Modeling Clay or Play-Doh: To create mountains, valleys, and other
landforms.
 Paint: For coloring landforms, water, and sky.
 Blue Cellophane or Transparent Film: For water features like lakes, rivers,
and oceans.
 Sand, Small Rocks, or Gravel: To simulate desert terrain, beaches, or rocky
surfaces.
 Cotton or Fake Snow: To create snow on mountains or cold regions.
 Fake Plants or Craft Grass: To represent vegetation like trees, bushes, or
grasslands.
 Small Figures or Animals (Optional): To add life to the diorama, such as
tiny trees, animals, or even people.
 Glue or Hot Glue Gun: To hold pieces together.
 Scissors or Craft Knife: To cut materials.
 Markers or Labels: To label different landforms and waterforms.
HOW WILL YOU MAKE IT?
Step 1: Plan Your Diorama
1. Choose the Landforms and Waterforms: Decide which landforms and
waterforms you want to include, such as:
* Landforms: Mountains, valleys, hills, deserts, plateaus, caves,
volcanoes, islands.
*Waterforms: Rivers, lakes, oceans, waterfalls, streams, ponds.
2. Sketch Your Layout: Draw a rough sketch of how you want your diorama
to look. This will help you plan the arrangement of different features. Think
about how the landforms interact with the waterforms. For example, rivers
might start in the mountains and flow into lakes or oceans.

Step 2: Prepare the Base

1. Cut the Base to Size: Use a sturdy piece of cardboard or foam board. Cut
it to the size you want for your diorama (a common size is 12” x 18” or 18” x
24”).

2. Sketch the Terrain on the Base:

Draw light guidelines for where your landforms and waterforms will go.

Step 3: Build the Landforms

1. Mountains, Hills, and Plateaus: Use modeling clay or Play-Doh to create the
shape of mountains, hills, or plateaus. Start by adding clay in layers to build
up the height and rough texture of the landforms. You can also use
crumpled foil as a base to add texture before covering it with clay for a
quicker method.
For mountains, create sharp peaks. For plateaus, make flat-topped hills.

2. Valleys and Caves: For valleys, push down the center of the terrain to
create a depression between the mountains. For caves, create small hollow
areas or tunnels in your landform, and decorate the opening with darker
colors to make it look like an actual cave entrance.

3. Desert or Rocky Terrain: Spread sand on parts of your base to represent

deserts or dry, rocky areas. You can glue the sand in place or use a spray
adhesive to make it stick.

Step 4: Create the Waterforms

1. Rivers and Streams: Use blue paint to create the shape of rivers or streams
on your base. Make sure the rivers meander naturally and flow around or
through landforms. Alternatively, you can use blue cellophane to give a
more realistic water effect, cutting it to size and gluing it into the riverbed.
2. Lakes and Ponds: For lakes, paint the area in shades of blue or blue-green,
blending in darker colors near the edges for depth.
You could also use a clear plastic film or a shiny surface for the water effect.

3. Waterfalls: For waterfalls, place a cotton ball at the top of a mountain or

cliff and let it cascade down the side. You can also use strips of tissue paper
to simulate flowing water.

4. Ocean or Large Bodies of Water: Paint the edges of the water blue and
blend in shades of turquoise for depth. If you want more texture, you can
glue pieces of plastic wrap or cellophane for a more realistic look.

Step 5: Add Vegetation and Details

1. Add Grass, Trees, and Bushes: Use craft grass or fake plants to simulate
trees, grasslands, and shrubs. Place them where you want to show
vegetation, such as in valleys or near rivers.

2. Snowy Peaks: For snowy mountains, use cotton or white modeling clay at
the peaks of mountains. You can also lightly dust some areas with white paint
for a more subtle effect.
3. Add Small Rocks and Gravel: Scatter small rocks or gravel in areas where
you want to show a rocky surface or riverbeds.

4. Animals or Figures (Optional): Add small figures or animals, like miniature

trees, animals, or people, to bring your diorama to life.

Step 6: Paint and Final Touches

1. Paint the Sky and Background: If you'd like to add a sky, paint the
background a light blue for the sky and add clouds or a sun. You could also
paint distant mountains or forests.

2. Add Labels: Label the different landforms and waterforms you’ve created.
For example, you might label the river, mountains, valley, or ocean. You can
use small paper tags, flags, or even markers to add descriptive labels.

Step 7: Final Assembly

1. Glue Everything in Place: Once you are happy with your layout and
decorations, use glue (or a hot glue gun for sturdier pieces) to hold
everything in place. Make sure your waterforms and landforms are securely
attached to the base.

2. Check for Details: Go over the diorama and check for any areas that
might need more paint, texture, or finishing touches. Fix any rough edges or
areas that might need a bit more detail.
Tips for a Great Diorama:
1. Layering: Use multiple layers to create depth and realism in your landforms.
2. Use Reference Pictures: Look at pictures of real landscapes for inspiration
and accuracy.
3. Scale: Make sure your landforms and waterforms are proportional to each
other. For example, rivers and lakes should not overwhelm mountains.
4. Textures: Vary the textures (smooth for lakes, rough for mountains) to make
your diorama more interesting.

RUBRICS
Highly creative and Creative with Some creativity is Lacks creativity
Creativity & original. Demonstrates some original shown, but ideas and originality.
Originality exceptional thought ideas, showing feel somewhat Very basic or
and effort. effort. generic. unoriginal ideas.

Excellent use of Good use of

Some materials used Poor use of
materials; all materials, most
effectively, but materials; many
Use of elements are well- elements are
others may seem elements are
Materials chosen, functional, functional and
unnecessary or either irrelevant
and enhance the contribute to the
poorly integrated. or poorly made.
diorama. project.

Excellent attention
Good attention Fair attention to
to detail; Lacks detail; many
to detail; most detail; some
Detail & everything is elements are
elements are elements are not
Accuracy accurate and inaccurate or
accurate and well-executed or
realistic for the poorly represented.
realistic. may be inaccurate.
theme.

The diorama is
The diorama is
The diorama is The diorama is somewhat messy
messy,
exceptionally mostly neat and or disorganized.
Overall disorganized, or
neat, organized, organized, but Some effort to
Presentation unappealing.
and visually could use minor improve
Needs significant
appealing. improvements. appearance is
improvement.
needed.

The diorama
The diorama The diorama shows The diorama
clearly shows
shows good some effort but may appears rushed
Effort & Time significant effort
effort and was have rushed work or or incomplete,
Management and was
completed on minor time with little effort
completed on
time. management issues. put in.
time.