Students can use a shoebox diorama to display the different habitats that animals they have learned about live in. Students can create an underwater scene, a barnyard, a desert, or a wooded forest to show the natural environment and its features of the animal they have studied. Create a 3-D effect by placing the animals and props such as trees in the background and foreground of the box.
Students can use a shoebox to create a prehistoric scene showing dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. A great way to show the size differences between various dinosaur species is to create small scale models out of fun foam of several species. Set the different dinosaur models in various poses inside a shoebox with a background depicting a prehistoric scene appropriate for the time period of the dinosaurs represented.
Create a powerful display in small scale with a shoebox model to depict the ways in which humans harm and endanger animal species. Students can create a 3D model in a shoebox of fish being over harvested, animals being hunted for their tusks or fur, or animals searching for food and shelter after humans have destroyed and torn down their natural homes.
Students can use actual insects to create a display inside a shoebox. After lining the shoebox with colored paper, students can pin or superglue various insect bodies to the floor of the shoebox. This is a great way for students to understand and recognize the type of insects typical in their area or region.
To add a fun twist and make for an even more fun display, decorate the outside of the shoebox. Papier mache, crumbled tissue paper, plastic building toys, or fun foam can add details to the outside of the box. Shape a display of sharks to look like the inside of a fish bowl. A display of insects can look like they are inside a frog's mouth. A polar bear might live inside a shoebox covered in a papier mache mountain. A shoebox could become part of a tree trunk to show where an owl would live.