Animal Projects in Fourth Grade

In Waldorf school, every day begins with the “main lesson”—a two-hour class taught by the class teacher, with subjects like math, reading, history, and other core topics taught in blocks for three to six weeks. Teaching subjects in blocks encourages students to engage more deeply with the material, building on the material with each passing day.

In fourth grade, a beloved block is dedicated to humans and animals, culminating in an animal report, researched, authored, and presented to the class by each student. Here’s how fourth grade class teacher Ms. Ashley describes it:

The Human and Animal block is taught in two three-week blocks, once in the fall and once again in the spring. The students lessons are filled with lots of information on the Goethean phenomenological approach to zoology that is the basis for the animal studies.

During the last block the class learned note taking, writing short paragraphs, and drawing pictures of the animals they heard about in Morning Lesson. Together, the class created an octopus garden diorama in class prior to the presentation. It culminates with the student presenting an animal report, drawings, and diorama of the animal of their choice and presentation to the class.

Below, enjoy a few photos of the dioramas that students made of animals in their natural habitat.