Second Grade Boxcar Diorama Project at Archway Arete

At Archway Arete, a Great Hearts academy in Gilbert, Ariz., second graders have been hard at work bringing a piece of classic literature to life through their Boxcar Diorama project. These young scholars have been crafting detailed miniature homes inspired by The Boxcar Children, the first “classic to keep” in the second-grade literature selection.

Originally written by Gertrude Chandler Warner in 1924, The Boxcar Children tells the story of four orphaned siblings who find an abandoned boxcar and make it their home. Through their ingenuity, perseverance, and care for one another, they create a warm and welcoming space until they are reunited with their grandfather, Mr. Alden. The story’s themes of resourcefulness, simplicity, and family are brought to light with this hands-on assignment. This is just another way that Great Hearts’ classical approach to education engages students with timeless stories and ideas.

Second grade teacher Keely Wittmann explained how her students transformed this classic tale into a creative challenge. “They have the assignment where they have to build the boxcar just using a shoebox and include five items that the children find or that they bring in to make it more of a home for them before they move in with Mr. Alden at the end of the book.”

After weeks of effort, the students were able to share their creations. “Today, we finally have our big culmination of bringing all of them together and letting the students and their families see all of the creations that they’ve made,” she shared.

For Wittmann, one of the most rewarding aspects of the project was witnessing her students’ imaginations come to life. “It was really enjoyable getting to hear them start to brainstorm and identify kinds of things that they wanted to include,” she said. “We’d read a new chapter in class, and they would say, ‘Oh, I can now put this in my box car.’” As the projects took shape, the students’ individuality began to shine through. “It’s really cool to see their personalities come out in the assignment as well,” she said. “Some of them are very intricate. Some of them use really unique materials. And so, I think it’s just really enjoyable to get to see what each child brings when they complete their diorama.”

The project concludes with a family event, where parents were invited to campus to celebrate their children’s work. “We always really love to have events that bring our families onto campus,” Wittmann shared. “We feel like we never get to see them enough and that’s something that we hear from them as well. So just giving them another opportunity within the day, even if it’s just a couple hours, that they get to come on campus, see their kiddos, get to enjoy and celebrate in the work that they do is really meaningful to us.”

By engaging with a classic story and expressing their understanding through creativity and craftsmanship, students honor a literary work while also experiencing the joy of making something beautiful together. As Mrs. Wittmann shared, their boxcar dioramas stand as “representations of not just this beautiful story that’s part of our curriculum, but the kid themselves.”

Do you have a story or know of one that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contactjmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.