Showing posts with label universe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label universe. Show all posts

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Map the Solar System

Cosmic Neighborhood (above) - Construct a scale model of the distances in the solar system with toilet paper: Astro Society / check out the site (here) for more playful lessons! They even have decoding an alien message!!!

If Earth Was The Size Of A Cherry Tomato - The Solar System with food or candy!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

My Name in the Stars!



I love the Loco Teacher's name constellation project, so I was inspired to create my own! Students practice graphing by mapping out the letters in their name to create a constellation (click here for a freebie). Afterwards, if you have a lite-brite, have students light up the room with their name! Then, have them connect their stars, use their imagination, and create a picture. What does their constellation look like?! For another kid-personalized constellation idea, check out Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational's body constellations!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

PBL KID Web Quests

kid tech via alamy / kid astronaut via kids dream spot


Astronomy
Solar System Explorers - Mrs. Laurel Anderson
Mission to Mars - Lori Teacher
Come to My Planet - Janice Oliver
Physics
Simple Machines: Playground Design - Sherry Nevola
Biology
Animal Classification - Teach-nology
Animal Adaptations - FGSE Nova
Animal Life Cycles - Warrensburg K-12
Habitat Adventure - IHRIC
Math
Moving to the Beat: Choreography - Teach-nology
Multiplication: Game Design - St. J Schools

Friday, November 30, 2012

If Earth was the size of a cherry tomato...

BBC has a giant pdf filled with astronomy activities: Star Gazing Live Star Guide 2012! Featured below is their activity of comparing planet sizes with food (page 22). Illustration via BBC, click the link to check out the rest of the activities!


Saturday, November 24, 2012

Solar System Trading Cards

I discovered this freebie from one of my favorite blogs, Mrs. Hall's Fabulous in Fourth! Check out her pinteresting finds each friday! Free pdf of Nasa Solar System Trading Cards. Plus, a game to go along with them from Amazing Space! Visit the site for a free download!



Saturday, October 27, 2012

Constellation Viewer



Kids transform into mini Astronomers! 2 freebies from Austin Kids (edit: this site is down) and Girl Start (both featured above). Punch (make holes) the templates and stick the printable cards over a flashlight, turn off the lights, and go stargazing indoors! Update: here is another link for a free printable of constellation templates from Playground Park Bench!

Also, check out Moon Phase Viewer and Cloud Viewer!

Monday, August 27, 2012

S.T.E.M.

1. S.T.E.M. Sites:
eGFI - great site for S.T.E.M. resources for the classroom. Click "teachers" link for projects
EIA Energy Kids - lots of cool science experiments and printable lesson plans in pdf format
I-STEM Resource Network - numerous lesson plans, experiments, and activities for elementary
PBS Kids Design Squad Nation -  teacher resources for S.T.E.M. activities. The site includes electricity, force / energy, simple machines, and many more categories that can tie into your Project Based Learning lesson plans.

Click here for Urban Design projects: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dOUdmDhYxbrTVDiddMi-siVFqbsQCk22/view?usp=sharing

Explore angles, gravity, and friction by making your own Zip Line with Design Squad Nation:



3. The Math Lab explored gravity by creating a bungee cord for Barbie dolls to go on a thrilling adventure! This is a great activity for students to use their measuring skills. Through trial and error, they determine the best length for the cord (made of rubberbands).
barbie head photo credit: Tracheotomy Bob - flickr cc




4. Mrs. Davis, from Birmingham k12, had her class build "Out of this World Vehicles!" Students pretended that they were engineers and designed / constructed a lunar vehicle that could carry lunar rocks (wooden blocks) for a specific distance and timeframe. Check out the lesson plan here! Also, take a look at Mrs. Bushnell's 4th Grade's design / motion challenge (featured below) and Drew's Animals' rover!
photo credit: Mrs. Bushnell's 4th Grade


Monday, May 28, 2012

Moon Games


1. Awesome hands on activities from Lunar Prospector! First, construct a lunar habitat out of recycled materials in your classroom or home that meets your basic needs! Click here for details! While exploring your "habitat," collect moon rocks (assortment of candy or stones). Eack kid gets one rock. Then, have them write a fully detailed sentence that describes their rock (texture, color, etc.). Line the rocks up in a row. Can your classmates match the right description to each rock? 

2. Figure out how much you weigh on the moon, as well as each planet!

3. Disney Family Fun has an active night game that reinforces the number of days in a lunar cycle! Kids split up outside and try to capture the moon (a soccer ball), which is being guarded by an astronaut with a flashlight that is deadly! Light will take them out of the game. Click here for details! Younger kid version - to put a twist on the game, you could pass out flashlights to all of the kids and hide the soccer ball. Then, have kids hunt for it using their light. Whoever finds the moon first wins.

4. Make moon craters

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Solar Eclipse Viewer

Create a solar eclipse viewer to get a great view of tonight's eclipse (Sunday / May 20, 2012)! Visit Exploratorium for directions!


photo via boston.com

Monday, May 14, 2012

Star Gazing Math


Create a starry night of numbers for a fun math station! I scattered and taped stars with numerals on them across a wall. Then, I wrote down different math clues that corresponded to the stars on small slips of paper and put them in a basket near the starry wall. For example, 1+20+5 is the expanded form of ___, ten less than 58 is ___, 1 hundred 5 tens and 0 ones = ___. Kids pull a slip of paper out of the basket and use their telescope (a paper towel tube) to find the answer. Then, they stick a piece of tape on the slip and tack it next to the correct star.

Note: You can do a starry sky of math equations. Ex: addition (45+8=___) or multiplication (10x5=___). The kids solve the problem and look for the number in the starry sky.


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

View the Moon


I liked the idea of a moon phase viewer (that I saw here), for kids to go out and explore! So, I created one to print and laminate. To extend the activity, I had kids draw the moon phase they saw using their viewer for ten nights on the sheet below the viewer. The viewer would also be a fun summer activity for kids and parents to watch the moon go through all of its phases. It takes 28 days to go through all 8 phases. Click here for the printable!





Friday, April 20, 2012

Candy Solar System

Blast through a sweet candy solar system! I saw this fun, edible activity over at ZanghiIt's hard to find candy spot on in size, but kids get an understanding of planet dimensions by using Academic and Sports Program's solar system control sheet.

Candy - Try to find round candies in various sizes, examples: butterscotch, pop rocks, sno-caps, m&m's, peppermints, life savers, whoppers, gumdrops to represent each planet. For super tiny planets, you could also use nerds or mini m&m's. For larger planets, try using gumballs, jaw breakers, or nilla wafers. 

Instead of candy, you could also mold planets with play-doh, use marbles / bouncy balls / other sphere or circular shaped toys, beads / gems, whatever you'd like!

Monday, March 26, 2012

If I Was An Astronaut!

Take a photographic trip through our space. Jump over Jupiter. Eat macaroni on Mars. An entertaining and educational look at our solar system.

After reading the book If I Was An Astronaut, have kids write about what they would do on each planet, for a creative writing prompt! Preview the book here!












As a class, role play a trip to the moon! First, gear up in the appropriate attire. Buckle up for a rocky lift off! Then, explore the moon, MOONWALK! Ride around in your Lunar Rover! Ask students what they see. Remind them that there is no wrong answer when you're using your imagination! After exploring the moon, head back to the rocket and loose the space boots and helmet! It's time to float! Let kids have fun pretending there is no gravity. Then, take a break for a pretend space snack, that they must slurp through a straw! As you're riding in your rocket, what do you see in space? 





Monday, February 13, 2012

Story Interaction

Kids love role play. Encourage them to act out the parts of main characters in books. Not only will they have fun, but this activity will also help with reading comprehension. Snap photos of the kids. Then, have them draw/paint backgrounds and settings from a book. Then, paste their photo within the art they've made. 


Ladder to the moon via Artsonia 
Grouchy bug via Finally in First
Climbing the stalk via No Time for Flash Cards

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Marble Science

Friction
Have kids roll marbles on a smooth and rough surface. What surface makes the marble roll the fastest?

Sink or Float?
Collect marbles and various other objects and test buoyancy. What sinks and what floats? 

Viscosity
Now, experiment with how marbles react to fluids with a higher viscosity than water. Drop a marble in each of the following liquids: corn syrup, milk, honey, and oil. Explain that thicker liquids have a higher mass and make the marble move slower. 

"Hypothesize before you perform the experiment about which liquid will move the marble faster or slower."- via ehow and science buddies


Marble Moon Craters
Drop marbles from different heights and angles into a pan filled with flour. via the exploration station


Crackled Marbles

Bake marbles in the oven for a crackling effect.

 1. Preheat your oven to 450.

2. Bake marbles in a pan for 7 minutes

3. Then, transfer marbles to a bowl of ice water.

4. Finally, dry them off and enjoy!


Marble Graviton
Defy gravity with a marble and a glass! Will the marble fall out when the glass is flipped? 



explanation
"The inertia of the spinning marble is a "push" force.  The glass supplies another "push" force that keeps the marble moving in a "uniform circular motion."  The force of the glass is centripetal force, a force that makes a body follow a curved path. The combined forces of the spinning marble and the glass create a relative force greater than gravity." - Steve Spangler

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Rocket Launch

photo credit: Great Fall Elementary via Connection Newspaper
Soda straw rockets from NASA! After you construct your rockets, have a math lesson. See how far your students can launch them! Measure how far they land. What is the best angle to shoot your rocket? NASA Rocket template (download here

photos via family fun
Other Rocket Activities:
Spring a Red Solo Cup Rocket up into the air!
Blast a Bottle Rocket outside!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Stars in a Jar

photo via Intimate Weddings
Create your own jar full of stars! Splatter glow paint inside of mason jars. Visit Intimate Weddings for a photo tutorial!

Note: You can also use glow in the dark paint.