Forums

I am a preservice teacher looking for hands on lessons for elementary kids involving space. Any suggestions are appreciated!

NASA has a great resource page of indexed activities for teachers. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html Wendy

Here is a great website with a list of space activities for students in elementary school! http://k6educators.about.com/od/aprilholidaylessons/a/Space-Activities.htm

I really enjoy the FunScienceDemos Youtube page it has science demos that you can present to your class yourself or show them the video. There is a lot you can do with these videos that is up to your choosing. Their youtube channel is organized into categories. Here is the link about the solar system and space: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLat8Jejmdx1sa0MOWmvZ_f3Z-IeOZmtRv

Thank you for the resources

I am a preservice teacher, but one of the best lessons I have seen in the classroom about space was having a lamp in the middle of the classroom, and all of the students in a circle around the lamp. The teacher turned all of the lights off, and the lamp represented the sun. Then, the students became the planets. As a whole class, we figured out what rotates, which way it should rotate and what the rotation of the planets meant. This is when we briefly went into seasons. This lesson could be split up over time, if you want to cover one idea at a time, but the students had so much fun! They were able to act as the planets, learn more about space and the rotations of the planets because otherwise that is a very abstract idea. I hope this helps!

If I am struggling with creative ideas I always go to pinterest. I have been looking more into using pinterest as a teaching resource now more than craft and food ideas. I went onto pinterest and typed in science lessons and found so many fun and different science activities! I went exploring and found out how to make an easy solar oven with tin foil as well as fun ways to explain how clouds make rain with food coloring. I hope pinterest can help you!