We ended our outer space study a few weeks ago, but I finally was able to sync my memory card to the computer yesterday! The children had a fabulous time with our unit study of space. First we created a KWL chart of things we already knew about space, things we wanted to know about space, and then throughout the unit study we wrote down things we were learning.
After we figured out what the children already knew, and things they wanted to learn about, we began exploring and learning about space through play! We read LOTS of books to find out information and to see photographs of different planets, comets, moons, and stars in our solar system!
We enjoyed building our own rocket ships and space ships, creating our own astronaut helmets, and the children’s favorite….our own clay moons! There was a lot of discussion around Pluto. Poor Pluto!!! After researching with the children for a few days, we discovered that there are three qualities that make a planet. One: They must be in the shape of a sphere. Pluto is not. It’s more of an oval shape. Two: They must have it’s own orbital path. Pluto’s does not have an orbital path. Three: A planet must orbit the sun. Pluto does not. It orbits Neptune! So there you have it! Pluto is not a planet!
Over the course of three days, the children got to see how astronauts live in outer space. There was a wonderful series of NASA school you tube videos that I found on our class iPad. During small groups, the children got to watch and see how these astronauts live day in and day out in outer space. The children really got a kick out of the videos, and directly took that gained knowledge and role played throughout the room for the next several days in class.
During this unit of study, the children really began to take notice of our own planet and how special and unique our planet is. Many questions were generated through discussion, reading books, and prior knowledge that a few children had. We created our own “Marble Earth” using colored shaving cream and whipping them together to make the movement of the Earth seen from space! It was such an awesome creative learning experience for the children, and their creativity and higher order thinking skills really shone through! We were so proud of them!
Please enjoy some moments we were able to capture on our camera!
Preschool in the City with Mrs. Gabelman 