Exploring the Sun, Moon, and Stars

Last week we finished studying about the sun, moon, and stars.  My kids love this unit and are fascinated with space!  We read many nonfiction books including "What the Moon is Like" by Franklyn Branley. This book does a great job teaching facts about the moon.  It also nicely explains how the Earth and moon are alike and different.

After reading, we used a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the Earth and moon.  I had the children write the facts on sentence strips to create a class Venn Diagram that can be displayed and referred back to.

The children also used a T-Chart to independently compare the Earth and moon. 

We also made sun and moons with paint!  Each child chose one to make and wrote one fact they learned.   

For the sun I had the kids dab orange and red paint on white construction paper.  They cut the circle out after it dried.  Then, they glued it on black construction paper and added the rays.

For the moon I mixed white paint with flour.  This created a thick consistency and rough texture to create a "moon" look.  Then, the children used the cap of a glue stick bottle to form the craters.

These projects were a great way to end this fun unit and were very easy to make!