Learning is Out of This World!

Space is such a fun topic to teach.  No matter what grade you teach or what standard you are covering, there is always a way to make this topic exciting and engaging.  Here are a few things I plan on teaching to cover the space standards this year.

1.    SolAR-System App:  This is an Augmented Reality app.  Print the Solar System Markers from the solAR-system website.  Focus on the marker and watch planets come alive. Travel in this wonderful 3D simulation of the solar system and fully interactive with the Augmented Reality technology. This app costs $0.99.

2.    Space and Writing:  This was one of my favorite activities last year. My students completed a writing activity entitled “Leaders are Out of this World.”  They wrote about qualities of a good leader.  After they completed their writing, they used the Photo Booth or Cam Wow app on the ipad.  They took a picture of themselves in a distorted, alien way.  They emailed me the pictures and I had them printed.  These pictures became the faces in an old-fashioned construction paper alien.  Second Graders make frightening aliens but they sure had a ball being out of this world!

3.    Space Place:  This website is operated by NASA.  It offers students the opportunity to play, do and, explore.  There are games and puzzles to play.  There are several PDF pages to print that give directions for hands on learning.  There are videos, pictures, and fun facts to learn as students explore. 

4.    Make a Scene-Outer Space:  I am a fan of other Make a Scene apps.  I love the creative freedom that these apps give students to just dream.  I’ve used the Make a Scene Farm many times to have students create a math problem.  They create their scene and import their picture into Screen Chomp or Educreations to mark up their picture and record them as they explain their thinking.  Outer Space costs $2.99.  If you want to try out this app idea, the Make a Scene Farm is free.

5.    Interactive Minds: Solar System- The perfect way for kids to experience the Solar System in a hands-on way! This interactive science book contains 58 pages and is filled with images, videos, and interactive simulations. This kid friendly apply lets you compare sizes of objects in the Solar System, see planetary revolutions, planetary rotations and tilt, see Solar System scale, and compare gravity on Earth with other objects.  The full version is $2.99 but a Lite version is available for free.

I’m sure you are as ready for Spring Break as I am.  I’ll return with the next Elementary Friday Five after Spring Break on April 4.  I hope you enjoy your break and return refreshed ready to go for the last few weeks of the school year.