Inspired Crafts for Your Space Unit
While exploring the wonders of space offers abundant material for fun and learning, sometimes it’s hard to translate these awe-inspiring concepts into inspired crafts. A solar system created from foam balls and metal hangers is classic, but becomes tired and boring when used year after year. Here is a super craft idea that will enhance learning and catch your students’ attention. Planets In Orbit
This project, while easy to create, demonstrates a foundational solar system concept. Before beginning the activity collect yellow and black construction paper, copies of planet cutouts, fasteners, and crayons, as well as, a small and large circle for tracing. You can choose to use traceable items from around the classroom or design templates from poster board or thick card stock. To begin, instruct your students to trace and cut a small circle onto their yellow construction paper and a big circle onto their black construction paper. Provide a fastener to each child demonstrating how to safely punch a hole in the middle of each circle, position the smaller yellow circle on top of the larger black circle, and secure the two together. Next, have your students use crayons and other supplies to decorate the planets. Once the decorated planets have dried and been cut apart, encourage students to first line them up in order, then glue them to the black circle. In the completed craft, the sun stays stationary while the planets orbit around it.
Note: While younger children can be encouraged to paste their planets in a line for simplicities sake, older children should be encouraged to research pictures of actual orbits, extending the size of their black circle in order to create a more realistic depiction of the solar system.
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