Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 6: Astronomy

Now we are up to Unit 6 in our Amplify Knowledge series, Astronomy! My first graders always love this unit - because who doesn't love learning more about space? 

This is a unit that most of my students feel comfortable with, they have a lot of prior knowledge and are looking forward to learning more. 

Planet Gallery 

As we progress throughout the unit, we start to build our photo gallery. 

The gallery features 2 facts for each planet, that my students come up with after each Knowledge lesson. 

This gallery helps support them when they begin creating their own planet book. 

Student Books

My students love to create a book for each Knowledge unit - it also makes storing their writing a lot easier too. 

Click here for a closer look at this resource!

Art 

My students always look forward to this day - where they have the freedom to create any artwork to show something they learned throughout the unit. 

We always  oil pastels, kwik stixs and cardstock. 

I keep them displayed until the end of the next unit. 

They add a lot of color and inspiration to our classroom!

Ambience

You might have noticed a lot of the pictures have a purple hue, that is thanks to our ambient lights.

 It's so gray in NH in the winter, and these lights have so many color options to brighten our room. I went with purple and pinks to add some drama to our celebration day!

        

I also have some galaxy lights we use during the unit, and their most favorite thing of all - our moon lamp!

The space photo backdrop is a huge hit too, I added some construction paper to darken the room on our celebration day as well.

My students have always loved this globe and we use it for all the beginning CKLA units when they are learning about different countries. However, I save the light up constellations as a surprise for their Astronomy unit! They are always amazed by it!

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Click here to download a pdf featuring videos that will help enhance your students understanding of topics covered in this unit. It also helps add some lovely ambience to their day!

Books

Here are my 1st graders favorite space books we read throughout this unit:

Moon! by Stacy McAnulty

Sun! by Stacy McAnulty

Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty

Mars! by Stacy McAnulty

Pluto! by Stacy McAnulty

Our Planet! There's No Place Like Earth by Stacy McAnulty

Little Kids First Big Book of Space - National Geographic

Moonshot by Richard Jackson

The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk

Celebration Ideas

Create a Constellation

My students used star stickers and black cardstock to recreate their favorite constellations.

The constellation cards are from Coffee and Crayons Creations on TPT.

How to Draw

 

Easy Drawing Guides has space drawing pages that my students love using!

I place them in ticket holders, so they can trace them on the windows, or over the pockets.

Space coloring pages  

Coloring stations are a must, and this book had some excellent pages for them to choose from.

This activity book also had mazes and other activities that they enjoyed too!

Solar System Magnets

We use these magnets in a lot of ways: putting the planets in the correct order, rock vs gas to sort the planets correctly, and for tracing and creating solar system posters.

Coffee Filter Planets 

We used coffee filters, makers and a bit of water to create their own planets - but I missed taking pictures of it.

I always miss one rotation each time - I'll add them in this year. 

I used water droppers instead of a spray bottle. They also made them in a tray, and that cut down on the mess a lot!

Solar System Puzzle

My students love this space puzzle by Melissa and Doug.

Science Viewers

Lakeshore Learning has solar system viewers that are a lot of fun!

Mystery Science

If you have access, be sure to check out Mystery Science's experiments.

We used these experiments throughout the unit:

• Could a statue's shadow move? 

• What does your shadow do when you're not looking?

• How can the Sun help you if you're lost?

• Moon Phases and patterns

• How can star help if you are lost?

• Why do the stars come out at night? 

Don't miss the other posts in this series!

• Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 1: Fables and Stories - Celebration Ideas
• Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 2: The Human Body - Celebration Ideas
• Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 3: Different Lands, Similar Stories
• Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 4: Early World Civilizations 
• Amplify Grade 1 Knowledge Unit 5: Early American Civilizations Celebration Ideas