The Applicious Teacher

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Space- The Final Frontier…

Learning about space in second grade- so many great space activities- The Applicious Teacher
Space activities 2nd grade- Take your space unit above and beyond with these fun and engaging ideas. Perfect for 2nd or 3rd grade- The Applicious Teacher
I love teaching about space! Maybe it’s growing up in Florida, but there’s just something about learning about what’s beyond that gets me super excited! Space is not in our curriculum (BOO!) but I was able to work it in by using our weekly story, “The Moon”, as a launching point. (Hehe- see what I did there ;)) Here are some highlights from our research packed past two weeks here in second grade.

After reading about the moon in our weekly story, we explored the surface of the moon using Google Moon

If you are not familiar with this program, it is an extension of Google Earth. ( Never used Google Earth? Download it now! It is FREE and it is A-MAZE-ING! It’s a constantly updated interactive map! There is also a Google Mars!)

 

Learn about space with these space activities and ideas. Perfect for 2nd or 3rd grade! The Applicious Teacher

We zoomed over the moon’s surface and found where the first moon landing took place. After viewing a few photos of the landing, we watched an actual video of the first moon steps!

We also learned more about stars using “The Magic School Bus Sees Stars” (affiliate link)
Magic school bus sees stars activities

Then, we used our new-found knowledge to compare and contrast the moon to our closest star, the sun.

 

 

We also learned about the planets and created a “step book” to display what we learned about each planet.

After learning general info about each planet, students chose one planet to research and completed a “Planet Report”.

Now, I  had to balance out this nonfiction-heavy unit with some “fun” reads, so we also enjoyed

 “Green Wilma- Frog in Space” by Tedd Arnold (affiliate link)

and “Arthur’s First Sleepover“

arthur's sleepover activities

We used the alien encounter from this book as a launching point for some expository writings on introducing an alien. First, students pretended they met a creature from outer space and answered some interview questions about their alien. Then, they used the answers to create an expository writing, explaining about their alien. After some quick editing, students published their writings,”It Came From Outer Space”

 

We also read, “Handshake in Space” about the Apollo- Soyuz Test Project. (affiliate link)

Handshake in Space activity ideas

We imagined what it would be like to be an astronaut and created these ADORABLE astronauts, complete with 3-d helmets and glitter suits!

 
I HAD to make a “Space” themed bulletin board using these gems!
Needless to say, it was a busy last two weeks! Want to grab these activities for yourself? Check out the complete unit here in my TpT store!
space thematic unit for 2nd grade
This unit contains so many more activities I didn’t even mention! From resource pages with links, note-taking pages, this unit has EVERYTHING you’ll need to have a fun space themed week!

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Comments

  2. Leslie Hamlin says

    April 14, 2013 at 1:47 am

    How fun and cute!!! I love teaching space, too!!! I have some great ideas to share with you, too, once I get there!!! Just a lot to do these days! Ha!

    Leslie

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