Within our new reading curriculum (CKLA), our first grade students were introduced to Astronomy. We spent two weeks learning about the first trips to outer space, how the planets were formed, what it feels like to be in outer space, and the order of the eight planets. Miss Lassek’s first graders spent two days sharing what they learned about each planet while building their own diorama. The students began by painting their boxes to match the color of the night sky. They continued to create their diorama by adding balls of gas (stars and the sun) to spread heat and light to the planets. Each student then began to add details to their planets, specifically adding rings to Saturn, a red spot on Jupiter (which happens to be a storm), and adding green to Earth to represent the land. To finish the dioramas, the students and teachers hung the planets in the correct order. Miss Lassek’s first graders all agree that Astronomy is the most interesting unit we’ve learned about so far!
