Have you been muddling through the Next Gen Science Standards this year? I’m not going to lie: they can be a little difficult to understand…but I love a lot of the new content for first grade! My favorite addition is the space lesson plans for 1st grade on the sun, moon and stars! This content meshes perfectly with my integrated science unit on weather and has made this already popular unit an even better 6 week unit! Here’s a look at some of the space lesson plans for 1st grade and activities from this Sun, Moon, and Stars Space Unit.

space lesson plans for 1st grade - blog image

space unit Anchor Charts

Anchor charts are a HUGE part of learning new content for young learners. My firsties use our anchor charts all. the. time. I especially love finding ways to make each anchor chart unique by using coordinating colors or shapes so that it’s easy to remember and easy to find in our room.

Each anchor chart template can be printed and posted around the room like these day and night anchor charts.

things I do in the day and at night anchor chart

Or you can fill out the digital anchor chart template on your Interactive White Board if you’re short on space!

sun science: shadow experiment

One of my favorite science experiments in first grade is our shadow experiment. I can count on one hand the number of kids who, after tracing their shadows in the morning, believe their shadows will change in the afternoon. I’ve done this experiment for years, and still…The look on my firsties’ faces when they see their shadow change is priceless every single year!

The shadow experiment gives us a great chance to talk about how the sun appears to move to different spots in the sky, but it doesn’t actually move. We get to talk about how the earth orbits around the sun to created years and seasons, and how it rotates on its own axis to create our day and night cycles!

moon science: phases of the moon activities

Brand new to the first grade weather unit this year is phases of the moon! After charting our learning about the moon, we sequence the moon phases using this digital activity from the interactive powerpoint in the space lessons plans for 1st grade. Here’s a quick preview of what those digital files look like.

Then, we work with partners or small groups to sequence moon phases using the sequencing cards.

And later we work independently to sequence the phases of the moon!

stars science: constellation STEM challenge

The last part of these space lesson plans for 1st grade is all about stars! I love tying in some literacy by reading Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with this star study. It’s a simple nursery rhyme, but perfect for deepening our discussion on stars with questions like, Why does the author say stars are like diamonds in the sky? And the kids think it’s hilarious that a nursery rhyme for babies can actually be useful in first grade!

Then, during our science time, we research facts about stars and chart our learning on stars in a Stars can, have, and are anchor chart.

The next day, we use the slideshow from the space lessons plans for 1st grade to talk about 5 famous constellations, what they look like, and how they got their constellation. Then, for a STEM challenge, we work in productive groups to build our own constellations with marshmallows and toothpicks. The groups name their constellations and tell the story of how their made up constellation landed in the sky!