Here you will find ideas to include in your preschool lesson plan on outer space. This is a fun and versatile theme!
Book for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle
You can find a YouTube video of the story here.
Reading Center for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Fill your preschool reading center with books about astronauts, constellations, stars and planets.
Snack for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
-Star-shaped sugar cookies
-Sandwich bags filled with dried fruits and mini-marshmallows (astronaut food)
Concepts for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Letter: S/s for space and star
Number: 8 for the eight planets in our solar system
Shape: star
Color: white
Fine Motor Activities for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Provide each student with an clean, empty plastic soda bottle. Remove the label. In fact, as part of this fine motor activity, you might have your preschool students work at removing the labels themselves. They may need help getting it started. Instruct your students to pick up small star-shaped confetti pieces and drop them in the bottle. Have them shake a bit of glitter in the plastic soda bottle, as well. Fill the bottle with water. If you like, have your students squeeze a drop or two of blue food coloring in the bottle. Screw on the bottle lids and secure with clear duct tape and/or hot glue. Students then have their own bottle of glittering night sky to shake and enjoy.
Gross Motor Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Let your preschool students choose between cardboard cutouts of stars, planets and moons. Once each child has picked one, play some spirited music and lead them in a dance with the moon (stars,planets), just like Monica did with the moon in the story Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle.
Note: A few days prior to this activity, have the students decorate the shapes with paints, stickers or markers.
Art Center Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Painted Moon: Allow your students to choose either a full, half or crescent moon shape cut out of black paper. Have them choose whether they would prefer to paint their moon at the easel with a paintbrush and white paint or at the table with sponges and white paint. Another option is to provide full, half and crescent moon shapes cut out of white paper. Have each preschool student marble paint his moon of choice with marbles and yellow and silver or gray paint.
Songs/Fingerplays for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Hey, Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle
Pre-math Center Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Have the children count out eight circles (made from construction paper of different colors and different sizes) and then glue them to a number 8 printed on a piece of paper. The eight circles represent the eight planets in our solar system.
For older students, you might let them cut out eight circles of various colors and sizes themselves.
Pre-writing Center Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
For younger students, provide sheets of paper with the letters S and s lightly printed on them. Have the children trace the letters. do the same with the number 8.
For older students, provide an example of the letters S and s and the number 8. Have the students practice writing the letters and number freehand.
Another option is to write the word space on the whiteboard. Also, provide the children with sheets of paper with the word space written at the top of the page. Have your preschool students practice writing the word space freehand, using your written guides on the page and on the whiteboard. For younger students, lightly print out the word space five times on sheets of paper. Have your students trace the word.
Small Group Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Set up one or two LiteBrites. Allow groups of two to design their own constellation. Take Polaroids of the LiteBrite constellations for the young designers to take home.
Large Group Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Musical Stars game: Follow the same rules as with Musical Chairs, only instead of chairs, have the students find a star shape to stand on. For younger students, you might supply equal stars to the number of students and refrain from removing stars as the game progresses in order to foster a sense of success rather than competition which can lead to hurt feelings.
Dramatic Play Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Outer Space
Supply your preschool classroom’s dramatic play area with astronaut costumes and space helmets. If you have a spare large cardboard box, you might help the students convert it into a space ship. Use sticky tack to adhere star and planet shapes to nearby surfaces.
Enjoy this fun outer space theme! Your students will be sure to learn new and exciting things.
Reference:
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/2726823/preschool_lesson_plan_olympics.html?cat=4
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/2717879/preschool_lesson_plan_sunflowers.html?cat=4
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/385140/applethemed_activities_an_autumn_lesson.html
