Outer Space & Planets Unit Study for Upper Elementary Students
An Outer Space & Planets Unit Study for Family-Style Homeschooling with Students in 3rd to 5th Grades
In this Planets and Outer Space Unit Study, your upper elementary students will find out why Pluto was demoted, explore the 5 kinds of galaxies, learn about our solar system and the Milky Way galaxy, listen to a traditional folktale, complete hands-on activities, and journey through time and space with the read-aloud selection!
These activities are a part of a series of posts about Astronomy and Astronauts. This Outer Space & Planets unit study is for a family Charlotte Mason style family school time. Each weekly theme has activities for Primary (preschool to 2nd grade), Intermediate (3rd to 5th grade), and Secondary (6th grade and up). There are four weekly themes for this Astronomy and Astronauts unit study:
Moon and Stars: Early Learners, Upper Elementary, Middle & High School
Space and Planets: Early Learners, Upper Elementary, Middle & High School
Rockets and Spacecraft: Early Learners, Upper Elementary, Middle & High School
Astronauts: Early Learners, Upper Elementary, Middle & High School
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Planets & Outer Space Unit Study: English Language Arts
Outer Space & Planets Read Aloud
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle is part science fiction, part coming of age story, about a brother and sister, Meg and Charles Wallace, and their friend, Calvin. The themes of courage, family ties, and resourcefulness are explored while the trio travels through time and space. This book won the Newberry Medal in 1963 and is the first book in the Time Quintet series.
Outer Space & Planets Living Science Books
The Planets by Gail Gibbons is a wonderful resource for learning about the planets of our solar system. Look for the fourth edition of this book to have the most up to date information about Pluto’s status as a dwarf planet.
Galaxies Galaxies by Gail Gibbons is a great way to learn facts about our universe, in an engaging way. This book is in its third edition, but any edition you find will work.
Maria’s Comet by Deborah Hopkinson is a picture book for older elementary students. It tells the story of Maria Mitchell, America’s first female astronomer. She loved to gaze through her father’s telescope instead of learning to cook and sew like other girls during the 1800s. If you can’t locate a copy of this book, use Her Eyes on the Stars: Maria Mitchell, Astronomer by Laurie Wallmark instead.
Independent Reader
Adventures in the Solar System: Planetron and Me by Geoffrey Williams and Dennis Regan is available on Kindle and free with an Audible free trial. This wholesome story tells of a young boy whose toy rocket becomes a real spaceship that takes him into outer space while including facts about our solar system.
Outer Space & Planets Grammar and Reading Comprehension
Want to check your student’s reading comprehension or pick out some facts for memorization? After your students read Galaxies, Galaxies by Gail Gibbons (or a similar title) use the Upper Elementary level Galaxies Reading Comprehension worksheet from my Free Resource Library.
Because this week’s unit contains a large volume of information about our solar system and galaxies, there are two reading comprehension worksheets this week. This second worksheet coordinates with The Planets by Gail Gibbons (or similar title). Grab your copy of The Planets Reading Comprehension for Upper Elementary worksheet from my free resource library.
For families that use narration as a way to learn grammar, here is a Planets Narration page with quotes from Gail Gibbon’s The Planets. There are three different difficulty levels to use with your 2nd to 8th graders. Get yours from the Free Resource Library.
For the narration pages, select the passage that best matches your child’s writing and spelling abilities. Then, read the passage to your student all the way through first. Then read it again, 2 or 3 words at a time, giving them time to write it down. Tell them to do their best, but not to get “caught up” in making sure it’s all spelled correctly while they are writing. They can go back when they are done to fix any spelling if they want.
When they are done, give them the original page (that you read off of) and let them “check” it and fix any spelling or punctuation mistakes. Talk to them about any spelling or punctuation rules that they used, just to help cement it in their brains. It’s really important for them to check it, not you. It seems to give them ownership of it and makes them remember the correction.
Use the Rockets & Spacecraft Copywork Worksheets in the Free Resource Library to practice grammar and handwriting. There are 3 pages in 3 different levels for early elementary, upper elementary, and middle/high school. The early elementary and upper elementary levels come in both print and cursive.
Writing: Vocabulary
Your students can show their mastery of the outer space vocabulary words by writing a short story that contains the 12 vocabulary words. The printables are included in the Planets and Outer Space Unit Study Bundle.
Poetry
Read this poem about the Milky Way Galaxy by Annette Wynne to your children. Encourage them to memorize it. The Planets & Outer Space Unit Study Printables contains a printable copy.
The Milky Way
Once there was a little dream
That mounted to the sky;
It rode upon a water beam
And climbed the star way high.
But when it wanted to come home
Along the silver track
The lights had all gone out, and O!
It never could get back.
And you may look now any night,
And see it if you will,
A gauzy milky veil of light,
That's hanging up there still.
Annette Wynne
Folktales
If you’re interested in folklore, listen to The Girl who Kissed the Moon on storiespodcast.com; a traditional creation myth from the Tupi-Guarani indigenous people of Brazil.
Outer Space & Planets STEAM
Science
Have your kids watch this video about Planets and our Solar System for a beginning review this week. Or, if they are strong readers, have them read this information from NASA about our Solar System.
Eyewitness Explorer Night Sky Detective by DK Children is a fabulous choice for
This week, I suggest reading pages 30 to 41. There are activities on each page spread. We enjoyed Finding Venus, Why is Mars Red?, and Stormy Weather.
If people in your family are still salty about Pluto being demoted, then Pluto’s Secret by Weitekamp and DeVorkin will help them better understand why Pluto is no longer considered a full-fledged planet. This book is simple enough for young primary students to understand, but also has a fantastic glossary, bibliography, and a who’s who in the back for intermediate and secondary students who would like to learn more about Pluto.
Learn about five different types of galaxies, types of telescopes, and details about the Milky Way in Gail Gibbon’s Galaxies, Galaxies. This book is one that kids don’t outgrow and is perfect for family morning time!
Podcasts are a great way to get kids to reduce their screentime, without completely cutting their USB cord. Check out The Mystery of Gravity, Why Does the Sun Make Some People Sneeze? or Mysteries of the Universe: Expansion and Gravity on BrainsOn.org.
Just for fun: Complete the Color Your Universe, Find the Hidden Objects with NASA
For a playful review of the planets and solar system, print out this solar system cootie catcher activity.
Outer Space & Planets Hands-On Science Fun
- Make a model of our solar system with cardboard and small bits of yarn with NextComesL.com’s instructions for Yarn wrapped planets.
- Create art and explore UV light with photo sensitive paper.
- Measure out the relative distances between the planets with toilet paper with these instructions from TeachBesideMe.com. (This also counts as a math project.)
Technology
Learn about the history and use of the telescope with this video about Galieo Galiei
Watch this Crash Course video to learn more about the history of the telescope.
Outer Space & Planets Science Notebooking
Explore the enormous difference in temperatures among the planets in our solar system with this Planet Temperatures worksheet from HomeschoolHelperOnline.com (This notebooking printable is included in the Planets and Outer Space Unit Study Bundle.)
Have your students write a few sentences about the vast differences in the relative sizes of planets. Use this Relative Sizes of Planets printable from our sister site, HomeschoolHelperOnline.com (This notebooking printable is included in the Planets and Outer Space Unit Study Bundle.)
Alternatively, your students can make a Planet Book of facts with this printable from our sister site, HomeschoolHelperOnline.com. Each planet page has sections on distance from the sun, rotation time, size, and other fun facts.
Let your kiddos put their knowledge into practice by making this solar system craft, to show they know the order of the planets.
Devotions
If your student plays guitar, have them learn to play “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin. Chords and lyrics and included in this video. If they don’t already play guitar, they can just learn the lyrics.
Our family loves the devotional book Indescribable: 100 Devotions About God and Science by Louie Giglio! These five
The following devotions match up nicely with this week’s planets and outer space study: pages
- 8-9
- 30-31
- 36-37
- 116-117
- 172-173
Outer Space & Planets Family Field Trip
Planetariums offer interactive programs for families to learn about the night sky with the use of a projector. Find the planetarium nearest you here. Or observe the real stars in space at an observatory. Most cities and even some smaller towns have observatories. Check out this site to find the observatory nearest you. Be sure to check your library for programs on astronomy also. Our local library has monthly astronomy events where kids can use a telescope and learn about current astronomical events.
More Ideas
Family schooling naturally has an
Planets and Outer Space: Primary, Intermediate, Secondary
Be sure to follow my Pinterest board Astronomy and Astronauts for more great ideas for your Planets and Outer Space unit!
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Finally, don’t forget to pin this post so you can refer back to it during your Planets and Outer Space study.
