Starry Starry Night: A Unit Study of Stars
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Stars all around the Classroom
From Astronomy to Art this lens will give you dozens of ideas, resources, hints and tricks to create starry-themed activities for both homeschool families and classrooms.
Learn about Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night painting technique. Listen to Don McClean's tribute to Van Gogh. Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and other sky related songs.
Write your own Astronomy stories. Make star themed word walls, pointers for Write the Room activities, Spell the Star Words. Learn to make stars, explore shadows, and learn what the animals are doing in the Night Time Woodlands. Open your eyes and look for the stars....
Photo Credit: Starry Night
on WPClipart, Public Domain
Draw like Van Gogh
How to Draw a Starry Starry Night
Vincent Van Gogh looked up at the sky and imagined it the way a slow exposure camera does with long swirling streaks of light.
1. Look at Van Gogh's painting of Starry Night and describe what you see in the painting and how it makes you feel.
2. Look at the swirls showing the wind. Notice how the short circular brush strokes and all the different shades of blue give the feeling of the wind blowing.
3. Using large black or dark blue construction paper and pastels take turns drawing the blue, white and yellow circular strokes of the wind.
Hairspray works as an inexpensive fixative.
4. Now focus on the buildings. What shapes do you see? Notice that the windows are left blank instead of outlined.
5. Let the children make their own Starry Starry Night drawings.
6. Share the drawings and ask the children to explain how they used Van Gogh's techniques. Write their responses on chart paper.
7. WRITING WORKSHOP: Talk about what could be happening in their drawings. Who are the people in the houses? What are they doing? What animals would be awake at that time of night? What might they be doing?
11. Make a list of words the children might need for writing on the board. Allow the children to write about their drawings, helping by adding words to the board as needed.
12. Allow the children to share their writing, rewrite, add to their Starry Starry Night stories, edit them and finally publish them with their drawings.
By allowing these books to be borrowed from your classroom library, children may share their stories with parents and families. The Starry Starry Night books can then go home at the end of the year.
1. Look at Van Gogh's painting of Starry Night and describe what you see in the painting and how it makes you feel.Photo Credit: Vincent van Gogh
on Wikipedia, Public Domain
2. Look at the swirls showing the wind. Notice how the short circular brush strokes and all the different shades of blue give the feeling of the wind blowing.
3. Using large black or dark blue construction paper and pastels take turns drawing the blue, white and yellow circular strokes of the wind.
Photo Credit: Starry Night (Vincent van Gogh, 1889)
on Flickr, Creative Commons
Hairspray works as an inexpensive fixative.
Photo Credit: Zelfportret als schilder, Vincent van Gogh (1888)
on Flickr, Creative Commons
4. Now focus on the buildings. What shapes do you see? Notice that the windows are left blank instead of outlined.
5. Let the children make their own Starry Starry Night drawings.
6. Share the drawings and ask the children to explain how they used Van Gogh's techniques. Write their responses on chart paper.
7. WRITING WORKSHOP: Talk about what could be happening in their drawings. Who are the people in the houses? What are they doing? What animals would be awake at that time of night? What might they be doing?
11. Make a list of words the children might need for writing on the board. Allow the children to write about their drawings, helping by adding words to the board as needed.
Photo Credit: Writer's Workshop on Photoshop
Photo Credit: Doing Homeworkon WPClipart, Public Domain
12. Allow the children to share their writing, rewrite, add to their Starry Starry Night stories, edit them and finally publish them with their drawings.
By allowing these books to be borrowed from your classroom library, children may share their stories with parents and families. The Starry Starry Night books can then go home at the end of the year.
- Van Gogh's Painting Style - Art History and Painting - KinderArt
- Painting Lessons: Watercolour, Watercolor, Acrylic, Tempera, Oil, Canvas. Arts and Crafts Activities, Lessons, Coloring Pages, Ideas, Recipes, and so Much More
Leonardo da Vinci - Speed Drawing Video
Make your own class book.
Set this video up in your classroom theater. Put some drawing paper and pencils in the art center. Put a three ring notebook with page protectors in the writing center. Set up the computer center for writing and editing stories about their drawings.
After watching the video, children draw a picture, write about it, and then put the picture with their writing in page protectors in the three ring notebook.
This notebook is then added to the classroom library to be read during silent reading or to the whole class.
After watching the video, children draw a picture, write about it, and then put the picture with their writing in page protectors in the three ring notebook.
This notebook is then added to the classroom library to be read during silent reading or to the whole class.
curated content from YouTube
Starry Night Books
Books about the Starry Starry Night Sky
Van Gogh Visions
van Gogh, Vincent
Buy This Allposters.com
Van Gogh's painting of Starry Starry Night inspires experimentation not only in art but also in writing. Read lots of books about the night sky in fiction as well as non-fiction and then suggest that the children write their own Starry Starry Night story.
Be sure to have the children illustrate their stories and publish them so that they can be put in the classroom library for all to read. The following are some of my children's favorite books about starry nights.
Starry Starry Field Trip
Stars at the Art Museum
Two Teenagers Sit Against a Wall Sketching in the Toledo Museum of Art
Eisenstaedt,...
Buy This Allposters.com
Museum Art: Bring along a sketchbook and pencil for each child. As you find paintings with stars look at the number of points. Look at the colors used to paint each star. Look at the placement of the star or stars in relation to the other objects in the painting. Are the stars the focus of the painting or the background.
Sketch some of the stars that you find.
Starry Museum Math: On the back of the paper, keep a tally of the number of stars you found. Talk about the number of paintings in the room with stars verses the number of paintings without stars and express that as a ratio.
- A Visit to the Art Museum
- Most people don't think of taking young children to an art museum. Children like to be active, so how could they possibly enjoy standing around and looking at paintings? With a shift in thinking and some advance planning, parents can find lots of excitement for their kids within the walls of an art
Star Words
Astronomy Activities that twinkle all around the room
Word Walls are a collection of high frequency words for children to use to when learning to read. can use this word wall for reference whenever they are writing.
Star wall words can also be used by children especially during Writing Workshop. Since most high frequency words do not follow the phonics rules, children will not be able to sound them out and must just memorize them.
The children can look on the word walls when they need to write specific words at any time during the day. Giving the children hints such as the word you are looking for is a red star word with 3 letters and begins with an a (and) will help them to find the words again later. Have the child go point to the word on the word wall before they start to write it.
Children can practice writing the Star Words to help them remember them. The act of writing helps the children to remember the shape of the words leading to the memory of how to spell them.
Here the children play Star Word Concentration. By playing Concentration the kids get to help eachother learn the words. The game can be competitive but learning to read the words is cooperative.
After they learn to read the words, they can then play Go Fish. Go Fish gives them more practice with reading the words once they no longer need as much help from their peers.
In this center children spell Star Words by figuring out the picture code on the cards. These puzzles are a fun way to interact with the words that they are learning in their other Astronomy Activities.
Spelling Star Words by matching the letters to the outline shapes of the letters on the Star Word Mat helps to visualize the shapes of the letters and the words from the other Astronomy Activities.
On-line Star Word Games
Photo Credit: Happy Star
on Photobucket
Unscramble the letters to form words in this fun and educational star word game.
- Word Star Home Page
- Word Star is a new and exciting word game. Easy to play, lots of fun and always challenging.
Starry Math Manipulatives
Make Starry Math Books:
Stars for counting, sorting, adding, subtracting...
Use the hole punch to make counting or multiplying books. Punch one star on the first page and write the word or number one.
For multiplying punch one star and write one star times 5 points equals 5 points, 1 X 5 = 5, two stars 2 X 5 = 10 etc.
Stars in the Sky
Read the Room activity
Cut out large stars from yellow card stock. Write words on them that your children are learning to read. Show the children how to write over the words in Glow in the Dark paint. Hang them from the ceiling. Turn off the lights and read the words.
This might work well in a closet, reading nook, inside a refrigerator box decorated like a spaceship, or in the bathroom.
This might work well in a closet, reading nook, inside a refrigerator box decorated like a spaceship, or in the bathroom.
Black and Silver The Stars Are Out Ceiling Decoration
Available on Amazon
More Star Learning Center Activities
Star Centers:
Cut out the shapes of the letters in the word star. Children paste stars on the letter shapes.
Glow in the Dark Star Pictures:
Make Star pictures using a white colored pencil on black cardstock. Children trace over it with glow in the dark paint.
- Space and Robots Theme Unit Lesson Plans
- Space and robot craft suggestions for the space and robots theme unit lesson plans in kindergarten and preschool
- 3-D Star Craft - Enchanted Learning Software
- 3-D Star Craft. This 3-Dimensional Star is made of paper.
Sing about a Starry Starry Night
Teach Children to read with Starry Starry Night
Don McLean's song Vincent starts out with the words, "Starry, Starry Night". with pictures by Vincent Van Gogh.Show the children pictures of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings while listening to the song. Can you find stars in both Van Gogh's paintings as well as in the music? With the children, create a poster with the words to Don McLean's song accompanied by paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. Laminate
the poster and sing the song often to help children learn to read the words and get a better sense of appreciation for paintings such a Starry Starry Night.Extention: Have the children draw stars with dry erase markers over the star words in the song.
You might use these to make a chart for shared reading as well as a book and tape for the listening center. This would also make a great Power Point Presentation to be shown in your classroom Theater. The vocabulary seems very high for K-1 but I have found that when exposed to high level vocabulary in a fun and interesting setting children will listen to it repeatedly until meaning comes to them.
Photo Credit:Starry Night, c. 1889
Available on Allposters
Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and gray...
Books about Leonardo da Vinci
Starry Night over the Rhone, c.1888
van Gogh, Vincent
Buy This Allposters.com
After reading these books to the children I like to make them available to take home in Take Home Literacy Bags.
The English Lyrics to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Photo Credit: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
on WikiMedia Commons
As children listen to Mozart ask them to form a picture of what they hear using pattern blocks. Take a picture of their creations and make into a book. Ask the children for a sentence about their creation. Put the finished book in the classroom library.
TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE STAR
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Starry Night over the Rhone, c.1888 van Gogh, Vincent Buy This Allposters.com
Twinkle Twinkle by Mozart on Amazon
Photo Credit: Road with Cypress and Star on Wikimedia Commons
Photo Credit: Mozart Wrote 12 Variations on the tune from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
on WPClipart
Mozart wrote twelve variations on the tune from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
Make a Starry Starry Bulletin Board
Bulleting Board for the Star Unit Study
Photo Credit: Constellation Bulletin Board
on Flickr, Creative Commons.
Find the Stars!
Starry Starry Night Interactive Bulletin Board Idea
Cover the bulletin board with black paper or paint a wall with Black Chalkboard Paint. Then take pictures of your children, cut out their faces, attach them to large Gold Foil Paper stars and post them on the bulletin board. Consider posting them in such a way that they can get rearranged often.
Next, teach the children this variation on the Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Song:
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder where you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle little star.
How I wonder where you are!
The teacher says, " I wonder where ________ is?" and hands the start tipped pointer to a child who finds the picture of the mentioned child and points to it.
This game is wonderful for helping children get to know each other's names. It can be used as a greeting for Morning Meeting or by changing the children's pictures to their names can be used for beginning reading activities especially when they are learning capital letters in either print or cursive.
Use the largest star for cutting out star shapes to mount the pictures of your children.
Star Light, Star Bright
Star light, star bright,First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.
Photo Credit: Starry Sky
on Flickr, Creative Commons
Color the Stars
This star worksheet helps children learn their color words. I have a poster with all the color words hung on a wall for the children to reference while coloring this star worksheet. The names of the colors are also written on most crayons. Learn the Constellations
- Preschool parsha Lekh L'kha: Abraham number the stars craft
- For the last Lekh L'kha craft, we looked at making a magic magnet map to explore Abraham's journey. Today, we will focus on a memory verse from this scripture portion. In Genesis 15, God says to Abraham, "Look up at the sky and count ...
Read about the Stars
Photos of the Night Sky
Astronomy Picture of the Day
- Photo of a Galaxy
- A different astronomy and space science
related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.
Stars
A Walk in the Woods at Night
There is a new group being formed in Squidooville. It's called A Walk in the Woods. Whitefoot the Wood Mouse is inviting you to join him there. If you are a member of Squidoo and you may join the group. The exposure that your lens gets by joining will boost your lens rank and add to the number of web pages linking back to your lens. If you are not yet a member of Squidoo you can still come over and read about those who are. Come take A Walk in the Woods.
Learn the Constellations
- Make a Star Wheel!
- Like most people, you probably enjoy getting out under a clear night sky to gaze up at the beautiful tapestry of stars and planets overhead.
But what if you can't tell Polaris from Pollux, or Saturn from Sagittarius? No problem! Using this simple, easy-to-make Star Wheel, you'll be navigating the night sky with confidence in no time.
Photo Credit: Night Sky Star Wheel
Also Available on Amazon
Stars can be found everywhere!
Photo Credit: Sea Star on Sponge on Flickr, Creative Commons
Stapelia glanduliflora flower on Flickr, Creative Commons
An apple a day on Flickr, Creative Commons
1. Look around you and find stars. Cut open fruit. Look at flowers. Take pictures of the stars you find. Write a sentence about each one and make them into a class book.
"Look at the star in the apple."
"Look at the star in the flower."
"Look at the star ..."
2. Make the same sentences into a chart.
3. Make cards with the pictures and words and use them to play Go Fish or Concentration.
4. Use the stars you find to make star prints with tempera paint.
- Making Sense Of Maths - Fibonacci
- An Apple core forms a star when cut sideways.
Stars and Constellations
Star Math
Mathematics of Stars
Children eagerly draw stars while learning fundamental principles of geometry and logical reasoning. The book is meant for grades 4-7 but the ideas could easily be adapted for younger children especially if they are paired with older children to help with holding rulers, cutting and folding etc.
Star Geometry
Straw Stars
Straw Stars Kit
Available on German Plaza
Take 5 Drinking Straws and thread a string through them. Tie a knot at the end and then you can twist them into a star or open them up into a pentagon.
Have the children experiment to see if they can make any other shapes.
What happens when you use different numbers of straws?
Memorable experiments like these will make geometry come alive. Using this visual and tactile approach will make it easier to picture the meaning of the Theorems and Postulates of High School Geometry and can easily be used in any grade K-12+.
- Rubberband Star
- Here's a "how to" for making a star out of a rubber band.
- Straw Stars
Chinese Checkers on eBay
From Wikimidia, Creative Commons
Chinese Checkers is played on a star shaped board.
Astronomy in the News!
Thank you to the Wheelers for including the Starry Starry Night in their Directory.
Astronomy For Beginners
Let us not confuse Astrology with astronomy;4 points
Planet Wasp-17
Wasp-17 is a newly discovered planet as of this da more...3 points
Internet Directory of Unit Studies
Encouraging, uplifting, interesting and perhaps ev more...2 points
China builds observatory at South Pole
PhysOrg news: China builds observatory at South Pole
more...2 points
Beyond the Stars
Don't forget to leave comments below.
Astronomy Activities: It's a Starry Starry Classroom is in the Stone Stoup Homeschooling Online Unit Study Directory
Thank you to the Four Wheelers for having included the Astronomy Activities: It's a Starry Starry Classroom in their directory. This directory has now been passed on to Stone Soup Homeschooling.
- Unit Studies: Stone Soup Homeschool Network - Stone Soup Homeschool Network
- Stone Soup Homeschool We are very excited to be entrusted with this rather comprehensive Unit Study Database. It was started many years ago, and maintained for the last decade by the
Look Who's Twittering about Starry Starry Night
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- Scharerso
- Barbara Barry STARRY QUEEN DUVET: Star bright. A printed pattern of subtle starbursts brings a touch of whimsy t... http://t.co/BCdrAiXZ
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- yolandadetoledo
- Porra, super pensei que uma releitura de Starry Night do Van Gogh com Gotham City era uma ideia minha... mas nem: http://t.co/ky7B9mtt
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- ninefiction
- Starry Night de Van Gogh, pero en versión animada e interactiva. http://t.co/SQqDk3FC
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- _franza_
- Photoset: obsidian5: http://t.co/zYdmWXOW
automatically generated by Twitter
How do you use famous paintings in your teaching?
Starry Night Inspirations
Starry Night, c.1889
van Gogh, Vincent
Buy at AllPosters.com
Stars are waiting for you it you just look around...
Please let my know by leaving a comment here. Tell me about your favorite artist or teaching idea. Don't forget the stars at the top and if you lensroll this page or add it to your favorites please let me know so that I can reciprocate.
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pyramidsphinx
Feb 12, 2012 @ 11:16 am | delete
- nice lens
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jimmyworldstar
Feb 5, 2012 @ 3:24 pm | delete
- I can't identify the constellations or stars for the life of me. Teaching childrens the constellations is good because some of them can be used like a compass.
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krakensquid
Feb 2, 2012 @ 2:40 pm | delete
- Another outstanding lens, great work!
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darciefrench
Dec 24, 2011 @ 3:13 pm | delete
- May the stars always shine bright for you and yours. Happy holidays and many blessings for the new year.
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waldenthree.net
Nov 29, 2011 @ 7:14 pm | delete
- interesting approach by drawing, learn science. Have another. Inspired by "great minds'. Doing one on Galileo Galilei . Kids will be amazed and inspired by this great mind of the past !
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faykam69
Nov 17, 2011 @ 12:21 pm | delete
- i love this blog you are working really good
:)
xD
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anaamhussain Aug 16, 2011 @ 8:03 pm | delete
- Wow what a fascinating lens! I loved it. Good work :)
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faykam69
Nov 17, 2011 @ 12:22 pm | delete
- i love this blog you are working really good
:)
xD
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Heather426
Aug 16, 2011 @ 7:27 pm | delete
- Had to come back by and bless one of my fave lenses on Squidoo.:)
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nolinel
Jun 22, 2011 @ 1:18 pm | delete
- Great informative lens...
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top-telescope-eyepieces
May 25, 2011 @ 12:48 pm | delete
- Great lens. Starry Night is my favorite Van Gogh painting (probably because I love astronomy). Lenses like this are a great way to get more people interested in both the arts and sciences and to show that they are connected and not totally separate disciplines. Keep up the good work.
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lollyj
May 18, 2011 @ 9:15 am | delete
- Your lenses are always so exceptional. Even though I'm many decades from being a school age child, I learn a lot. I especially loved this one, using art to teach and inspire.
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Wedding_Mom
Apr 22, 2011 @ 6:31 am | delete
- A very wonderful lens indeed you have here. I admire Vincent van Gogh painting particularly Stary Night. I've read that he actually painted that picture while he was in a mental asylum in France. He was able to capture such beauty and tranquility despite his situation.
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sushilkin Apr 21, 2011 @ 11:03 am | delete
- Such a nice lens. Thanks for Sharing !!
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ViolinStudent
Mar 3, 2011 @ 9:02 am | delete
- Got a chance to see Starry Night a few years back when it traveled with a Met exhibit to Houston. It was one of my favorites when I was young and lived near NYC. A print of the painting hangs in my office. I guess I need to pick up a matching print of Starry Night Over the Rhone, but haven't done so yet. I also enjoy Don McLean's song about Van Gogh, Vincent, often referred to as "Starry Starry Night."
Pardon me...I ramble.
Well, thanks for this pleasant way to start off my day!
-Art Haule
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by Evelyn_Saenz
Evelyn_Saenz
My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that learning... more »
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