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....
Starry Table of Contents
- Draw like Van Gogh
- Star Words
- Math Manipulatives
- More Star Learning Center Activities
- Books about Leonardo da Vinci
- Twinkle Twinkle by Mozart on Amazon
- Star Light, Star Bright
- Big and Little Dipper
- Learn the Constellations
- Shadows
- Animals at Night
- Stars on eBay
- Star Math
- Star Geometry
- Chinese Checkers on eBay
- Astronomy in the News!
- A Walk in the Woods at Night
- How do you use famous painting in your teaching?
- The Isle of Squid
Draw like Van Gogh
Draw like VAN GOGHGrade : K-3
Age: 5-10
Painting and art history lesson that also teaches Reading and Writing
Objectives:
The students will identify and apply painting skills used by Vincent Van Gogh
What You Need:
Van Gogh prints:
dark blue construction painting paperpastels in many shades of blue, yellow, white and black
What You Do:
1. Start this lesson by looking at Starry Night.
2. Ask your students to describe the painting and its main ideas.
3. Focus on the wind. Ask your students how Van Gogh used brush strokes to make the wind (swirls etc.) Point out that the swirls are made with small brush strokes and many different shades of blue.
4. Then move to a demonstration of how to paint like Van Gogh.
5. On the top 2/3 of the paper use pastels to draw dark blue swirls, yellow circles, and finally white swirls. (You may need to spray with hairspray in between colors.) Emphasize that Van Gogh allowed the paint to mix on the paper.
6. End the sky by adding small brush strokes over the larger swirls. This gives the impression of many small strokes.
7. To close your lesson, ask the students to identify the same skills (small strokes, swirls, mixing colors) in other prints by Van Gogh.
8. On the second day of this lesson focus on the background on Starry Night. Have the children tell you what they see and then demonstrate how to paint like Van Gogh. I like to focus on the mountains and the town.9. On the third day, ask the children "How did you use Van Gogh's skills to create your drawing?" Write their responses on chart paper.
10. 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? 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.
11. Allow them to share their writing, rewrite, add to their stories, edit them and finally publish them with their drawings. Some may turn them into books others may mount and frame them.
12. Parents love to see their children's writing displayed in the hallway with the finished painting. This lesson is highly successful in elementary grades
Leonardo da Vinci - Speed Drawing Video
Make your own class book.
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.
Leonardo da Vinci - Speed Painting
I tried to draw Leonardo da Vinci. That's my first Speed Paint. Musik by K&D sessions. The Video format is wrong, sorry. Hope you like it.
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Starry Night on Amazon
Star Words
Astronomy Activities that twinle all around the room
Word walls are a collection of words for children to use to promote learning in reading and writing. Children can use this word wall for reference when writing.
Star wall words can also be used by children during writing workshop. Because the words are sight words, most of the words are words that the children can not sound out.
The children can look on the word walls when they need to write specific words during writing. Giving them 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. Then have the child go point to the word on the word wall.
Children can practice writing the Star Words to help them remember the star words.
Here they play Star Word Concentration. By playing Concentration the kids get to help each other 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 to give them more proactive with the words with less help on reading 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 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.
Stars are great Manipulatives for Astronomy Activities
Make games and use these as counters or playing pieces.
Math Manipulatives
Make 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.
Alternatively the words could be traced over in glue and glitter. In this case use glasses with star shapes to look for and read the stars or make telescopes from paper towel tubes. The telescopes could be spray painted black or have the children paint them in the art center.
More Star Learning Center Activities
- 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-Along at the Art Gallery
THE FINE ARTS CAN TEACH THEM TO READ.........
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This will link you to the words of Don McCleans's song with pictures by Vincent Van Gogh. 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. Click on this link for ideas.Painting by Vincent Van Gogh and Music by Don McLean, Vincent 1971
Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and gray,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land...
Books about Leonardo da Vinci
The English Lyrics to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
LYRICS:The English lyrics have five verses, although only the first is widely known. The repetition of the first two lines at the end of each verse is not in the original, but is needed to fit the usual melody. Below is the whole text[1], with the repetition of the first two lines added.
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!
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Then the traveler in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveler in the dark,-
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Twinkle Twinkle by Mozart on Amazon
12 Variations on the French song "Ah vous dirai-je maman", K. 265: 12 Variations on the French song 'Ah vous dirai-je maman', K. 265
Many think that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the original composer of this melody, believing that the song was written by Mozart when he was four or five years old (as "Andante in C for Keyboard"), a misconception reinforced by its appearance as a "correct answer" in the original edition of Trivial Pursuit and "Snapple Facts" (among others). Mozart was this age at the time the French melody was published. Much later in his life, it is certain that he did write twelve variations on it; these variations are listed as Variations on "Ah vous dirais-je, Maman", now cataloged as K. 300e in the Köchel-Verzeichnis.
http://bdb.co.za/shackle/articles/twinkle.htm - argument that he did not write the song.
Amazon Price: $0.90 (as of 07/09/2008)
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.
Color the Stars
Big and Little Dipper
How to find the north star when your GPS dies.
In the Art Center put templates of the big and little dipper. Have children mark the position of the stars on black or dark blue construction paper and them dip q-tips into glow in the dark paint and add a dot to each star. Leave in a bright sunny place to dry.
Later take these papers into a dark place to see the stars.
finding the north star
here's how to find where north is on a clear night (and your gps dies) if you live in the northern hemisphere. unfortunately, there's no corresponding bright star for south in the southern hemisphere. also, i realize the big and little dippers are asterisms and not constellations, but it's very difficult for most people to see ursa major and ursa minor (the big and little bears).
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Learn the Constellations
Read about the Stars
Stars
Shadows
Our star, The Sun makes Shadows on the Earth
Literature:Bear Shadow by Frank Asch
My Shadow by Robert Lewis Stevenson
Science:
What do we need to have a shadow outside?
For the lesson on Make a Sun Clock, click here.
Math:
Measure shadows.
Social Studies:
Connect to Ground Hog's Day
Read about Shadows
Whenever you can, get books in Big Book form. It not only makes it so that all children can read the text but also it is easier on young eyes and the children love to read books that are very large.
Animals in the Night - Bulletin Board
Which ones are sleeping? Which ones are awake?
Bulletin Board: Use the techniques that you learned above to make a bulletin board of a nighttime forest. Have children look up information of different animals to find out which ones are awake and which ones are asleep.
The children can then draw pictures of their animals and attach them to the bulletin board. Owls could be flying. Mice could be trying to hide. Songbirds could be sleeping in the trees.
Add large stars for each book read. Add small sticker stars for each word spelled correctly.
Animals at Night
- Animals at Night
Emergent Reader
The owl will not sleep at night.
The bat will not sleep at night.
This printable book continues on through a series of woodland animals changing only the name of the animal until finally you see a child in bed.
But I will sleep at night.
This would be a great book to adapt to other themes. Once they know the pattern, children can be given a page to draw an animal and write the sentence such as:
A lemming turns white in winter.
A rabbit turns white in winter.
for the Lemming Theme.
Night Vision
- How do animals see in the dark?
In order to survive at night, animals have to find food in the dark. Some have a highly-advanced senses of smell or specialized hearing abilities such as echolocation. Others have eye adaptations for improved night vision.
Although nocturnal animals see mostly crude shapes, outlines and no color, by maximizing their sensitivity to low light levels it is enough for them to hunt, feed and survive in the dark of night.- Night Vision
Eyes and Vision
The belief that cats can see in the dark is an exaggeration. Felines can see no better in total darkness than humans can, but special night-vision adaptations allow them to see extremely well in even the dimmest light, a vital ability for nocturnal hunters. While sensitive hearing may help the cat initially detect prey, its keen, nighttime-adapted vision permits it to identify the location of a potential meal with deadly, laser-beam accuracy.- Eyes At Night Hike
When you reach the gathering spot, hold up the poster and let everyone shine their light on it.
Explain that you are going to be hunting for special animals on the trail.
Only their eyes will be visible.
Ask how many have seen night eyes when driving. How could they tell what animal it was just by looking at the eyes?
Demonstrate by placing flashlight up beside your eyes (girls can do this, too).
Explain that they will be looking for animals off to the sides of the trail and on either side of it.
They will need to look in the trees and undergrowth.
If they spot a pair of eyes, they should try to guess what animal they have found. You may tell them how many eyes are out on the trail.
The poster is available to help them identify the animals.
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.
Bears in the Night on Amazon
The children love to snuggle up to a Teddy Bear when listening to these stories.
Stars can be found everywhere!
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 tempra paint.
A look at Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and paintings while listening to Robert Schumann
I like to show videos like this in the Classroom Theater which we used to make by hanging curtains from the drop ceiling connectors around a computer with 2-4 chairs for viewing. I now use a Japanese Screen which is made so that the cloth can be changed out whenever we switch themes.
We have a Reviewer's Desk just outside for writing reactions to all videos shown.
Leonardo da Vinci was a great artist, engineer, architect/inventor, and futurist. He was not just a plot device in a popular novel. 500 years ago, he envisioned futuristic concepts such as a helicopter, a tank, and solar power. An ultimate scientist and artist, da Vinci was much more than "the guy who painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.
This video was created by playing Robert Schumann's ethereal organ music to the images of da Vinci's paintings and drawings.
From: sundroid
Leonardo da Vinci - the Ultimate Scientist/Artist
To many of us, Leonardo da Vinci was a great artist/engineer/architect/inventor/futurist, not just a plot device in a popular novel. 500 years ago, he envisioned futuristic (back then) concepts such as helicopter, tank, and solar power. An ultimate scientist/artist, da Vinci was much more than "the guy who did Mona Lisa and The Last Supper". The soundtrack is by Robert Schumann.
Runtime: 3:07
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The Writing Process
IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit
Most educators now use the Writing Process to teach children how to write. Children learn to write by focusing on the process of creating writing rather than the end product.
When writing, students utilize the stages of the writing process which include prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Prewriting is the planning and idea-gathering stage.
Drafting refers to time spent composing a rough draft. Revising is the process of improving the draft. Students reread their work and share it with a partner or small group; they then make changes in the writing based on the feedback from their peers.
Editing is the process of correcting mechanical errors. Publishing is done when the work is in final form and ready to be shared. (Information gathered from North Central Regional Educational Laboratory)
Once the children have taken a story through these stages they are ready for publishing
You can display these books in your classroom library so that they can be read by all the children during silent reading. At the end of the year parents will want it to proudly display them on their coffee tables.
IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit
Amazon Price: $20.31 (as of 07/09/2008)
Stars on eBay
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Star Math
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.
Drawing Stars & Building Polyhedra
Amazon Price: $11.95 (as of 07/09/2008)
Star Geometry
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+.
- Investigating Patterns: Polyhedra Pastimes
- Offers a collection of resources and activity links designed to help students explore polyhedra, puzzles, and geometric patterns. All links are supplemented with descriptive comments.
- Straw Stars
Chinese Checkers on eBay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byAstronomy 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;2 points
Internet Directory of Unit Studies
Encouraging, uplifting, interesting and perhaps ev more...1 point
China builds observatory at South Pole
PhysOrg news: China builds observatory at South Po more...1 point
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.
Teacher Community Forum
This is a forum for exchanging ideas about teaching. We discuss centers, math manipulatives, "Read the Room", "Write the Room", Story Bags, Interactive Bulletin Boards, Lapbooking, Creative ways to teach ESL through Lemmi Sticks and lots, lots more. Click here to join in the fun.
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Lemmings: Arctic Classroom Theme
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Beginning to Read
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How do you use famous painting in your teaching?
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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gods_grace_notes
Another great lens, Evelyn! I always enjoy your work; you are a tremendous resource and valued contributor to all of my groups! Posted June 25, 2008 |
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bafiedel
I love that you incorporated the Arts in your lens about the STARS. Don McLean's beautiful tribute to Vincent Van Gogh always makes me teary. Posted April 26, 2008 |
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Becca_Sanz
Your lens is very informative. Staying healthy is very important. I hope you will support movement to promote Healthy Food on college campuses. Posted April 26, 2008 |
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Jenafern
Love this lens! Stars, star-related projects for kids, art & artists - wonderful! 5 stars! Posted April 23, 2008 |
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Debs
Another wonderful lens...here's another activity for kids! Collecting Used Thematic Postage Stamps! Posted April 19, 2008 |
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