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
- Starry Starry Field Trip
- Star Words
- Practice Spelling Star Words
- Starry Math Manipulatives
- Twinkle Twinkle by Mozart on Amazon
- Star Light, Star Bright
- Stars can be found everywhere!
- Stars and Constellations
- Star Math
- Astronomy in the News!
- Astronomy Activities: It's a Starry Starry Classroom is in the Four Wheeler's Online Unit Study Directory
- Look Who's Twittering about Starry Starry Night
- How do you use famous paintings in your teaching?
- Meet the Author of this Lens
Draw like Van Gogh
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.
- 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.
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.
Starry Starry Night
The paintings of Vincent Van Gogh set to Don McLean's "Starry Starry Night".
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Books about the Starry Starry Night Sky
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.
Starry Starry Field Trip
Stars at the Art Museum
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.
Practice Spelling Star Words
Children find the letters to match the star words written on their Star Word Sheet.
- Ms. Gall's Kinderkids: November Visitor Day
- Activities for Visitors Day
On-line Star Word Games
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.
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
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-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
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
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 in C major on Ah vous dirai-je, maman, K. 265: 12 Variations on 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: (as of 07/06/2009) 
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
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
Read about the Stars
Photos of the Night Sky
- Photo of a Galaxy
- A different astronomy and space science
related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.
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.
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 tempera paint.
- Making Sense Of Maths - Fibonacci
- An Apple core forms a star when cut sideways.
Make a Starry Starry Book
The Writing Process
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: $19.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
Stars and Constellations
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
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 07/06/2009)
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+.
- Rubberband Star
- Here's a "how to" for making a star out of a rubber band.
- Straw Stars
Star Graph
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
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Astronomy Activities: It's a Starry Starry Classroom is in the Four Wheeler's Online Unit Study Directory
Thank you to the Four Wheelers for including the Astronomy Activities: It's a Starry Starry Classroom in their Online Unit Study Directory.
- Internet Directory of Unit Studies
- The Four Wheelers Internet Directory of Unit Studies contains a list, roughly arranged by subject, of links to unit studies that are published on the Internet.
Look Who's Twittering about Starry Starry Night
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- Faramirkitty
- He offered his hand and taught her many things. Onward they carried into the starry night. No more of studies and rulers.
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- Jirad13
- @jaredleto how are you?a miss you.good night. I'm tired.Tomorrow is my first class of YOGA.tonight I see of starry night and full moon,a ...
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- annietravel
- So people now go to art museums to take their own photos? Weird. Difficult to look at Starry Night in between the tourist self portraits.
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- crazyboy01
- She walks in Beauty, like the night Of cloudness climes and starry skies, Meet in her aspect and her eyes
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- kissmytan13
- fireworks on a starry night in Krypton sounds so good right about now #moonfruit
How do you use famous paintings in your teaching?
Starry Night, c.1889
van Gogh, Vincent
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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.
qlcoach wrote...
Well crafted and enjoyable lens. I love the stars. Something mystical about them. I met you on Twitter. Hope you will visit my new lens about emotional healing. Gary Eby, author and therapist.
Posted June 13, 2009
Heather426 wrote...
Love this lens. Have a Starry Starry Night print in my office. I wish you had been my kids' teacher. so creative.5*
Posted April 25, 2009
Donnette wrote...
What a delightful lens. I have featured it on my new page "universe-for-kids"
Posted April 21, 2009
frakattack wrote...
wow this page is heaps of fun! I love it. I am going to be busy with reading through this lens all night. Telescope Photography
Posted April 09, 2009
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Find out what else I'm up to when I'm not traveling with the stars:
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Evelyn Saenz: Lensography of a Teacher
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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 should be integrated and no skills should be taught in isolation. I believe that each topic s...
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