1, 2, 3..Blast Off!

Hey everyone!

I hope you have all had a great start to your week!  We have had a chilly, but great start here in 2nd grade!  Let me tell you...we have been SUPER busy learning and having fun in 2nd grade!  I'm so excited to update you on our Space Unit that we just wrapped up on Friday last week!

So get ready to blast off into space...oh, and be ready to learn something because we have LOTS of facts for YOU! :)

Bulletin board to set the "space" mood in 2nd grade! :)

In the middle of January, we kicked off our Space Unit by first writing an application to be an astronaut, because if you are not an astronaut, then you aren't allowed in space!  Each child was required to fill out an application in order to become an astronaut!  I loved this activity because it shows them that jobs aren't just given to you, they are earned by knowledge and well written sentences! :)  Luckily, all of our students did great and all got to become astronauts for the next month! :)

Astronaut Application! :)

After creating our astronauts, we blasted off our into our space unit by first learning about the moon and stars in our galaxy.  We discussed and learned about the eight different moon phases as well as the stars/constellations in our sky!  We got to do lots of fun projects such as a "Moon Phase" book and we even got to create our OWN constellation! How cool is that! :)  The students learned a TON during this part of the unit and one of them even came to me one morning and said, "Miss N, I think it was a full moon last night!"  I wanted to say to them I already knew it was a full moon because whenever there is a full moon the kids always seem to be a bit more crazier than a normal day! :)

Moon Phases! :)

Constellation Project!

One of Mrs. Halverson's!  You HAVE to read this! :)

After finishing up the moon and stars part of the unit, we were able to fly into studying about the planets in our Solar System!  The students were SO excited for this part of the unit!  They continued to ask me about it over and over again and kept asking, "Miss N, when do we get to study the planets?!"  As always, I told them to be patient and we will get there when we get there! :)

Studying the planets was SO much fun.  Each pair of students got a chance to research a planet and they were able to use a handout (provided by myself), books, and even an online Solar System WebQuest  to research their planet!  They did so great with their research that I let them make a poster and they had the chance to share their report and poster with the whole class! :)

Planet Research using the handout provided by the teacher!

Planet Research using books from the library! :)

Planet Research using the Internet! :)

Planet Presentations!

Planet Research Final Project!

Along with their research, they each made a Solar System folder where they organized the planets in their correct order, and then were able to write down facts in their folder that they learned during the planet research presentations!  It's a great way to make learning fun for them and they have something to take home to share with their family! :)

Overall, our space unit went fantastic!  This is such a fun unit to teach and the students have ALOT of fun with it.  It's great to hear the things they already know but things they also still want to learn!  We had a great time studying our Solar System, and I hope they came home and shared all of this awesome information with you!

Thank you all for listening...and until next time, stay safe! <3