Objective:

The students will design a constellation of stars.

Materials

• Black Construction Paper

• White Paint, White Crayons, or White Chalk

• A link to Astronomy for Kids, which has pictures of some simple constellations.

Procedure

1. Share the link listed above so the students can have some visuals of different constellations.

2. Discuss with the students how they will be designing their own constellation by using a series of dots.

3. Pass out the materials and allow the students to design their own constellation on the black paper.  If desired, proceed to the Language Arts Lesson to combine the two objectives.

Other Lesson Ideas

1. As a variation of the above lesson, have the students poke holes through black construction paper to create constellations.  These may then be placed on an overhead projector to display their constellations, or mounted on white or yellow paper for the "stars" to shine through.

2. Work as a whole class on a large piece of black butcher paper to create a night sky using white paint, chalk, or crayons.

3. Allow the students to put silver or yellow glitter on star shapes and hang them from the ceiling.