Objective
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand and apply basic arithmetic concepts while exploring the topic of space.
Materials and Prep
- Pencil
- Plain paper
- Coloring materials (crayons, markers, etc.)
No prior knowledge is required for this lesson.
Activities
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Counting Stars:
Look up at the night sky and count as many stars as you can see. Write down the number.
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Planet Addition:
Choose two planets (e.g., Mars and Jupiter) and assign each planet a number value (e.g., Mars = 5, Jupiter = 3). Add the numbers together to find the total.
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Alien Subtraction:
Draw a picture of an alien spaceship and write a subtraction equation next to it (e.g., 10 - 3 = ?). Solve the equation to find out how many aliens are left in the spaceship.
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Shape Rockets:
Draw different shapes on separate pieces of paper (e.g., square, circle, triangle). Cut them out and decorate them as rockets. Arrange the rockets in order from the smallest shape to the largest shape.
First Grade Talking Points
- "Did you know that stars are like tiny suns in space? We can count them just like we count objects around us."
- "Planets are big round objects that orbit around the sun. We can give them numbers to help us with addition."
- "Subtraction helps us find out how many are left. Imagine if aliens were in a spaceship, and some left. We can subtract to know how many are still inside."
- "Shapes are everywhere, even in space! Let's have fun making rockets out of different shapes and putting them in order from smallest to largest."