TEACH PRESCHOOL SCIENCE
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    • Physical Science Index >
      • Blowing Bubbles
      • Magnify!
      • Ways to Measure Time
      • Magnetic Attraction
      • Ramps in Motion
      • Ice Melting
      • Sink or Float a Boat
      • Sponges and water
      • Dropping Things Through the Air
      • Static Electricity
      • Battery Electricity
      • Properties of Soap and Water
      • Weights and Balances
      • How Can Heat Change Things?
      • Tools Can Help Us Do Things
      • Lifting with Levers
      • Wheels
      • Predicting How Simple Machines Will Work
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      • Discoveries With Straws
      • Different Ways of Making Light
    • Earth and Sky Science Index >
      • Shadow Chasing
      • Sun Effects
      • The Night Sky
      • Kinds of Clouds
      • Dressing for the Season
      • Classifying Rocks
      • Colors of the Rainbow
      • Who Has Seen the Wind?
      • Rain
      • Snow
      • Litter Hunt
      • We Can Take Care of the Earth
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The Night Sky


Core Learning Experience + Supplies and Equipment

​​If you are teaching this topic at school, it is important that the children are able to look carefully at the sky at night. Send a note home to parents, telling them what you are studying, and some suggestions for talking to their child while observing the sky. Have them write down some of the things that were discussed to bring back to school. (Darkness, moon, shape of moon, stars, size and color of stars, twinkling, clusters, birds, airplanes and lights, shadows etc). Perhaps you could convince the parents into pitching a tent in their back yard and having an overnight campout with their preschooler!

Possible/Expected Discoveries

  • ​The sky looks different at day and at night. 
  • We live on the Earth, and the planet Earth is part of a huge universe. We can see part of the universe when we look up the sky. At night we often see the Earth’s moon, reflecting light from the sun (which is really a star!)
  • The moon is very far away. We can see shadows on the surface. Some years ago, some astronauts traveled to the moon and found that the moon is made of rock, with lots of sandy grey dust. People can’t stay on the moon unless they wear a special suit that helps them breathe, because there is no air on the moon. Have lots of photos and books available.
  • Stars are much further away than our moon. Nobody has traveled to a star yet, because they are so far away. They are very hot, too.
  • People know a lot about Earth but they don’t know everything about the universe. Scientists called astronomers learn new things every day, by using strong telescopes, and sending robot machines into space that can collect data (find out about things by using machines and computers).

Extended Learning and Other Curriculum Areas

  • ​​Cooperative wall mural on large paper. Use big brushes with shades of deep blue and indigo paint. Add stars of all sizes, a moon (discuss whether crescent or full) nocturnal flying animals (owl, bat), airplanes with lights etc. Add a story strip.
  • Make pin holes through black construction paper, and look through them against a light. This activity is for 4+, and should be supervised.
  • Make line patterns with clipart “celestial bodies” e.g. star star moon star star moon
  •  Lie down on floor, close eyes, and imagine. Pretend you are a tiny glowworm at night high in a tree. You look up to the sky and you see… and you hear… and you smell… etc Teacher writes children’s words.
  •  Crayon resist art, draw stars with yellow crayon, wash over with dilutes blue/purple watercolor. Sprinkle glitter.
  • Copy some photos of space probes and satellites so the children can see what they look like.
Preschool science activities - the night sky

Activity Packs and Printables

Websites

Night Sky Theme Activities for Preschool

Books

​The Moon Seems to Change by Franklyn Branley
Max Goes to the Moon by Jeffrey Bennett
On the Moon by Anna Milbourne
Baby Galileo Sees the Stars by Julie Aigner-Clark

USEFUL LINKS

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Privacy Policy
This site is sponsored and supported by the preschool themes site www.KidSparkz.com
Activities written by (c) Susan Portman
Pre-K, Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Homeschooler - TeachersPayTeachers.com
Copyright © 2005-2019 Teach Preschool Science - Permission granted to reproduce for personal educational use only. Commercial copying or selling is prohibited. No part of this resource may be uploaded to, or published on, any other site for any reason.
  • Home
  • Lesson Plans Index
    • Life Science Plants and Animals >
      • Comparing Leaves
      • Exploring Pumpkins
      • Shucking Corn
      • Earthworm Observation
      • Parent and Baby Animals
      • Collecting Ants
      • Spider Season
      • Visit to a Pet Store
      • Living and Non Living Things
      • Animals Come in Many Shapes, Sizes and Colors
      • Ways Animals Move
      • Animals Need to Eat
      • Difference Between Wild and Tame Animals
      • People Can Use Products Provided by Animals and Plants
      • Animal Coverings - Hair, Fur, Feathers, Scales and Skin
      • Animals Live in Different Places
      • Metamorphosis and Change in Biology
      • Nocturnal Animals
      • Egg Science
      • Exploring Fish
      • Tree Skin Bark
      • Roots Growing Potatoes in Water
      • Stems - Making Daisy and Clover Chains
      • Flowers
      • Digging in the Dirt
    • Life Science People Index >
      • Parts of Our Body and How We Use Them
      • Our Heart
      • Our Hands
      • Our Feet
      • Fun With Balance
      • Sound Search
      • Sense of Touch
      • Exploring the Sense of Sight
      • Follow That Scent
      • Stop That Germ!
      • Interesting Tools That Doctors Use
      • We Need Healthy Teeth
      • Keep Those Muscles Moving!
    • Physical Science Index >
      • Blowing Bubbles
      • Magnify!
      • Ways to Measure Time
      • Magnetic Attraction
      • Ramps in Motion
      • Ice Melting
      • Sink or Float a Boat
      • Sponges and water
      • Dropping Things Through the Air
      • Static Electricity
      • Battery Electricity
      • Properties of Soap and Water
      • Weights and Balances
      • How Can Heat Change Things?
      • Tools Can Help Us Do Things
      • Lifting with Levers
      • Wheels
      • Predicting How Simple Machines Will Work
      • Computers and Other Devices
      • Discoveries With Straws
      • Different Ways of Making Light
    • Earth and Sky Science Index >
      • Shadow Chasing
      • Sun Effects
      • The Night Sky
      • Kinds of Clouds
      • Dressing for the Season
      • Classifying Rocks
      • Colors of the Rainbow
      • Who Has Seen the Wind?
      • Rain
      • Snow
      • Litter Hunt
      • We Can Take Care of the Earth
  • Teaching Notes
  • Links
  • Contact