TITLE OF KIT: To Infinity and Beyond!

Space for Kindergarten through 2nd graders

CONCEPTS INTRODUCED AND GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM/UNIT
The purpose of this kit is to provide Kindergarten through 2 nd Grade students, their parents,
caregivers, and teachers the resources to start exploring space, particularly the solar system. The
planets within the solar system will be introduced, along with very basic facts about them.
Students will become more familiar with the facts about space, along with the space program in
the United States. They will learn the basics of how to do experiments and to extend their
learning from books to hands-on activities. This kit is intended for both sexes, to both capitalize
on their interest in space and science and to grow it.

MARKETING AND PROMOTIONAL FLYER THAT WILL ADVERTISE THE KIT TO THE AUDIENCE

A FUN, INTERACTIVE Kit on OUTER

SPACE for Kindergardeners through 2nd Graders and
their Caregivers, Teachers, and Parents!
FEATURING: BOOKS

ON

SPACE

SPACE THEMED ACTIVITIES

SPACE CRAFTS
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

FOR FURTHER

EXPLORATION!

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALL THE ITEMS FOUND IN THE KIT

Arnold, Tedd. Green Wilma: Frog in Space. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2009. Green
Wilma, the Frog, is chasing a fly one day and gets accidently scooped up by an alien ship who
confuses her with an alien child. After causing some havoc on the ship, Wilma is brought back
home where she is convinced it was all a dream or was it? Bright imaginative pictures help
propel this story along. while not scientifically accurate, this story will help feed the imagination
of kids who use this kit and could be used to have them create their own stories about being
taken into space.
Bone, Emily. The Solar System. Usbourne Publishing Ltd., 2010. This book is a wonderful
introduction to the solar system and basics of the planets. The text is large and uses easy to
understand words. A glossary in the back of the book provides definitions to words students
may not know. A combination of colorful illustrations and photographs decorate the book and
draw in the reader. While a good amount of information is covered, it is laid out in a way that is
easy to navigate and is not overwhelming.
Bredeson, Carmen. What is the Solar System? Enslow Elementary, 2008. Each two page spread
centers around a basic questions kids may have about the solar system. there are colorful
pictures, and brief easy to read text on each Page spread. There are also brief Fun Fact boxes
which are featured on each page.
Carney, Elizabeth. Planets. National Geographic Society, 2012. This bright, easily accessible
book contains basics information about the planets and their moons. Each page has a bright title
and large print making it easier to read for young students. Instead of relying on a glossary in the
back, each page with words that students may not know has a Space Clues box with the words
used on the page defined. Also longer words are spelled out phonetically. At the end of the
book there is a Stump Your Parents quiz that reviews information that is covered in the book.
Carson, Jana. We Both Read: About Space (2nd Ed.). Treasure Bay, 2008. Like all books in the
We Both Read series, an adult and a child take turns reading opposite facing pages about the
same subject. The adults page has more text and more difficult sentence structure. The childs
page is simpler and larger text, with difficult words bolded. This book features information
about the solar system, different planets, space shuttles, and astronauts. The illustrations consist
mostly of beautiful photographs, with a few illustrations thrown in. This is a great way for an
child to learn about space, get help reading, and increase their fluency with language by having
someone read with them.
DuRoss, Mike (Ed.). Learning about the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars. World Book, 2012. This
book is a combination of information about the universe and different hands on activities kids
can do to learn about the solar system. Early readers may need help reading the text and
instructions, but will love doing the different activities in the book. This is included in the kit,
along with the separate activities, to encourage hands-on learning and students putting into

practice what they have read. The end of this book includes a glossary and a list of books and
websites where more information can be learned.
Hughes, Catherine D.. Aguilar, David A. (Ill.). National Geographic Little Kids: First Big Book
of Space. National Geographic Society, 2012. This large book would certainly be a great addition
to the kit, but would not be one that is read cover-to-cover. It is broken into chapters that cover
different aspects of space that might be of interest to kids, starting with the Earth, moon, and sun
and moving all the way out to black holes. Large text, pop out boxes with information of
interest, and colorful illustrations make this thick book seem less overwhelming for young
readers. At the end of the text there is a glossary and an index to help users navigate. There are
also parent tips that suggest activities to extend childrens experience with different learning
areas using space as a base.
Leedy, Loreen. Postcards from Pluto: A Tour of the Solar System. Holiday House, 2006. The
information in this book is presented through a combination of text bubbles from different
children going on a space tour, and their postcards written home to their family and friends.
Information is basic, but easily understandable because it is written in a conversational tone that
children would use on a postcard. The illustrations are not very detailed, but convey what they
need to and the white of the postcards backgrounds help set the text off from the black
background. The glossary is done on a postcard as well, with a student defining for their
parents what space words he had learned on his trip.
McGranaghan, John. Klein, Laurie Allen (Ill.). Meet the Planets. Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2011.
This picture book introduces each of the planets and facts about them in the context of a Favorite
Planet Competition. Each planet is introduced in accessible language as if they were a beauty
pageant contestant. The two page spreads feature colorful illustrations, and large text that will be
easy to read for young readers. After the story is over, the book features additional facts,
suggestions for ways to use the book in a classroom, and a few activities.
OByrne, Dr. John. My first pocket Guide: Stars and Planets. National Geographic Society,
1997. This small book is perfect for children to both browse through and learn about different
aspects of the solar system and to take with them when exploring the night sky outside. Each
two page spread features the same layout. There is a brief description of the item being
discussed, notes on how big and how far away the object is, and a What you will see section.
That last part is broken into what kids can see with just their eyes, what they will see through a
telescope, and what they would see if they were closer. The back of this guide contains star
charts for the different seasons, a glossary, and a guide on how to determine the size of different
things in the sky.
Powell, Sarah. Friggens, Nicola and Radcliffe, Katherine (Designers). Space. St. Martins
Press, 2012. This large and super colorful book is wonderful! Most pages feature beautiful
photographs of space and the planets, and the pages which dont have colorful illustrations.

Every page is titled with large colorful letters so it is easy for readers to navigate. The text on
the pages is very accessible, and key words are boxed in different colors to make them stand out.
For children just learning how to pull key information out of non-fiction text this is very helpful.
Smaller boxes on each page provide additional facts, information of interest and key statistics. A
timeline in the back of the book provides a brief history of space exploration and is followed by a
glossary words which might be unfamiliar to readers.
Rabe, Tish. Ruiz, Aristides (Ill.). Theres No Place Like Space! All about Our Solar System (Rev.
Ed.). Random House Kids, 2009. This book uses the familiar character of the Cat in the Hat to
explore the solar system in bouncy verse. Each planet is visited and one or two brief facts are
shared about them. Constellations, the sun, and the moon are each discussed briefly as well.
The end features a glossary of words that may not be familiar to readers, an index, and a
suggested list of books for further reading.

ANNOTATED WEBLIOGRAPHY OF SITES FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION

American Museum of Natural History: AstronomyOur Place in Space.
http://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/astronomy This colorful, easy to use site has all sorts of
activities for kids to do. There are activities to do, polls to take, crafts to make, games to play,
and songs to sing. It is easy to navigate between the pages and has great charts and pictures.
Astronomy for Kids. http://www.kidsastronomy.com/ While this site is not the most visually
appealing for kids, it has many great resources. There is a whole section of educational videos
which kids may watch to learn about the solar system, stars, and different planets. There is a sky
map which can be updated by month and time to show what the kids are observing in the sky.
There are games and activities which kids can do as well.
Mars for Kids. http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/participate/funzone/ This section of the Mars Exploration
Program site is aimed at elementary school students. There are games to play, pictures which
can be printed out to color, and ways to interact with the Mars Rover. While the interface is not
that interesting, featuring just hyperlinks, this site should satisfy any student who is interested in
learning more about Mars exploration and space.
NASA Kids Club. http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/Buzz_Lightyear/web/ This NASA site
features Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. There are different games that can be played and
students can select whether they are in K-2 or 3-5 for some of the games to adjust the level of
difficulty. In the I Spy game, as the user finds the things they are looking for on the space
shuttle different facts pop up explaining how the item was used or is related to the space shuttle.
The games are easy to play, load quickly, and will keep kids interested.
NASAs Space Place. http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ This FABULOUS site has tons of information,
activities, games, and crafts! The site is very easy to navigate, has an interactive home page that
allows students to choose what topic related to space they are most interested in exploring more,
and has icons on the follow up pages that explain what type of page the student will see
(Explore, Do, Play). While the youngest students may need some help with this page, any
student who has used the web before should be able to easily navigate to what they are looking
for. There are wonderful ideas for parents, caregivers, and teachers as well.
The Magic School Bus: Space Chase.
http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/games/space/index.htm This site features a game
simple enough for kindergarteners to play, but they may need a little help reading the clues. The
Frizz travels to different planets and gives clues about where she is. Users must select the
planet that she is hiding on. Whether they pick the correct planet or not, the user still learns a
small fact about each planet as they play. Along the top of the page, there is a link where
teachers and parents can read about different activities they can do with kids sorted by topic area,
including space.

EXTENSION ACTIVITY #1
ABC SPACE BIG BOOK
Materials: Crayons, markers, Large sheets of paper, stapler
Instructions: Assign each student a different letter of the alphabet. Ask them to think of or find a
space related word that starts with their assigned letter. Encourage students to help one another
think of words. Have each student write their letter and word in large print on their sheet of
paper. Then instruct each child to illustrate their page with pictures of the space related word
they chose. When all the letters have been finished, staple them into a large ABCs of Space
book to display at the library or in the classroom.

EXTENSION ACTIVITY #2
MEMORY GAME
Materials: Large index cards, markers, crayons, names of major planets and dwarf planets listed
on board or large sheet of paper, rubber bands
Instructions: Distribute index cards to students. Have them write the name of each major planet
and dwarf planet on a separate card (having the names written on a board or large paper will help
with spelling questions). Have them repeat the process, so each student has two matching cards
for each planet. Have them discuss what features each planet has and draw the planet on the
cards with the correct name.
After all of this is done, each child will have a deck of handmade planet cards with which they
can play concentration or memory. They should shuffle their cards, then place them face down
in lines. One at a time they should turn a card over and then try to find a matching card
elsewhere on the board. If the two cards match they get to keep them, if they dont match they
go face down and the next player takes a turn. Play continues until all the cards are matched.
The player with the most matches wins the game. When they are finished playing have them use
rubber bands to fasten their card decks together.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CRAFT AND PICTURE OF COMPLETED CRAFT

Materials: Black or dark blue construction paper, white construction paper, scissors, paint,
crayons, markers, glue sticks
Instructions: Have students cut circles of different sizes out of white construction paper (help as
needed or if many children will have problems, have the circles pre-cut). Explain the circles they
cut are going to be planets. Have students color, paint, and otherwise decorate the planets as
they see fit. Then take white paint or crayons and paint/color stars onto the black or blue paper.
Finally have the students glue their planets onto the paper. For younger students dont focus
much on accuracy of placement of the planets or their relative size. For older students, discuss
the order the planets go in and their relative size and encourage them to try and be as accurate as
they can be on a limited sheet of paper.

LIST OF SUPPLIES NEEDED AND A BUDGET FOR ALL ITEMS (INCLUDE ANY SPECIAL SUPPLIES
NEEDED FOR CRAFTS OR ACTIVITY EXTENSIONS)
Crayons--$3
Markers--$4
Washable Paint--$7
Black or dark blue construction paper--$2
White construction paper--$1
Stapler--$8
Index cards--$2
Rubber bands--$1
Total: $28

CONTENT SHEET
Crayons--$3**
Markers--$4**
Washable Paint--$7**
Black or dark blue construction paper--$2*
White construction paper--$1*
Stapler--$8
Index cards--$2*
Rubber bands--$1*
Arnold, Tedd. Green Wilma: Frog in Space.
Bone, Emily. The Solar System.
Bredeson, Carmen. What is the Solar System?
Carney, Elizabeth. Planets.
Carson, Jana. We Both Read: About Space (2nd Ed.).
DuRoss, Mike (Ed.). Learning about the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars.
Hughes, Catherine D.. Aguilar, David A. (Ill.). National Geographic Little Kids: First Big Book
of Space.
Leedy, Loreen. Postcards from Pluto: A Tour of the Solar System.
McGranaghan, John. Klein, Laurie Allen (Ill.). Meet the Planets.
OByrne, Dr. John. My first pocket Guide: Stars and Planets.
Powell, Sarah. Friggens, Nicola and Radcliffe, Katherine (Designers). Space.
Rabe, Tish. Ruiz, Aristides (Ill.). Theres No Place Like Space! All about Our Solar System (Rev.
Ed.).

All Materials should be returned with kit, with the exception of single starred (*) materials
needed for crafts and extension activities
Double starred (**) materials will need to be replaced occasionally, but not as often as
single starred materials