Honors Program
Document Type
Syllabus
Date of this Version
Spring 4-16-2021
Citation
Miller, Alec & Osmundson, Katherine. "Out of this World Club!". After school club lesson plans. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2021.
Abstract
The purpose of Out of this World Club! was to make STEM and space less scary and intimidating, and display that anyone, even elementary students, can have fun learning about space. Each week consisted of learning about different planets in our solar system, their characteristics, and how they are similar or different from one another. The activities centered around creating something tangible that is representative of space. For example, the students designed asteroids with a rock and paint, created constellations out of toothpicks and mini marshmallows, and designed small rockets powered by blowing through a straw. A principal goal of this club was to provide a space after school for students to wind down and have an opportunity to learn under less pressure. We worked to be open to the students’ ideas and contributions during the club, and made sure to give space for the students to speak, listen, and ask questions. Some other goals of our club were to teach the students about space outside of Earth’s atmosphere and the missions and history of the space program. Space is fascinating and worth learning about; perhaps learning more about what is outside of our own planet can help us to better understand what is happening here on our home planet and give us more of an outsider’s perspective. We hope that these club activities provide you with the sufficient guidance to help young students better understand the world and universe around them.
Comments
Copyright 2021 by Alec Miller and Katherine Osmundson under Creative Commons Non-Commercial License. Individuals and organizations may copy, reproduce, distribute, and perform this work and alter or remix this work for non-commercial purposes only.