Classroom Activities: Earth

These classroom activities are designed to complement the Earth topic on BrainPOP Jr.

Creative Writing Aliens
Is there life on other planets? Hold a discussion with your students and invite volunteers to share their opinions. Then have students create their own aliens. Students should write a description of their alien and describe the planet they are from. Then have students draw a picture or make a model of their alien. Students can use clay or reuse household objects to create their models. Invite students to share their aliens and display them in the classroom.

Earth in Motion

Many students have difficulties visualizing how the moon orbits the Earth and how the Earth orbits the Sun. Have small groups create models of the moon, Earth, and Sun out of balls, clay, foil, or paper. Then have the groups model the Moon’s orbit around Earth and the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. If possible, have the groups film their models using video cameras. Students can also use digital cameras to do stop-motion animations or print pictures to make flipbooks.

Museum Trip

If possible, take a trip to an air and space museum or a natural history museum to learn about the Earth. Many museums have specialists who can talk about the Earth’s history and outer space with your students. You may wish to brainstorm questions together as a class in preparation to ask the experts.