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Space Travel Stories

Space Travel Stories

What would it be like to travel in space? Students will learn about space exploration and then write and illustrate an imaginary space adventure.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Index Cards

Steps

  • Step 1

    Have students learn about past, present, and future missions to explore outer space. Questions they might explore include: When did space travel begin? Who was the first person to journey into space? What mission successfully put people on the moon and in what year? How do space stations differ from other space journeys? What is a space probe? How does a space shuttle differ from a spaceship? Who was the first American woman in space? What future space exploration missions are planned?

  • Step 2

    Ask students to write a brief story imagining a themselves journeying in space. What sights might they see? What if they encounter life on other planets? Have them illustrate themselves in a spaceship or on an imaginary space journey. They might want to draw a picture of their family displayed in the spacecraft. This demonstrates how space travelers can look out at the wonders around them and at the same time enjoy reflecting on their family back home.

  • Step 3

    Have students present their art and stories to the class and discuss what they would most like to explore on their imaginary journey through outer space.

Standards

LA: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

VA: Select media, techniques, an processes; analyze what makes them effective or not effective in communicating ideas; and reflect upon the effectiveness of choices.

VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.

LA: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

LA: Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

MATH: Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

SCI: Obtain and communicate information about the sizes of stars, including the sun, and their distances from Earth to explain their apparent brightness.

SCI: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of science and technology in the design process for developing and refining devices to understand the universe.

SS: Give examples of conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among individuals, groups, and nations.

SS: Examine the effects of changing technologies on the global community.

SS: Identify and use various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, and others.

Adaptations

Possible classroom resources include: Space: A Visual Encyclopedia by DK Publishing; 13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System by David A. Aquilar;

Working in teams of two or individually, students investigate the early life and professional careers of self-selected astronauts from the Mercury and Apollo programs in the United States. Organize research into an electronic format for presentation to classmates.

Students research information about the first American walk in space and/or on the Moon. Compare and contrast these to the first walk in space by Russian cosmonaut Colonel Leonov.

Investigate any and all advancements in technology that enabled space programs to be successful. Who were the scientists and engineers behind the advancements? How did each of these advancements move the space programs forward?

What if life on Jupiter or Saturn were possible? Students compose an original story of space traveler characters traveling to and living on planets. What information would they bring back to you? Compare and contrast life on Earth with life, as these travelers experienced it, on another planet.