Skip to Main Content

Alien Spaceships

Students will imagine that life exists on other planets and use their out-of-the-world ideas to create an alien spaceship and write about the adventures it has.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Chenille Sticks
  • Recycled Materials
  • Ribbon
  • Tape

Steps

  • Step 1

    Read a book such as "Aliens Are Coming!" by Meghan McCarthy, which recounts how people reacted to the 1938 broadcast of "War of the Worlds" or "Your Alien" by Tammi Sauer and Goro Fujita, which is about a boy who befriends an alien from outer space. Discuss how people might react to things or people they might not yet know or understand. Why do we tend to fear the unfamiliar? How can stepping out of our comfort zone to explore something new benefit us? How can being open to new insights, while making sure to be cautious of potential risks, lead to tolerance and open-mindedness?

  • Step 2

    Have students write a story about traveling in a spaceship or meeting an alien who comes to Earth. Where would they travel to? Who might they meet? How would they communicate to the alien about life on Earth? What would they want to ask the alien about its planet?

  • Step 3

    Ask students to create a spaceship that might hold humans who travel to another planet or aliens who travel to Earth. They can use an assortment of recycled materials, paper, markers, and other craft items.

  • Step 4

    Have students present their art and read their stories to the class.

Standards

LA: Develop real and imagined narratives. 

SEL: Responsible Decision-Making: Demonstrate curiosity and open-mindedness. 

SEL: Self-Awareness: Examine personal perspectives and biases, with a focus on honesty and integrity. 

Adaptations

Have students create an alien out of Model Magic, then write a brief bio to accompany the sculpture. Imagine a newly discovered planet that the alien is from. What is the planet's name? What is the habitat on this planet? What activities does this alien enjoy on its home planet? 

Have students create another space story, this time using real images from outer space to inspire them. Sites such as hubblesite.org, webbtelescope.org/images, or NASA.gov/image-galleries show current images transmitted by the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.