Kindergarten Inquiry about the Solar System
This Solar System inquiry started when students were shown footage of the Mars 2020 launch. The Perseverance Rover was due to land on Mars later the same week so there was a lot of relevant news and videos about the Solar System.
We used this nonfiction resource for information, pictures, and videos. Click to find it in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
Outside, we used spray bottles with water and red food colouring to colour a snowbank red like Mars. We counted down and pretended to blast off, flying over to Mars.
Some students chose to make pictures and stories about space. We added a title and our artwork to the bulletin board outside our classroom. Students loved choosing where their planet would go.
The numbers below are a child’s representation of a countdown from 10 to 1.
One child came to school one morning with a fact to share. She wrote it on a sentence strip and added it to the wall, inspiring another student to find more information.
Inquiry-based learning is a great way to introduce children to the wonders of science, and what better topic than the Solar System? In a kindergarten classroom, exploring the Solar System through play-based learning can be an exciting and engaging experience for young minds. With inquiry activities such as art projects, experiments, and field trips, students can explore the planets in our Solar System in a fun and interactive way. By combining science with play-based learning, students can gain an understanding of the Solar System that will stay with them for years to come.
Related: How to Document Learning in the Ontario Kindergarten program: Strategies and Examples
