Introduction to Stars for Senior Infants
Objective:
• To introduce young children to the concept of stars, their characteristics, and their importance in space.
Materials Needed:
• Picture book – Stars by Mary Lyn Ray
• Star stickers
• Black card
• White chalk or crayons
• Glow-in-the-dark star stickers
• A torch
1. Introduction
o Begin with a simple question: “Who has seen stars in the night sky?”
o Show a picture book about stars, discuss a few pages to spark interest.
2. Discussion: What are Stars?
o Explain that stars are big balls of burning gas far away in space.
o Use simple language: “Stars are like big, hot lights in the sky. They are much bigger and hotter than our sun, but they look small because they are so far away.”
o Show pictures of different stars and constellations.
3. Activity: Star Creation
o Give each child a piece of black card and white chalk or crayons.
o Encourage them to draw stars on their paper.
o Hand out star stickers for them to add to their drawings.
o Discuss the constellations they created, explaining that people see pictures in the way stars are arranged in the sky.
4. Interactive Demonstration: How Stars Shine
o In a darkened room, use a torch to represent a star.
o Explain that just like the torch shines bright light, stars shine because they are very hot and bright.
o Let each child take a turn holding the torch and shining it in the room to understand how light travels from stars to us.
5. Conclusion:
o Review key points: Stars are far away, very hot, and shine brightly in the sky.
o Ask a few questions to reinforce learning:
“What are stars made of?”
“Why do they look small?”
“Can you name something that stars help us with?” (Guide them towards understanding navigation, light, and beauty in the night sky)