an Astronomy Living Book List

We approached astronomy this year the same way we studied trees last year.  Instead of following a text, I gathered books on our topic from the library.  We read books on various comprehension levels to encompass the learning levels of all my students from the 5th grader on down to the 2-year-old. 

General: 
Glow In The Dark Outer Spaceby Nicholas Harris 
On Earthby G. Brian Karas 
Asteroids, Comets, and Meteoroids by Fran Howard 
The Magic School Bus Lost In The Solar System by Joanna Cole

Sun:  
The Sun Is My Favorite Star by Frank Asch  
Sun Up, Sun Down by Gail Gibbons 
Sun Up, Sun Down: The Story of Day and Night by Jacqui Bailey

Moon: 
Phases of the Moon by Gillia Olson 
The Best Book of the Moon by Ian Graham

Constellations:  
Seeing Starsby Dandi Daley Mackall 
Our Starsby Anne Rockwell  
The Glow in the Dark Night Sky Bookby Clint Hatchett 
Find the Constellationsby H.A. Rey 
Wishing on a Star: Constellation Stories and Stargazing Activities for Kids by Fran Lee

Planets:  

The Planetsby Martha E. H. Rustad 
Every Planet Has a Place by Becky Baines   
Planets and Their Moons by John Farndon  
True or False: Planets by Melvin and Gilda Berger 
Why Isn't Pluto a Planet? by Steve Kortenkamp

We supplemented our reading with lots of outdoor observation and a few notebooking and hands-on activities.

• Diagram layers of the earth
• Observe shadows at 9 am, 1 pm, and 5 pm; sketch the differences
  
• Make moon phase booklet (part of this lapbook download on weather)
  
• Illustrate phases of the moon with Oreos
• Make constellation pictures with gold star stickers
• Make constellation disks
• Diagram planets in order