Have you heard all the buzz about this year’s North America total solar eclipse? After the total eclipse on April 8, 2024, the next total eclipse in the contiguous United States will not be until April 23, 2044. That’s 20 years from now! For this reason, celebrating and incorporating the eclipse into classroom activities can make it a memorable experience for you and your students. Here are a variety of engaging Solar Eclipse activities you can incorporate into your 4th & 5th grade ELA block.
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Solar Eclipse Classroom Set Up
No need for anything extravagant, but setting up the stage to engage can get students excited for the day.
- Bring in sun balloons.
- Hang up yellow, white, and black streamers.
- Put up a Happy Solar Eclipse banner on the front door or on the board.
Solar Eclipse Theme Ideas
Kids love a good theme and this day will be the perfect excuse to have one. Have students dress up for the day.
Two Ideas:
- Dress up in yellow, white, or black clothing.
- Wear galaxy related clothing.
Solar Eclipse Snack Ideas
Kids get really excited about snacks, so here are a few fun snack ideas. (As always, make sure your students do not have an allergies to these foods.)
Candy & Gum Ideas:
- Milky Way
- Eclipse Gum
- Orbit Gum
Snack Ideas:
- Sun Chips
- Sunflower seeds
- Sun-Maid raisins
- Moon Pie
- Powdered Doughnut Holes (as moon)
- Oranges (as the sun)
- Bananas (as moon)
Drink Ideas:
- Sunny-D
- Capri-Sun
- Sunkist
Solar Eclipse Game Ideas
Indoor Games:
Infusing some solar eclipse themed games are an engaging idea. Some of these games can be used as a part of your test prep review.
Have students complete a review sheet. For each answer they get correct, they get a turn at the game.
- Tic-Tac-Toe (sun vs moon)
- Tin Toss (add point values to the tin to make it that more challenging and fun)
- Paper Plate toss (get a point for each time the “moon” covers the “sun”)
- Pin the moon over the sun (Give each student a numbered moon and a blindfold. One at a time, students come up to the poster, put their blindfolds on, get spun 3 times, and then walk forward to pin their moon on the poster. The closest moon to cover the entire sun wins.)
Outdoor Games:
- Hide and Seek
- Step on the shadow (played like freeze tag, but they step on each other’s shadows)
Read Aloud Picture Books
I don’t know about you, but I will use any excuse to share a read aloud with my upper elementary students. This Total Solar Eclipse Day is no exception. You can find a list of solar eclipse read aloud books that pair well with the theme on this related blog post.
Student Gift Ideas
- Total Solar Eclipse bookmarks
- Solar Eclipse safe glasses
- Galaxy themed bouncy stress balls
ELA Activities
As an upper elementary teacher, we know how important it is to tie the activities to standards, especially with state testing right around the corner. Below are some fun Solar Eclipse Themed ELA Activities that are standard based.
- Have students work with idioms. Choose ones that have a sun or moon theme included. (ex. Catch-22 or Two peas in a pod)
- Introduce students to the root luna. Have them define different works that include the root in it.
- Challenge them to make a list of adjectives that are relatable to the sun.
- Challenge your students to find synonyms for the word “total.”
- Have them write about what they think life will be like in 20 years.
- Set up a timer and have them read for 24 minutes. Students then reflect on what they read and write a quick summary.
Brain Break or Just for Fun Activities
- Have students participate on the “not a sun” drawing challenge. Have them draw the top of the sun on a paper and turn it into something that is not a sun.
- Challenge them to see how many words they can come up with by using the letters in SOLAR ECLIPSE. Want to make it more challenging? Give them just 2 minutes.
- Give students solar eclipse themed puzzles to work on. These are great not only as brain break activities but also for fast finishers.
Make planning easy with this Solar Eclipse Activities ELA Pack!
Introduce Eclipse Related Vocabulary
As an ELA teacher, introducing new vocabulary to our students is important. Use this opportunity to expose your students to eclipse related words.
I hope you found a couple of inspirational ideas. Wishing you and your students a wonderful Eclipse Day!
