2nd Grade Solar Systems

This was a really fun lesson for my second-graders. I'm really short on 3D materials, so for the rockets I just used cardboard. I was initially going to prime it white so the metallic paint would show up better but I didn't have the time (or the white paint) to cover 50 students worth of cardboard. They got really creative with their ships and made some look like futuristic star wars-esque fighter planes! As far as the composition goes, I had them make at least 5 planets using at least 3 colors in each. We added black for shadow, emphasizing scale and overlapping. As a finishing touch I had them apply some glitter glue with Q-tips to add a little extra 'umph' to the work. FYI my new favorite way to use glitter is to use glitter glue as an overlay or laminate instead of glitter paint. It's a million times better, has a thicker consistency and looks great over oil pastels without changing the color. The only thing you have to worry about is that you can't use it like paint because its too thick and if you were to try to spread it with a paint brush, because of its sticky texture, it wouldn't spread evenly. But if all you want to do is use it as an accent its really great.