Astronaut Lapbook for Elementary Students
This astronaut lapbook teaches your elementary student about an astronaut’s life in outer space.
Your students will complete hands-on activities and mini-books with this Astronauts Lapbook while they learn what astronauts have to wear, what they eat, what they work on, and how they have fun in space.
Also included is a writing prompt for creative writing practice.
This learning folder includes eight different activity booklets for your student to complete, plus hands-on learning activities and will take around 4 or 5 school days to complete.
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Resources used in the Astronaut Lapbook
Astronauts Library List
Daring Dozen: The Twelve Who Walked on the Moon by Suzanne Slade
If You Were a Kid Docking at the International Space Station (If You Were a Kid Series) by Josh Gregory
Floating in Space (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Dr. Franklyn Branley
International Space Station (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Dr. Franklyn Branley OR Home Address: ISS: International Space Station (Smithsonian) by James Buckley, Jr.
What the Moon is Like (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2) by Dr. Franklyn Branley
One Giant Leap: The Story of Neil Armstrong by Don Brown
Just for Fun:
To see what astronaut Chris Hadfield saw on his travels through space, check out his book, You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes: Photographs from the International Space Station, from your local library.
Online Resources about Astronauts
Learn how astronauts eat in space
How food is packaged (and eaten) in space Note: the first 6 minutes of this video is all they really need to watch.
Find out who is currently in space at NASA
Biographies of former astronauts with NASA
Parts of an EVA suit for spacewalks
If this is your first time completing a lapbook, read this first to learn how to fold your folders to create the lapbook base.
Astronaut Lapbook Activities:
Lapbook Cover Create a personalized Astronaut photo for the lapbook cover using the included astronaut cut out and a picture or drawing of your student’s face.
Space Travel Then and Now Use the matchbook mini books to write about space travel in the 1900s and in the 21st century (since the end of the space shuttle program).
Astronaut Food Use the fan fold to write about eating in space. Eat some space food, like a freeze dried ice cream bar. We made chocolate pudding and ate it out of a Ziploc bag with a hole cut in the corner. The astronauts eat and drink many items out of the same packaging as Capri-Sun fruit drinks, so you could drink some of those, or make some Tang orange drink, which was originally created just for the astronauts. Most of the astronauts’ meals are freeze dried, just like backpacking meals, like this freeze dried lasagna.
Clothing Use the index cards to write about three of an astronaut’s different types of clothing: a flight suit, and entry suit, and the EVA, or space suit.
Famous Astronauts Use the astronaut biography fan booklet to write about your favorite astronauts: John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride, and Mae Jemison (also includes one blank card to write about your favorite astronaut).
Fun in Space What do astronauts do for fun while in space? Answer in the booklet.
Life in Space Answer the questions in the flap book about life inside the International Space Station.
What would you take with you? In the rocket fold, write at least 5 personal items you would take with you into space.
Writing Prompt If I could go into space…
Bonus: Includes clip art to color and cut out to decorate your astronaut lapbook.
Hands-on Astronaut Activities
Make a space helmet. We used a brown paper bag, cut shorter and with eye holes. We decorated it with a flag and aluminum foil.
Build a Bubble Powered Rocket
Make a Paper Rocket
Check out the huge Astronauts Unit Study on our sister site, Whole Child Homeschool, with lessons for preschool up to high school. For example, your kids will:
- Create their own control panels
- Name their spaceship using alliteration
- Learn about the women of NASA (Hidden Figures)
- Conduct an experiment to see which writing utensil works in space
- And find out why Frisbees were first marketed as “UFOs”
- Plus many other fun lessons & activities!
The new, updated version of the lapbook (which includes the printables, updated resource links, books, and instructions is now in the HHO Shop
If you’d rather have the old copy of the astronaut lapbook, it is still in the Free Resource Library. Look under Lapbooks
Related Space Pages:
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