Our class theme for the 2008-2009 school year was "Planet 13." (Our room number is #13.)   Below is a description of how the theme was incorporated into bulletin boards, classroom management, and other activities throughout the school year.

On the first day of school, I took a picture of each student dressed in an astronaut costume in front of a planet fabric.  I then used Print Shop to crop the students' faces and put them on an outer space background with a Planet 13 graphic and border.  The posters were then displayed in our hallway.

Students also completed a profile sheet with a space border on which they described themselves and their personalities.

Download Astronaut Poster Print Shop Files (WinZip File)

(You must have WinZip to unzip the files.  There are also fonts included that you will need to install on your computer. before opening the Print Shop files.)

***Note: You must have Print Shop Version 23 or Print Shop 3.0 installed on your computer to open the Print Shop files once you have unzipped them.  The files will not open in Print Shop 2.0.)

Once you have opened the file in Print Shop, you can double click in the headlines to change the text.  You will also have to delete the current picture and insert pictures of your students.  I use the freehand crop tool in Print Shop to cut around the students' heads.

After:

See all of the Astronaut posters!

Each day a different student gets to be the "Martian Mathematician" and lead the class in a short review of common math concepts before we start our regular math lesson for the day.

Read More About Martian Math

Planet 13 Movie

We made a movie at the beginning of the year after the Planet 13 students wrote about what they would be doing in 20 years.  It was shown to parents at Curriculum Night.

Watch the Movie (25 MB)

In keeping with the space theme, each week a new student was honored as "Star of the Week."

Read more about Star of the Week

Students travel to word study centers in groups of four.  Each group was named as a planet in the solar system.

Read more about Word Study Centers

Classroom Economy

In our classroom economy, students earn money for doing jobs and being responsible.  In keeping with the space theme, our money was called "Cosmic Cash."  Students were able to use their Cosmic Cash to shop at the class store which was called the Solarset Mall.

Read more about our Classroom Economy

Each week, a newsletter is sent home to highlight the Star of the Week and to showcase special events and learning that is taking place in our classroom.  To go along with the space theme, our newsletter was called Planet 13 Press.

Read more about Creating a Weekly Newsletter

End of the Year Celebration or Open House

At the end of our school year, we celebrated our wonderful year together with a "Planet Party" video celebration where the Planet 13 students and their parents enjoyed a memory video with photos and video footage from our favorite events throughout the school year.  This could also be done at an open house or other similar event.

Read more and see pictures from the special event!