Northern Lights

 

Activity: 

For the Northern Lights activity we started out with an introduction and overview of auroras and how they form in Earth's atmosphere. Students then practiced four different watercolor pastel techniques on scratch paper. Using those techniques, they painted northern lights on black construction paper, experimenting with color and motion to mimic the glowing sky. Next, students used a second sheet of black construction paper to sketch and cut out a mountain silhouette onto their painted background and outlined the shape with white watercolor pastels. 

Extension Activity: 

I would have the students create a "Layers of the Atmosphere" visual journal page or mixed media piece. Building on their understanding of auroras, students would research the Earth's atmospheric layers - troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere - and create a layered artwork showing where the aurora occurs. Using watercolor, colored pencils, or collage, they can illustrate the layers, label them, and include facts about each one.