If you’re thinking about trying an outer space classroom transformation but aren’t sure where to begin, this guide walks you through the process from start to finish. It breaks everything down into simple, teacher-friendly steps so you can create a fun, low-prep day that feels like a trip through the galaxy. With the outer space classroom transformation as the focus, this overview shows exactly how to plan, set up, teach, and wrap up a smooth and memorable themed experience.
This space classroom transformation aligns with many math and reading standards and is for grades K-5.
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Tell your class they are going to become astronauts exploring outer space right in your classroom!! Students will be reviewing different skills around the room at each station. The challenges can be completed in any order.
And the best part? You as the teacher are able to easily choose how many challenges students complete / what time frame they have to meet YOUR needs.
Setting up is really easy. Simply print the posters, challenges, and a recording sheet for each student. Place them around your room and you’re ready to begin! You can decorate as much or as little as you want to. Everything is included for you so it’s easy to pick and choose what you want to put up on this special day.
I print out the included posters and put them up around the room. It can also be a lot of fun to decorate the door with the space posters so students see this as soon as they enter the school.
I also like to buy a few items from Amazon to display around the room. My partner teacher even got some balloons filled with helium from the Dollar Store that look like stars!
Students loved seeing them when they walked in. Check out these space shower curtains you can hang up.
A fun addition was also this spaceship tent! Students loved crawling through it to have me check each challenge they completed.
I also hung up some stars from the ceiling where students enter the room. These held up all day and I could tell the whole class enjoyed them every time we entered or exited the room.
The main focus of our classroom was a spaceship blow-up float! You can find bunches of these on Amazon. I hung it from the ceiling with some string!
You can also put up these free digital slides as no-cost decor:
Grab them here in this freebie!
“Extras” certainly aren’t needed for room transformations, but they can be super fun if you want to include them! If you want to add any additional decorations, you may like some of these ideas:
Looking for even more ideas? I’ve got you covered right here with my Classroom Transformation Decoration Lists!
On each student’s desk, I put an admission ticket that really gets them excited for our day together. Many of my students enjoy using the admission ticket as a bookmark for the rest of the week too.
Putting a name tag on their desk for them to wear while working can add in some extra pizzazz too. I let them tape it to their shirt with a piece of masking tape so it’s no extra work for me. I actually printed the name tags “poster size” for this room transformation so we could put the name tags on their desk to make it look like their “personal space ship” had their name on it!
Another important thing to do is add directions to your whiteboard or Smart TV for students to see when they enter (for space day, I taped the directions to the door). This lets students know what to expect and sets the scene right from the beginning. You can actually grab this slide for FREE along with 40 Free Room Transformation Slides! Scroll up a bit and you’ll see the link. It’s completely customizable so you can edit it to say whatever you prefer. There are plenty options included in the free download for many room transformation themes.
I print out the station posters and challenges. These get placed around the room. Students will travel around the room during the space classroom transformation and complete a challenge at each poster. For space day, I laid each academic challenge under each planet! So under Jupiter, I set up the academic challenge that goes with Jupiter. I set this up in the morning before my students come in so everything’s ready to go. Set-up is quick and easy.
Interested in trying this in your classroom?
When all students have arrived, set your expectations for the day. Make sure students know that this is a learning experience and a privilege. If you put behavior expectations in place before starting, the room transformation will run much more smoothly and set you up to have a GREAT day.
There are a few things to consider discussing with your class before beginning…how will they be working? In groups? Partners? Independently? Do they get to choose? How many challenges will they need to complete before they finish? How much time will they have to complete the activities? Do they need to show their work? What will they do when they’re done? Decide the answers to these questions beforehand so you can prepare students for a wonderful experience.
When you’re ready to begin, explain to students they will receive a recording sheet and will be going around the room to complete different challenges! Each time they finish a challenge, they need to bring you both the challenge they completed and their recording sheet for you to mark.
You can see in this example that the student finished the “Jupiter Challenge”, so I initialed that box on their recording sheet. Or, in the picture above that, you can see another student opted to put s[ace star stickers on their paper each time they finished a space challenge. When students finish a challenge, they get to choose another one to complete. Sometimes I have my class do all 10 challenges, and sometimes I only have them complete 5 or 6. It just depends on the class, the day, and what skill we’re working on. Do what works best for your class. These room transformations are meant to be flexible and are also 100% editable! If there’s a skill your students haven’t learned yet, or you live in a state where that standard doesn’t apply, simply edit the content to what you need instead.
Are you new to classroom transformations or thinking about trying one? I’m here to help! You can explore more classroom transformation tips on my website, and you’re always welcome to follow along on Instagram, Facebook, Facebook Group, or Tiktok for extra ideas and resources.
Looking for ready-to-go K–5 math and reading classroom transformations?
You can find over 500 print, editable, and digital transformations in my Website Shop. Use the filters on the side to search by grade level and subject!
Or, you can browse all 40 classroom transformation themes for each grade level on TPT right here.
Want to add some fun decorations to your next room transformation? I’ve got you covered right here with my Classroom Transformation Decoration Lists!
