How To Make A Foam Model Of Earth's Rotation

Teaching children about the Earth's orbit can be a little tricky without some form of three-dimensional visual aid. Thankfully, you and your class can make one using some inexpensive foam balls, markers and craft wire. You could even use this craft as a means of testing the student's knowledge of the Earth's orbit.

Step 1

Color the large foam ball orange and yellow for the sun.

Step 2

Color the small foam ball blue and brown for the Earth. Older students could even sketch the continents.

Step 3

Color the marble-sized ball grey, for the moon.

Step 4

Cut a 24-inch piece of craft wire and form it into a loop. Poke the earth ball and then wrap the ends together.

Step 5

Cut another piece of wire, just long enough to go from one end of the large loop to the other. Poke the sun ball with this wire and position the sun in the middle of the large loop.

Step 6

Cut one last piece of craft wire just long enough to stretch across the width of the oval and place it through the earth ball, connecting the moon's orbit to the earth.