Aliens Love Underpants Activity

I think, of all the units we ever did in first grade, space had to be at the top of students’ lists of favorites. There is so much to learn, and the learning never ends! One of the most fun and creative parts of learning about space is thinking about aliens. Do they exist? What might they look like? What do they like to do? The questions go on and on. So to get my students writing we created our own aliens, but not until after reading Clair Freedman and Ben Cort’s beloved book, Aliens Love Underpants.

Have you read this book??? Not only is it about aliens, but it is also about underpants, and what 6 and 7-year-olds do not like books that involve underwear! I can say confidently, not many.

In Aliens Love Underpants, little aliens fly down to Earth, but not to meet the Earthlings, but to steal their underpants! They want all the underwear in all the sizes and all the colors. This story is hilarious, and kids want to hear it over and over again!

So, after reading and discussing this book, we set off to make our own aliens in underpants. Here is how we did it.

Materials Need for Aliens Love Underpants Craft & Writing:

✔️construction paper
✔️glue
✔️scissors
✔️your imagination

Making the Aliens

We closely examined the aliens in the book to identify their features before creating our own aliens. We wanted to be sure our aliens looked like aliens, not people. So we talked about their eyes, their shapes, and their special features like antennas. Then we began.

I took the kids step-by-step through. making the aliens. I did not want to use a stencil or template. I wanted to see what they could do on their own. This told me a lot about each student- their small motor skills, their ability to problem solve, and their willingness to take risks. 

Making the Head and Face

We started with one full piece of colored construction paper- their choice- and they simply cut out the head shape they wanted. As you can see from the photos, the head shapes varied quite a bit. I then had them add eyes and a mouth. Finally, they added any other special features they wanted. Some wanted additional eyes, while others wanted antennas. We did not make a body because our writing paper would be the alien’s body.

Making the Underpants

It was time for the underpants. I gave my students two options: they could freehand the underpants or use a stencil I created.They set about making their underwear, then decorated them with colored construction paper. The results were hilarious! 

Making the Underpants

It was time for the underpants. I gave my students two options: they could freehand the underpants or use a stencil I created.They set about making their underwear, then decorated them with colored construction paper. The results were hilarious! 

Hands and Feet

Again, I gave the students the option to add hands and legs/feet if they wanted. About half added them, and the rest were done and ready to move on.

Writing Activity

Once our aliens were done and set aside to dry, it was time to write. I asked my students to describe their aliens’ underpants.  I used my own alien creation to model the writing. I melded writing about what they look like, what they were made of, and why they took or are wearing that particular pair of underpants.

One student wrote:

“This is my alien, Rocky. He loves his underpants. His underpants are very colorful. They have yellow, brown, green, red, orange, and black shapes on it. He loves his colorful underpants.”

Putting it all Together

Now that all the parts are done, we mounted our writing on a piece of colored paper, glued the head at the top, and the underpants and legs/feet at the bottom.

That’s it! The aliens, their underpants, and the writing are complete! 

Aren’t these Aliens in Underpants charming?

Here are a few finished aliens in underpants.

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