Vosonos
Interactive Minds: Solar System
Travel through space as you learn about the galaxy, solar system, planets, and much more. An extensive resource for studying astronomy in upper-elementary and middle school classrooms.
Curated OER
Orbital Bliss
Most young mathematicians are aware that the planets don’t orbit the sun in a circle but rather as an ellipse, but have never studied this interesting feature. This resource looks at the planetary orbits in more detail and helps learners...
Curated OER
Planetary Orbit
Students compare and contrast ellipses of various eccentricities that represent the shape of planetary orbits. They make a circle with the string by trying the two ends togther. Students calculate the eccentricity of their ellipses by...
Curated OER
Universal Proportions: Earth and Moon
Young scholars create scale models of Earth, the Moon, and the distances within the universe. Working in groups, they construct their models of Earth and the Moon on a scale of 50:1 and calculate how far apart to place their models. ...
Curated OER
Modeling Celestial Motion
In this modeling celestial motion activity, students fill in the blank about the motion of celestial bodies: planets and stars. Students complete the blanks with information about the scientists and philosophers responsible for early...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Solar System Fact Sheet
Use this handy chart to help acquaint yourself with major facts about the solar system. This chart is broken down by planet and displays data such as the size of the planet, distance from the sun, rotation period, orbital period,...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Scaled Images of the Solar System
Use the following lithographs to envision the scale of our solar system. View different models of planets at different scales, an infographic about the relative sizes of the planets and distance from the sun, and images of the largest...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Solar System Scale Model
Teach the concept of scale models and the size of the solar system through this extensive lesson plan. Students will learn about scale models, estimate which objects to use to create a scale model of Earth and Sun, and figure out how far...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physics Simulation: Orbital Motion
[Free Registration/Login Required] Understand angular momentum conservation in the absence of an applied torque in the context of planetary orbits using this interactive simulation. A PDF worksheet and a video tutorial are also...
Other
Chrome Experiments: 100,000 Stars
Zoom in and out to explore our galaxy in this interactive 3D visualization of the stellar neighborhood, including over 100,000 nearby stars.
NASA
Nasa: Solar System Dynamics
This resource provides information related to all known bodies in orbit around the sun. Content includes planetary orbits, JPL's Horizon System, natural satellite information, and more.
Mathigon
Mathigon: Geometry: Circle and Pi: Conic Sections
The circle is one of four different shapes which can be created using "slices" through a cone, a 3-dimensional solid that has a circular base joined to a single point (called the vertex) by a curved side. If you tilt a cone, you get an...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Planet Orbits in the Solar System Study Guide
Review planets orbiting in the solar system using this study guide.
Other
Sandburg Center for Sky Awareness: What Are the Shapes of the Planets' Orbits?
In this lesson plan investigation students learn about the shapes of the planetary orbits by experimenting with ellipses of different proportions.