Curated OER
Our Solar System
Students investigate the coincidental parade of planets and witness dramatic views of the solar system by researching websites and participating in online activities. They write about their findings.
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Flying Through the Solar System
Students create a model of the solar system out of candy. They write a book about their travels through the Solar System, beginning at age ten and reaching Pluto at age seventy.
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Solar System Slide Show
Students work in small groups to research a planet in our Solar System in order to compare it to Earth. They examine the planet's size, atmosphere, rotation and revolution periods, temperature, and other attributes. They collect...
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Scale Model of the Solar System
Students work in groups of 4-6 for the experiment/activity part of this exercise. Students know that earth is the third planet from the sun in a system that includes the moon, the sun, eight other planets and their moons, and smaller...
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The 'Solar' System Past and Present
Students identify cardinal and intermediate directions, recognize that models changes due to new or improved observations and technology, identify the major characteristics of the planets including their positions in the solar system,...
Curated OER
The Solar System
Students describe the different bodies that make up our solar system, explain the place of our solar system within the Milky Way Galaxy and the universe, explain day and night and the Earth's movement, and describe the relationship...
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Solar Kit Lesson #7 - Positioning Solar Panels I: Explorations with Tracking
In this first part of a two-part lesson, learners track and record the sun's azimuth using a solar panel. They graph and analyze the data to identify relationships among the time of day, the altitude and azimuth of the sun, and the...
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A Journey Through Our Solar System
Pupils investigate the concept of the solar system in our universe by constructing a model that is made to a measurable scale. Once the model is constructed it should be placed in a wide open space for observation and demonstration...
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The Solar System
In this solar system activity, students match planet names with pictures, then write superlative sentences about each planet. A website reference for additional resources is given.
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Solar System: Let's Take a Trip
Third graders consider outer space. In this introductory solar system lesson plan, 3rd graders complete a KWL chart and listen to the story The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System, by Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen. They will...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Scaling Down the Solar System
Learners work collaboratively to gain a better understanding of the vastness of space by scaling down the solar system. They measure by inches, gain an understanding of space, and model the distances of the planets from the sun.
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The Outer Planets
Students study the planets Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. In this solar system lesson plan, students read facts about the planets and their location in the solar system. Images, diagrams, and background information on the planets is...
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Characteristics of the Outer Planets
A brief reading comprehension exercise, this worksheet covers the characteristics of the outer planets. It still considers Pluto a planet and Charon its moon. It is therefore a little out of date, but this fact can be discussed as part...
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The Sun and Its Planets-Practice Test
In this sun and planets worksheet, 3rd graders answer 14 multiple choice questions about the solar system, the size of planets in comparison to the sun, asteroids, the components of the sun and features of planets.
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GED Vocabulary: Earth and Space Science
For this earth and space science worksheet, students complete a crossword puzzle given seven clues and seven terms about earthquakes, the solar system, and convection currents.
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Solar System Wordsearch
In this solar system worksheet, students find words that have to do with the solar system in this wordsearch. Students find 18 words.
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Redesign the Rover: Mars Research Year-Round
Young scholars discuss the solar system, the planets, periods of orbit and revolution. In this space lesson students discuss the importance of the study of Mars and brainstorm ideas on how NASA might solve its Rover design...
Smarter Balanced
View Through a Telescope
Preparing for an assessment? Here's an activity that will ensure that all class members have the background knowledge they need to demonstrate their skills on a performance task related to the solar system and the tools astronomers use...
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Solar System Activity Pages
In this solar system instructional activity, students complete a word search, crossword puzzle, word scramble, and cryptogram all relating to the solar system.
Journey Through the Universe
Where to Look For Life?
Every year we discover new planets including more than 1,000 in 2016 alone. Will we ever find life on another planet? The lesson includes two activities to help scholars understand this concept. First, they analyze the temperature range...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Planetary Distances on the Playground
There's no need to stay inside; get out of the classroom and create a scaled map of the solar system on your playground field! In collaborative groups, scholars identify the distance between the sun and other planets, place planet...
Curated OER
Space and Science Fiction
Use the Franklin Institute's exhibition "An Inquirer's Guide to the Universe" to have students research ideas for a science fiction story. After completing their research, writers will compose science fiction stories that incorporate...
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Blazing Gas
Fourth graders read and discuss the sun and the energy we use on Earth from the sun. In this sun lesson plan, 4th graders discuss the solar system, planets, and answer short answer questions.
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Probing Our Solar System
Third graders engage in a lesson plan utilizing small group activities and individual work incorporating student research on space satellites, probes and international connections. They, in groups, construct information disks, timelines,...