Students will investigate relative size and distance by creating a basic model of our solar system.

This interactive resource brings the universe down to size. Students consider questions like: If the Earth is the size of a Brussels sprout, how big is the Sun? If the solar system is the size of a fried egg, how big is our galaxy? Students can type in their home or school address and the program will model distances between things in the universe.

The human mind has its limits. The universe may be infinite. How them can studnets begin to wrap their minds around it? In this archived webinar, Phil Sadler of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory shows how to bring the cosmos down to size by using the process of an scientific investigation: selecting a specific problem, collecting data, and building a model that both explains our observations and accurately predicts future findings. While this resource is largely geared to teachers who are planning solar system instruction, excerpts from the webinar could also be used with students in the classroom.

Recognize that the earth is part of a system called the solar system that includes the sun (a star), planets, and many moons and the earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system. 

Students construct - and where approproate, calculate - a scale model of the solar model of the solar system using beads and string. Students will observe the relative distances of the planets, asteroid belt and dwarf planet Pluto from one another and from the sun, and gain a better understanding of the vast differences between planets in the outer solar system compated with those in the inner solar system.

In this lesson, students learn how to work together and communicate effectively while reinforcing classroom material regarding the solar system.

This is an interactive resource in which students can learn about the various planets in our solar system.

Students join Hannah on a trip through the solar system in this "hip-hopera" that uses song and dance to introduce the planets, moons, asteroids and more. Download the lyrics for students to learn and perform or just play the videos in class.

Students acquire a basic understanding of the make-up of the universe. They will become familiar with the main planets of the solar system and recognize the difference between a star and a planet. Teacher Notes for the activity are in the database as a separate resource.

Students acquire a basic understanding of the make-up of the universe. They will become familiar with the main planets of the solar system and recognize the difference between a star and a planet. The student pages for the activity are in the database as a separate resource.

This is an activity about perspective. Learners will examine pictures of objects up close and far away to try and figure out what they are. Then, given an image of a star and the Sun and through discussion about the differences and similarities of seeing objects up close, learners will use the concept of perspective to relate our nearby Sun to the stars that appear as small points of light in our sky.

Students use context to find out the meaning of words and analyze the elements that make up a word to find out its meaning. The text discusses the stages of life in the Sun. Teacher Notes for the activity are in the database as a separate resource.

Students use context to find out the meaning of words and analyze the elements that make up a word to find out its meaning. The text discusses the stages of life in the Sun. The student pages for the activity are in the database as a separate resource.

This is a whole class activity in which the class will physically model how the planets move around the sun. Students will see all the planets smallest to biggest and their distance from the sun. The students will learn about vocabulary words: solar system, revolution, rotation, and orbit.

Using Wonders Literature Anthology and students Reading/Writing Companion, students will learn “What we know about Earth and its neighbors”.  Students will read about discoveries in space and how we learn more about our solar system.  After reading texts from Wonders using literature anthology and student reading writing companion, students will be placed in 9 groups (representing one planet each) and conduct research on their planet.  Students will create a one pager displaying a drawing or image of their planet with six facts (facts must include size, temperature, and an option of four other facts).  Students will then utilize Makey Makey to conduct an oral presentation of their project by coding and recording facts.  After completion, students will do a Gallery Walk to visit each planet while completing interactive guided note sheet in Google Slides.

In this activity, students will model, in three dimensions, the relative sizes of the planets.