Download 4th-grade-science-lesson-plan

SPACE JAM
PURPOSE & SOL
 Students will review the 8 different planets
 SOL 4.7 The Solar System
o The planets in the solar system
o The order of the planets in the solar system
o The relative size of the planets
MATERIALS
 Space Jam Cards
 9 Cones with numbers (sun and one per planet)
INTRODUCTION
 Review the planets and have students give you facts they know
about the planet. Have students do a small activity that matches
the fact they said. (Example: if they say Neptune is far away and
cold have them shiver and pretend they are there. If they say
Saturn has a ring have them spin in a circle with their arms out.
Etc.)
IMPLEMENTION
1. Sets up the ‘sun’ cone first, the starting point. Then as a class have
student help judge where the next cone goes, placing all eight
cones representing the planets and the distance they are from the
sun. *For best results have this outside
2. Give each child a space jam card
3. Have students get into groups so that there is one student with
each planet. (If there are more than 8 students per group, hand
out the introduction cards. If not, the teacher will read this aloud
so each group can hear)
4. The group will see who has the first planet, read it, and then the
entire group will proceed to do the activity.
5. This will continue until all cards are used and the students reach
Neptune
COOL DOWN
 Get back in the space ship and walk back to the sun, naming all the
planets (backwards) as you pass them
VARIATIONS
 If playing indoors, have students go one by one to their particular
planet instead of entire group
INTRODUCTION: Today, we will be
taking a tour through space. First, we
need to put on our moon boots. They
will allow us to walk through space.
Now, we have to get in our space
ship and go to the first planet!
MERCURY: I am Mercury! The first
planet from the sun! Mercury is very
hoot…so, OUCH, be careful and
step quickly so your feet do not get
burned. Mercury also has many
craters. On the count of 3, let’s jump
into a crater and see what we find. 12-3, JUMP! Climb out of the crater
so we can march to Venus.
VENUS: Venus is the second planet
from the sun. This planet has very
strong winds and volcanoes. See if
you can walk through the wind
without blowing over. A lot of the
surface of Venus is covered with
lava, and here comes some…RUN!
EARTH: The next stop is Earth, the
third planet from the sun. Seventyone percent of the Earth’s surface is
water, so hop in and start swimming.
See if you can do the front crawl and
the backstroke. Our next stop will be
Mars.
MARS: Mars is known as the red
planet. The largest mountain in
space, Olympic Mons, is located on
Mars. See if you can climb to the top!
JUPITER: Jupiter is the fifth planet
from the sun. It is made up of mostly
gas and you can see clouds when you
look at this planet. Find a cloud and
see if you can float on it.
SATURN: Our next stop is Saturn,
the sixth planet from the sun. It has
a rocky core and there are areas of
ice throughout the planet. There are
also rings of gases around Saturn.
WHOA, there is a huge piece of ice,
be careful and slide across it. Hop on
one of the rings surrounding Saturn
and spin around in circles.
URANUS: Uranus is our next stop. It
has a small rocky core. Can everyone
tiptoe across Uranus watching out
for ice? Next, let’s visit Neptune.
NEPTUNE: Neptune has four rings
and large storms with fast winds. It
also has 13 moons. Quick, DUCK!
Here comes a moon, move to the left
so you do not get hit.
COOL DOWN: We are so far away
from the sun, its freezing! Shiver and
rub your hands together to stay
warm. This ends our tour of space.
Grab a partner and ride back to the
sun in your space station.