Download 1. The Solar System

Vanessa Reilly January 2007
to be plutoed
KWL
to devalue or demote someone or something
Ask the children what they Know about the planets.
Ask what the they Want to know.
At the end of the project, ask what they have Learnt.
Flashcards
Name the different planets.
Swat the word
Play the fly swat game with two children at the board. Say one of the planets. The first
child to ‘swat’ the planet stays at the board to play the next round. Another volunteer
comes out to the board to replace the child who was last to swat the word.
Or
Flashlight Flashcards
You need: two torches and two different colours of Cellophane paper.
The children do the same as ‘Swat the word’ but instead of swatting the word, they
need to be the first to shine their flashlight on the word.
Make a Planet Bookmark
Solar System Wordsearch
Superlatives and comparatives
This subject is very useful to practice or recycle the superlative and the comparatives.
Important adjectives are: large (big), small, hot, cold.
Sun
Mercury
1,390,000 km
4,878km
Venus
12,100 km
Earth
12,756 km
Mars
6,794 km
Jupiter
142,984 km
Saturn
120,536 km
Vanessa Reilly January 2007
Ordinal numbers
From first to eighth
Uranus
51,118 km
Neptune
49,528 km
Vanessa Reilly January 2007
Make a balloon Solar System and getting into order
You will need: 3 large balloons (punch balls) – the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn, 4 normal
size – Venus, Earth, Uranus, Neptune and 2 small ones (water bomb size) Mercury and
Mars. You could write the names of the planets on the different balloons in a permanent
marker.
Look at the information about the sizes of the planets. Talk about which is bigger,
smaller, which is the biggest/smaller, closest/furthest from the sun. Look at the relative
sizes table. Talk about their order from the sun – which is the first, second, third, etc.
Now give out the balloons to different children telling them which planet they are.
They need to work cooperatively, blowing up their balloons and comparing them to
each others. Once they have finished, they could stand in order and then orbit the sun.
Reading
The children read the information cards in pairs. First look at the superlatives and
comparatives and the ordinal numbers, to help the children understand the
information.
Then make the activity more visual and kinesthetic by asking the children to try to get
in the order of the planets.
Information on the cards
The Sun is 1,390,000 km in diameter. It is bigger than all the planets and their moons
put together!
Mercury is the first planet from the sun. It is 4,878km in diameter. That makes
Mercury the smallest planet in the Solar System. It is so hot on Mercury that metal
could melt there but at night it is colder than a freezer.
Venus is the second planet from the sun. It is 12,100km in diameter. That makes
Venus is the sixth-largest planet in the Solar System. It is also the hottest planet. It is
called the Evening Star. This is because it looks so bright from Earth.
Earth is the third planet from the sun. It is 12,756 km in diameter. That makes Earth is
the fifth-largest planet in the Solar System (after Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune). 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water. The other 30% is covered by
mountains, volcanoes, deserts, plains, and valleys.
Vanessa Reilly January 2007
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It is 6,794 km in diameter. That makes Mars
the second-smallest planet in the Solar System. Some of the meteorites found on Earth
are actually pieces of Mars.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. It is 142,984 km in diameter. That makes Jupiter
the largest planet in the Solar System. It is so large that all of the other planets in the
solar system could fit inside it!
Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. It is 120,536 km in diameter. That makes
Saturn the second-largest planet in the Solar System. Saturn has got a very low density.
This means it could float in water.
Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. It is 51,118 km in diameter. That makes
Uranus the third-largest planet in the Solar System. It is a huge, icy planet and covered
with clouds.
Neptune in the eighth and last planet from the sun. It is 49,528 km in diameter. That
makes Neptune the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System. It is so cold on Neptune
that you would need skin thicker than a polar bear's to stay warm.
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/planets.html
Meaningful copying activity
Write the planets in order of size.
The Sun
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
Write the planets in their order from the sun.
The Sun
1st
2nd
3rd
Vanessa Reilly January 2007
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
http://www.kidsknowit.com/educational-songs/play-educationalsong.php?song=The%20Planets – a rap with the planets Objectives:
Make a Solar System Mobile
Solar System Colouring Book or the Solar System Book –
Enchantedlearing
Planet Noughts and Crosses
1. Identify the planets and their relationship to the Sun.
2. Comprehend and follow verbal directions
3. Reinforce correct usage of the comparative and superlative cases
Procedure:
This activity is designed for use after students have become familiar with the
names and characteristics of the eight planets in our solar system.
1
2
3
4
?
5
6
7
8
Game 1
Vanessa Reilly January 2007
1. In two groups – Noughts and Crosses.
2. The groups take it in turns to choose a number and say the planet in relation to
the Sun depending on the number they choose, i.e. 1 = Mercury. If the group
answers correctly they can write their symbol (Nought or a cross) in the square.
3. The ? is a question you ask the group that chooses that square. Prepare a number
of questions beforehand.
4. The winners are the first group to get three in a row, horizontally, vertically or
diagonally.
Game 2
In a different class you could play the same game as above but the numbers relate to the
size of the planet not the order from the Sun.
Game 3
As above but the numbers relate to questions.
1. This planet is the largest of all. (Jupiter)
2. This planet has got many rings. (Saturn)
3. What letter do the two smallest planets start with? (M – Mercury and Mars)
4. This planet is very, very cold. (Neptune)
5. This is the hottest planet in our solar system. (Venus)
6. Most of this planet is covered by water. (Earth)
7. These planets are Earth’s neighbours. (Venus and Mars)
8. This is the smallest planet. (Mercury)
? This is the hottest planet. (Venus)
Extra questions
Only Jupiter is larger than this planet. (Saturn)
This planet is the best place for humans to live. (Earth)
Do a Planet Project
Using the information they have learnt, the children work in groups to produce posters.
See the Planet writing paper.
Vanessa Reilly January 2007
http://members.enchantedlearning.com/report/planet/ - lesson plan for writing a report
on a planet.
Alternatively they write Planet postcards as if they were holidaying on the planet
they choose. They would tell their family and friends about what it looks like, the
weather, etc. On the other side of the postcard they draw a picture of the planet. They
work on the skills of letter writing and addressing letters in English.
Vanessa Reilly January 2007
Make a Solar System bracelet
to remember the order and size of the planets
You will need: a piece of cord to go round each child’s wrist. Then find beads in the
‘Euro shop’ in different colours and sizes:
Mercury – a tiny orange one
Venus – a bigger brown one
Earth – a blue bead about the same size or a little smaller than ‘Venus’.
Mars – a small red one about the size or a little larger than ‘Mercury’.
Jupiter – a large brown or stripped bead – much bigger than the others but smaller than
the ‘Sun’.
Saturn – a beige bead slightly smaller than ‘Jupiter’
Uranus – a light blue bead
Neptune – a dark blue bead