Download Lesson Title: Layers of the Earth

Lesson Title: How Far Apart Are the Planets in Our Solar System?
Subject Area / Course / Grade Level: Science 5th Grade
Lesson Length: 1 hr.
Materials: Planet Book worksheets copies and nine sentence strips, each labeled with one
of the following: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune.
Lesson Overview: TTW begin class with an, "Attention Getter.” TTW go over the
objectives for the day. TLW make a model of the solar system. TLW make a Planet
Book. TLW answer two questions to evaluate what was learned in the lesson.
Tennessee Standards: Science – – GLE 0507.6.1 Compare planets based on their known
characteristics. S.P.I. 0507.6.1 Distingusish amoung the plantets according to their known
characteristics such as appearance, location, composition, and apparent motion.
Lesson objective(s): TLW make a model of the planets to demonstrate how far apart
they are from each other using a scale model. TLW make a Planet Book to learn
characteristics of each planet.
Engagement: Ask students to draw a picture showing what they know about the orbits of
the planets around the sun in our solar system. To assess students’ prior knowledge, ask:
How many planets did you include? Could you name the planets? Do you think you placed
the planets in the right order from the sun? Are the orbits of the planets in the right
order from the sun? Are the orbits of the planets all the same distance apart? What is a
scale model? Was you drawing a scale model? Why or why not?
Exploration: Select nine studnets to represent the major bodies in the solar system.
Give each of them a labeled sentence strip to hold or use planets that were made from
the lesson titled “How Do the Planets Compare in Size.” Select a starting place at one
edge of the playground or at the end of a very long hall. Instruct the sign holding
students to follow these instructions for constructing the model solar system. (You may
want to cut the steps in half on each of the following if you hallway isn’t long enough.)
1. The “sun” stands at one end of the area.
2. Mercury takes 4 small steps from the sun.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Venus takes 3 small steps outward from Mercury.
Earth takes 2 small steps beyond Venus.
Mars takes 5 small steps beyond Earth.
Jupiter takes 34 small steps beyond Mars.
Saturn takes 40 small steps beyond Jupiter.
Uranus takes 90 small steps beyond Saturn.
Neptune takes 100 small steps beyond Uranus.
Tell the class that the positions of the students with the signs represent the average
distance between the planets’ orbits. With the holders remaining in their places and
holding up their signs (You may want to post signs in the hallway, or use cut out planets
from the lesson titled How Do the Planets Compare in Size and post them.), all the
students should observe the spacing and think about these questions: Which planets’
orbits are closest together? Which ones are really spread out? Are the planets’ orbits
spaced at equal distances from the sun?
Explanation: Upon returning to the classroom, discuss the students’ responses to the
questions. Important ideas to emerge from the discussion include the following:


The first four planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars – do not have much
distance between their orbits. These planets are known as the inner planets.
The rest of the planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune – have rather large
distances between their orbits. These planets are known as the outer planets.
Explain that the planets are not usually lined up as in our model. The model does not show
the actual positions of the planets, just the relative spacing of their orbits.
Elaboration: TLW make a Planet Book (see Planet Book worksheets). Have the students
put together their books, first. Following, making the book, read the books as a class.
Lastly, let the students work in groups to answer the questions in their books.
Evaluation: To assess student knowledge of the relative positions of the planets in our
solar system, the students will answer the following questions:
1. List the planets in order by their distance from the sun.
2. Which of the following statements best describes the location of the planets in
our solar system?
A. The planets are all lined up in a straight line.
B. The planet’s orbits are equal distances apart.
C. The inner planets’ orbits are closer together than the orbits of the outer
planets.
D. The planets are all the same distance from the sun.