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OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
Karen Lindwall
Third Grade Earth Science
Overview of Unit
The goal of the unit is to provide the students with a strong background knowledge of
our Solar System. The unit is broken down into three sections: the patterns of the
planets, the patterns of the moon during the lunar cycle, and the patterns in the night
sky forming constellations.
Students will understand:
o Patterns in the star form constellations that can be identified by name
o How and why the Moon changes during the four-week lunar cycle
o Our Solar System is made up of planets with unique features
o Key vocabulary related to the constellations, the Moon, and the planets
Students will be able to:
o Locate, recognize and draw key constellations
o Chart the lunar changes in a four-week lunar cycle
o Recognize and name the phases of the Moon
o Use research skills to discover the differences and features of the planets in
our Solar System
o Identify the planets in order from the Sun
California State Standards
Earth Science: 4a. Students know the patterns of stars stay the same, although
they appear to move across the sky nightly, and different stars can be seen in
different seasons;
4b. Students know the way in which the Moon’s appearance changes during the
four-week lunar cycle;
4d. Students know that Earth is one of several planets that orbit the Sun and that
the Moon orbits the Earth.
Math: 1.1 Analyze problems by identifying relationships and observing patterns;
2.1 Solve simple problems involving a functional relationship between two
quantities;
Reading/Language Arts: 1.1 Retell, paraphrase, and explain what has been said by
a speaker;
1.3 Respond to questions with appropriate elaboration;
1.4 Revise drafts to improve logical progression of ideas and coherence by using an
established rubric;
1.1 Create a single paragraph, develop a topic sentence and support it with simple
supporting facts and details.
Learning Goals
Students will identify the planets that orbit the
Sun



Know the names of the planets in order from the Sun
Understand basic facts about each planet
Students will understand about the Moon’s orbit
around the Earth



Lunar cycle
Moon phases
Students will understand the concepts of stars




They appear to move, but they don’t
Different stars can be seen at different seasons
constellations
Essential Questions
What patterns make up the constellations?
What is a lunar cycle and why does the Moon appear to
move across the sky?
What causes the changes in the appearance in the Moon?
What are the guidelines for identifying a planet?
What are the unique features of the planets in our Solar
System?
Why and how are the planets different?
Assessment Methods
Diagnostic Assessments
 Used to determine prior
knowledge
Authentic Assessment
 “Real life”
activity/project to look at
how student can apply
what they have learned
Formative Assessments
 On-going assessments
used to look at student
learning/growth
Summative Assessment
 End of unit test to
determine what student
has learned
Diagnostic Assessment
 Brainstorm: What we know; What we wonder
about our Solar System
 Students write “burning wonderings” on a sticky
note and attach to brainstorm list afterwards
 Maintain brainstorm list throughout the unit and
check periodically to see if wonderings are
addressed and answered
What We Know What We Wonder
Formative Assessment (on-going)
Journal
Students will maintain a journal throughout the unit.
This journal will include notes, charts, important
ideas, drawings, questions, and anything else the
student wants to include.
Notes
My Solar
System
Journal
Pictures
Important ideas
Graphs
Vocabulary words
Things to remember
By: _____________________
questions
Section A: The Planets of our
Solar System
Activities:
Leveled book reading
Internet research
My Planet Book
Promethean Board
activity
Sort activity
I Have…Who Has activity
Color Planets
Word Search
Crossword Puzzle
Assessments:
Mnemonic: formative
Oral presentation: formative
Frame: formative
Flip chart: performance
Planet Quiz: formative/summative
Book: authentic/performance
Performance Task
 Using a mnemonic that they made up to remember the
planets in order from the Sun, students will write the
mnemonic, then list the planets in proper order.
My Very Exciting Mother Just Sang Until
Noon
(Mercury – Venus – Earth – Mars – Jupiter – Saturn – Uranus – Neptune)
Name: _______________________
Planets in the Solar System Quiz
My mnemonic: ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Label each planet with their name:
Sun
Performance Task
Students are broken up into groups of two. Each
group chooses the name of a planet from the hat.
Their job is to research their planet and take notes.
Then, they are to create a Frame about their planet
to present to the class in an oral presentation.
Students created a Rubric prior to the activity to
determine their score on this activity.
Name: ________________
Planet: ________________
Interesting facts: ______________________
Notes
____________________________________
Location of planet: ______________________
____________________________________
______________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
Distance from the Sun: ___________________
____________________________________
______________________________________
____________________________________
Size of planet: _________________________
Does it have a Moon? _________________
______________________________________
____________________________________
Atmosphere: ___________________________
Does it have rings: ____________________
______________________________________
____________________________________
Description of planet: ____________________
Distinguishing features: ________________
______________________________________
____________________________________
Length of a day: ________________________
____________________________________
______________________________________
Frame for Planet
Description of your planet
My planet is
Number ___
in the Solar
System
My planet
takes _____
to orbit the
Sun
Draw your planet
My planet
takes _______
to rotate on its
axis
My planet is
_______ miles
from the Sun
My planet’s
temperature is
____________
My planet has
____ moons
Name of your planet
Interesting facts about my planet
Rubric
Great
Good
Missing information
Not all questions
answered
Little or no details
Little effort
Notes
Lots of information
All questions
answered
Interesting details
Effort
Frame
Complete
Neat and colorful
Spelling and
grammar correct
Details
Complete
Neat and mostly
colored
Few mistakes in
spelling & grammar
Some details
Incomplete
Not colored
Many mistakes in
spelling and grammar
No details
Speak clearly and
loudly
Don’t read – TELL
Be an expert
Look at your
audience
Not so clear or loud
Some “telling”
Sometimes looks at
audience
Difficult to
understand
Read only
Don’t really know
about your planet
Doesn’t look at
audience
Oral
Presentation
Most of information
complete
All questions
answered
Some details
Some effort
Needs Improvement
Graphic Organizer for Planet Presentations
Mercury
Distance from
the Sun
Temperature
Orbit
Revolution
Interesting
facts
Size
Moons?
Rings?
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Performance Task: Flip Chart
During the presentations, each student has a graphic organizer to complete on the
planets.
Students will take that information and create a flip chart about the planets. The flip
chart will include: a picture of the planet, distance from the Sun, temperature, length of
a day (Orbit); length of a year (rotation); and one interesting fact.
My Solar System
Flip Chart
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Study Guide
Venus: Thick clouds cover more than 1000 volcanoes
Mercury: Covered with craters
Know your vocabulary words:
Uranus: Poisonous atmosphere with strong winds
Star: a huge ball of hot, glowing gases (the Sun is a
star)
Neptune: bright blue, surrounded by rings
Planet: a large body of matter that travels around a
star such as the Sun
Solar System: a system made up of the Sun, the
planets and their Moons, and other objects that
orbit the Sun
Orbit: the path an object takes as it moves around
the Sun
Asteroid: a large piece of rock that orbits the Sun
You should know the planets in order from the Sun:
(inner planets) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, (outer
planets) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
You should know ONE interesting fact about each
planet:
Jupiter: the largest planet, has a great red spot that
is a storm
Mars: red soil, white ice caps
Saturn: Has more Moons than any other planet: one
Moon is the only Moon with an atmosphere
Criteria for defining a PLANET: 1. a celestial body that
orbits the Sun; 2. has a nearly round shape; and 3.
clears the neighborhood around its orbit
•Dwarf planets are like planets, but they do not clear
the neighborhood of orbit
•The Sun is the center of our Solar System
•The Moon follows a four-week pattern called the
Lunar Cycle
•The Moon does not shine: it reflects light from the
Sun
•Know the phases of the Moon during the Lunar Cycle
(New Moon – crescent – first quarter – full Moon –
third quarter – crescent – New Moon)
•Gravity keeps the planets in their orbits
Formative Assessment – The Planets in our Solar System
Name: ________________
Planet Assessment
Match the word to its meaning:
1.___ planet
4. ___Solar System
2. ___ orbit
5. ___ Asteroid
9. List the planets in order from the Sun:
10. Tell one interesting fact about each planet:
3. ___ star
A. A large piece of rock that orbits the Sun
11. What is the Lunar Cycle?
B. A huge ball of hot, glowing gases
C. the path an object takes as it moves around the Sun
D. A system made up of the Sun, the planets and their
Moons, and other objects that orbit the Sun
12. Why does the Moon appear to shine?
13. Name three phases of the Moon:
E. a large body of matter that travels around a star
such as the Sun.
Bonus: Give me one interesting fact about the planets
and one interesting fact about the Moon
6. What three criteria determine a planet?
7. Why are Dwarf planets not considered planets?
What is the center of our Solar System?
8. What keeps the planets in their orbits?
Authentic Assessment
Tour The Planets Book
Pretend you are a tour guide and your job is to plan
trips for people to visit the planets. What
interesting things could you say to make people
want to visit them? What fascinating sites can you
suggest? How could you accommodate people
visiting the planets?
Your job is to create a book with a page for each
planet. On the page you should draw the planet and
give reasons why people should visit it. Use your
imagination! Remember to be descriptive!
Section B: The Stars in the Sky
Activities:
Leveled Readers
Promethean Board activity
on constellations
Promethean board activity
on the night’s sky
Homework activity: View the
night’s sky to find stars and
constellations
Field trip to the Planetarium
Draw Constellations
Star Finder
Star Chart
Assessments:
Draw a constellation: performance
Teacher made test: formative
Write up on planetarium visit:
formative
Authentic Assessment
Draw a Constellation
 We have been to the planetarium and learned about many
different constellations. You have spent a week outside with
your family looking at the night’s sky finding constellations.
 On this paper you will recreate as many constellations as you
can. Try to be as specific as you can. Don’t forget to name
the constellation you drew!
Formative Assessment: Writing
Planetarium Visit:
Discovery Museum
Describe what Planetarium
is in your own words.
Name 3 things you learned.
1.
2.
3.
Describe what it looked like in
the Planetarium.
What was your favorite part?
Section C: The Moon: Lunar Cycle and Phases
Activities:
Leveled readers
Homework: Chart the Moon
for one month
Discuss findings from Moon
Chart
Draw phases of the Moon
Assessments:
Teacher
observations/discussions
Moon chart labeling (formative)
Test (formative)
(Study Guide Made)
Moon Chart: View the Moon every evening and draw what you see
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 8
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17
Day 18
Day 19
Day 20
Day 21
Day 22
Day 23
Day 24
Day 25
Day 26
Day 27
Day 28
Study Guide
Know the following vocabulary:
Axis: Imaginary line around which the earth
spins
Rotations: one complete spin on an axis (one
day)
Shadow: an area that does not receive sun
light directly
Revolution: one complete trip an object takes
around another object (earth’s revolution
around the Sun is one year)
Constellation: a group of stars that make a
fixed pattern
Phases of the Moon: the different ways the
Moon looks
Waning: when less of the lit half of the Moon
appears each night
Waxing: when more of the lit half of the Moon
appears each night
Seasons: the changes in patterns of the
amount of sunlight and temperature of a place
on earth
Know the following facts about the earth:
•The sun appears to rise in the east and set in
the west, so earth turns from west to east on
its axis once a day. We have day when the sun
faces us and night when it doesn’t
•Earth’s axis is always tilted in the same
direction. As it revolves, different parts face
the Sun. Days are longer in summer than
winter.
Know the following facts about the Moon:
•The phases of the Moon repeat in a regular
pattern each month. The revolution of the
Moon around the earth causes the phases of
the Moon.
•The reflection of the Sun causes the Moon to
“shine” at night.
Know the following about constellations:
•While it looks like the stars move in the sky, it
is the earth that is rotating causing the
movement.
•Because the Earth orbits the Sun, different
parts of space are visible at night throughout
the year, so you can see different
constellations at different times of the year.
Name: ______________
Science Quiz
F. Imaginary line around which the earth
spins
Vocabulary: Match the word to its meaning:
G. When less than half the Moon appears at
night
1.
H. One complete trip an object takes around
another object (one year for Earth around the
Sun)
___Axis
5. ___Shadow
2. ___ Seasons
6. ___Phases of the Moon
3. ___Rotation
7. ___Revolution
4. ___ Waxing
8. ___Constellation
9. ___Waning
i. When more than half the Moon appears at
night.
10. Why does it appear that the Sun rises and
sets each day? _________________________
A. A group of stars that make a fixed pattern
11. What makes day on earth? ____________
B. One complete spin on an axis (one day)
12. When are days longer? _______________
C. The changes in patterns of the amount of
sunlight and temperature of a place on
earth
13. What causes the different phases of the
Moon?_______________________________
D. The different ways the Moon looks
14. What causes the Moon to “shine” at
night? _______________________________
E. An area that does not receive sunlight
directly
15. Why can we see different constellations
at different times of the year? ____________
Formative Assessment: Phases of the Moon
Draw the phases of the Moon beginning at the New Moon. Label the names of
each phase.
Bonus: Tell ABOUT when the phase can be seen!
Summative Assessment
Solar System Assessment
Circle T or F for True or False
1.Patterns of stars stay the same and can be
seen at different times of the year. T F
2.The Moon NEVER changes what it looks
like during the month. T F
3.Many planets orbit the Sun. T F
4.The Moon orbits the Sun. T F
5.The sun stays in the same spot in the sky
all day long. T F
Circle the correct answer:
6.Which planets are the biggest:
a. Earth, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter
b. Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune,
Uranus
c. Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter
7.Why does Mars look red?
a. It has volcanoes
b. It has iron in the soil
c. The gas
8. Which planet is a dwarf planet?
a. Pluto
b. Neptune
c. Saturn
9. What is the Sun made out of?
a. gas
b. rock
c. metal
10. What is an asteroid belt?
a. Big rocks
b. Stars
c. Rocks, dust, and ice
11. What is a star constellations?
a. A group of suns
b. A group of stars that make a pattern
c. Hercules
12. What is the largest planet?
a. Mars
b. Saturn
c. Jupiter