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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Spacecraft Launched on Mission to Pluto

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students read a news article about a space mission being launched to the planet Pluto. They study the necessary vocabulary and complete an anticipation guide of questions which they revisit after they read the article.
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Looking Inside Planets

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
All of the gas giant's atmospheres consist of hydrogen and helium, the same gases that make up all stars. The third in a series of 22, the activity challenges pupils to make scale models of the interiors of planets in order to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using a Graphic Organizer to Research a Question

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Is Pluto still a planet? Using this popular question, kids are introduced to graphic organizers as a writing tool. As a class, they watch a demonstration on how to use them and work together with a partner to research whether Pluto is a...
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Activity
Education World

Every Day Edit - Pluto, the Dwarf Planet

For Students 3rd - 8th
In this everyday editing activity, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the planet Pluto. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering Planet X

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners investigate the movements of the planet Pluto. Students participate in a hands-on activity to record data similar to the movements of the planet Pluto. Learners compare their data to that found on a website.
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Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

Looking Inside Planets

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Researchers use scientific data to understand what is inside each of the planets. The first in a series of six, this instructional activity builds off of that concept by having pupils use a data table to create their own scale models of...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Outer Planets

For Students 7th - 9th
In this outer planets worksheet, students determine if 15 statements about Neptune, Pluto, Saturn and Uranus are true or false. If they are false, students change the italicized words in the sentences to make the statements true.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ceres and Pluto: Dwarf Planets as a New Way of Thinking about an Old Solar System

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students examine the new categories of planets and how planets were reclassified.  In this solar system lesson students complete activities using Venn diagrams and images of planets. 
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Interactive
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

Orbit Simulator

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Researchers think they have evidence of a new planet deep in our solar system that is the size of Neptune and orbits the sun far beyond Pluto. The orbit simulator shows the orbits of our well-known planets, as well as Pluto and the comet...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Solar System and Beyond

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Survey the solar system by viewing this PowerPoint. Amateur astronomers discover that gravity is responsible for Earth's orbit around the sun and the moon's orbit around Earth. They explore the moon's phases and Earth's seasons. This...
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Lesson Plan
media.yurisnight.net

Science Lesson Plan: Our Solar System: I Wonder?

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Ever wonder why Pluto isn't considered a planet? Or how large the Earth is compared to the other inner planets? Explore the universe with a series of projects that simulate different aspects of our solar system. The activities require...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Webb Space Telescope: Detecting Dwarf Planets

For Students 9th - 12th
For this detecting dwarf planets worksheet, students read about the Webb Space Telescope that will be launched in 2014 to detect dwarf planets using an infrared telescope. Students solve 3 problems and create a graph for each using given...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Exploring Dwarf Planet Eris

For Students 8th - 10th
In this planet Eris worksheet, students read about the discovery of this dwarf planet and its characteristics. Students answer 3 questions about the planets, the classification of planets and the definition of planets. Students define 7...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Could the Solar System have Ten Planets?

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students react to statements about the solar system, then read a news article about a recently discovered object that could be another planet. In this space science and current events lesson, the teacher introduces the lesson with a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar System and Planets

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students identify the main components of the solar system. In this earth science lesson, students order the planets according to their distances from the Sun. They differentiate planets from dwarf planets.
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Writing
Curated OER

Pluto: February 18, 1930

For Students 4th - 5th
In this writing prompt worksheet, students learn the date February 18, 1930 as the date Pluto was discovered. Students then answer the following prompt: 'What is your personal opinion about the scientist no longer considering Pluto to be...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto

For Students 7th - 12th
In this planets learning exercise, students read information about Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto and then complete 18 multiple choice, 4 true or false, and 2 fill in the blank questions.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Out of this world! 2

For Students 5th - 10th
In this solar system instructional activity, students fill in the blank to sentences that refer to the solar system. Students fill in 15 blanks with planet names.
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Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

Phases of Charon

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Charon, the largest of Pluto's moons, was discovered in 1978. Lesson is a walk through of how to solve for the phases of Charon. It uses two different points on Pluto and takes into account the tilt of the pole, the rotational axis, and...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Is There a Tenth Planet?

For Students 5th - 12th
In this planets worksheet, students read about how our solar system's planets were discovered and how scientist believe there might be a tenth planet. After reading, students complete 4 short answer questions.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Life on Other Planets

For Students 4th - 6th
In this planets worksheet, students put the planets in order, complete sentences about planets, read text about planets, match sentences, and more. Students complete 7 tasks total.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Out of This World 1

For Students 4th - 6th
In this planets research skills worksheet, learners use their research skills to fill in the blanks in 15 sentences regarding the planets.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Scavenger Hunt: Who am I?

For Students 6th - 8th
In this space science worksheet, learners use the sites listed on the Solar System and Planets page of the Kid Zone to locate the names of the people credited with each discovery. They identify and name 26 different scientists who made...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Solar System

For Students 9th - 12th
In this solar system worksheet, students complete a word puzzle by determining the terms associated with the 10 statements about the planets.