Curated OER
Space: Our Star, the Sun, and Its Friends, the Planets
Students examine the solar system. In this space lesson, students identify the order of the planets and their relative size to the sun. Students create a scale model of our solar system using a variety of household objects.
Curated OER
Distances in Space
For this distances in space worksheet, students learn about astronomical units and light years as measurements for great distances. Students use both of these units of measurements to solve five problems.
Curated OER
The Sun's habitable Zone
Pupils explore the average surface temperature of planets. They use the Planet Temperature Calculator to find the average temperature. Students explore how the distance from the sun affects the Earth's average surface temperature. They...
Curated OER
Sun's Impact On Earth's Temperature
Students view NASA images and movies of Venus, Earth, and Mars to deduce weather patterns and manipulate computer models to test competing hypotheses. They manipulate computer models to investigate the influence of solar distance and...
Curated OER
PLANETS IN PROPORTION
Students discover scales for both the solar bodies' relative sizes and their distances from the sun. They find equatorial circumference and volumes of their solar bodies. Students apply estimation strategies and proportioanl reasoning to...
Virginia Department of Education
Solar System Model
How many planets can you name? Did you get all 13 in our solar system, including the dwarf planets, or were you surprised when you read there are 13 planets? The lesson helps scholars understand the scale of the universe including the...
Journey Through the Universe
Our Solar System
Take your class on a journey through our solar system. Learners explore each planet, from Mercury to Pluto, and discuss various features that differentiate one from another. They complete activities related to the topics and discuss the...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Orbit Simulator
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...
Curated OER
Modeling the Solar System
Young scholars build a scaled model of the solar system. In this space science lesson, students arrange them according to their distances from the sun. They analyze each planet's unique features such as density and relative gravity.
Messenger Education
Star Power! Discovering the Power of Sunlight
It takes less than 10 minutes for energy from the sun to travel 90 million miles to Earth! In the first installment in a series of four, groups measure the amount of solar radiation that reaches Earth. They then discuss how this is...
Curated OER
Interplanetary Distance and Travel Time
Students are introduced to the challenges involved in understanding the space travel distances and the time involved to do so through the use of an interactive fable. The modeling and comparisons deal with specific distances at different...
Curated OER
Determining distance between planets and the Sun
Students use a model to determine the distance between the sun and plants in our solar system. They determine a scale to use that represents the distance between the Earth and sun. Students calculate the scale distance that each planet...
Curated OER
Exploring Scale And Ratio
Students measure the actual size and distance of the solar system using scale and ratio. They watch and discuss a video, create a distance-scale solar system model, and compare the scale sizes of planets to their actual sizes.
Curated OER
My Angle on Cooling
Students explore how the angle and distance of an object can change it's temperature. After reviewing how the position of the Earth affects the temperature of the planet, student groups design and perform an experiment to test how...
Virginia Department of Education
Scientific Notation
Writing a number is all in the notation. The resource introduces the class to scientific notation. Pupils learn the process of taking a very large or small number in standard form and write it in scientific notation. To practice,...
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Toilet Paper Solar System
Can we model how large the solar system really is? Attempt an astronomical feat with a hands-on-activity that uses a roll of toilet paper. Young scientists measure the distances of the planets from the sun to create a scale model of the...
It's About Time
The History and Scale of the Solar System
Take scientists beyond our earthly reach and into the solar system. Pupils create a model of the solar system and discuss strengths and weaknesses of their model. They calculate distances in light years, discuss the nebular theory, and...
K12 Reader
The Inner Planets
Here's a reading exercise that uses an article about the inner planets to assess comprehension. After reading the article, kids respond to a series of questions using information from the text.
Curated OER
Making Models of the Solar System
Students make several models of the solar system to learn the positions of the planets in the solar system as well as relative distances and sizes. Creation of these models will help them identify the planets by size, shape, color,...
Mr. Hill's Science Website
Solar System Fact Sheet
Here is a fantastic, educational handout packed with information and facts not only about the planets in our solar system, but also regarding major moons and their surface features, dwarf planets, comets, and asteroids.
Curated OER
Scale Model of the Solar System
Young scientists gain a better understanding of space, the solar system and its vastness by creating a scale model. Students first need to calculate the distance between each of the nine planets according to the size of their scale. This...
Curated OER
Planet Fact Sheet
In this space science worksheet, learners record facts about one of the planets, which they draw in a box on the page. They write the name, distance from the sun, length of day and year, and number of moons. They describe how the planet...
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Solar System
Students explore the Solar System. In this cross-curriculum space instructional activity, students identify the planets, name them in order according to distance from the sun, and describe major characteristics of each planet. Students...
Curated OER
Large Numbers- the Planets
In this writing distances worksheet, students re-write the chart to show the distance each planet sits from the sun using words rather than numbers, all measurements are in km.