Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Earth Science: Planet Orbits in the Solar System

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Looks at the size and shape of planet orbits.
Website
National Earth Science Teachers Association

Windows to the Universe: Our Solar System

For Students 9th - 10th
Our solar system is filled with a wide assortment of celestial bodies - the Sun itself, our eight planets, dwarf planets, and asteroids - and on Earth, life itself! The inner solar system is occasionally visited by comets that loop in...
PPT
Sophia Learning

Sophia: The Solar System: Lesson 1

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson will develop a map of the solar system in proportion to the distance between the planets. It is 1 of 3 in the series titled "The Solar System."
Activity
NASA

Nasa: Our Solar System Overview

For Students 9th - 10th
This site has links to all the planets, providing an overview of the solar system. It also contains information about asteroids, meteors, comets and other features of our solar system.
Website
BBC

Bb Ci Space: Solar System

For Students 9th - 10th
Take a journey through the solar system with this interactive guide. Includes planetary history, "travel information," "tourist highlights," and video clips. Games and quizzes include a Solar System jigsaw that prompts the student to...
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Solar System!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
An introduction to our solar system: the planets, our Sun and our Moon. Students begin by learning the history and engineering of space travel. They make simple rockets to acquire a basic understanding Newton's third law of motion. They...
Activity
National Geographic

National Geographic: Extreme Weather on Other Planets

For Teachers 2nd - 7th
Examine the variety of weather found on all of the planets in the solar system with this classroom exercise. Students will see a video and observe differences and similarities among the planets.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Solar System O Logy Card

For Students 3rd - 8th
Here's an Ology Card about the Solar System, offering a small image, a definition, and information on how "far out" our Solar System is. Includes questions to quiz your knowledge and quick facts about the Solar System's size, rotation...
Activity
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Planets Made Real: Creating Size and Distance Scale of Planets

For Teachers 6th - 8th
An activity where students build a scale model of the solar system based on a marble they pick from a bowl. After choosing a marble that represents Earth, students must calculate the size of the other planets and the sun. Site includes...
Unit Plan
NASA

Nasa: Solar System Exploration: Planets

For Students 9th - 10th
This impressive compilation of ideas is a great source for space science. Loaded with extra links for further information on the solar system.
Unit Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Build Your Own Solar System

For Students 9th - 10th
This Java applet creates a model of a solar system with user-defined data. Users can create a solar system with up to four planets, choosing the star type at the center of the solar system, planet name, size, eccentricity of orbit and...
Website
Space Telescope Science Institute

Hubble Site: Solar System Images

For Students 9th - 10th
A listing of clickable images of objects in the Solar System from the Hubble telescope that includes the following: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Jupiter's satellites, Saturn, Saturn's rings and satellites, Uranus, Uranus' rings and satellites,...
Unknown Type
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Math Space Odyssey: The Capacity of the Planets

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Use this activity to teach students to represent numbers in scientific notation, and use geometry to solve problems related to three-dimensional figures. Explore distance and capacity problems about planets in the solar system. The...
Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Earth Science: Formation of the Sun and Planets

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How the Sun and planets formed.
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Astronomy and the Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart presents the layers of the Sun and the components of the solar system.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Creating the Solar System

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This two-part lesson begins with a lecture which describes the complex process of creation from molecular cloud to planetesimals to planets to organized solar system. The lecture is followed up with a draw/write activity in which the...
Interactive
NASA

Nasa: Space Place: Solar System Switch a Roo

For Students 3rd - 8th
Play this creative puzzle game where the player views a solar system object that is all mixed-up. Try and find the matching parts of the photograph, and learn about the solar system in the process.
Handout
Cosmos 4 kids

Cosmos4 kids.com: Solar System Details

For Students 9th - 10th
This comprehensive site delves into other aspects of our solar system besides the planets and the sun. Click on the topics on the right like solar winds, the heliosphere, the heliopause, asteroids, comets, and more.
Unit Plan
Scholastic

Scholastic: Study Jams! Science: Our Solar System: Outer Planets

For Students 3rd - 5th
A slideshow and a short multiple-choice quiz on the four outer planets of our solar system, which include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Website
California Institute of Technology

Spitzer Science Center: Historias Desde Espacio: Premiacion a Las Planetas

For Students 3rd - 8th
All the planets are competing to see who is the best planet in the Solar System. Read the story in Spanish to learn the results of the pageant. Excellent source of information presented in a fun manner.
Lesson Plan
Other

Montana State University: How Much Would You Weigh on Distant Planets?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This resource contains a lesson plan in which students study the effects of gravity on the planets of the Solar System. They will view movies from the lunar Apollo missions, calculate their own weight on other planets, and propose what...
Website
Other

The Apollo Society: The Solar System

For Students 9th - 10th
Contains a small set of images of solar system objects and a series of links to information about all solar system objects. Solar System Tours link to excellent image collections.
Website
NASA

Nasa: Our Solar System Lithograph Set

For Students 9th - 10th
View a lithograph set that includes pictures and brief descriptions of planets, sun, asteroids, comets, meteors, and meteorites. While viewing the lithograph learn important dates and interesting facts about our solar system.
Website
Nine Planets

The Eight Planets: Just for Kids

For Students 9th - 10th
Here is a clear, simple picture of the solar system. Click on the names of the planets to learn more about each. Clicking on underlined terms takes you to more and more detailed scientific information.