Poster board (one piece or half piece for each pair of students)ĮNGAGE: Before the lesson, gather household items such as a ping-pong ball, tennis ball, inflated balloon, grapefruit, glass marble, small pebble, etc.
Index cards (enough for each student to have several).
Computer lab (one computer needed for each pair of students).
White board with markers (or use a chalkboard, projector, etc.).
#Solar system websites for elementary students pdf#
Paper strips with solar system facts written on them (print out this PDF and cut apart before class).
Inflated balloon (try to make the balloon as full and round as you can).
Citrus fruit in different sizes (grapefruit, orange, mandarin).
Balls in different sizes (beach ball, basketball, playground ball, baseball, tennis ball, rubber ball, ping-pong ball).
Various spherical objects from around the house:.
This fact will be re-emphasized during the lesson. Students also need to know that the planets revolve around the sun, which is at the center of our solar system. Stress that mass does not mean the same thing as weight, and just because something has a really big volume does not mean it is going to be heavy. Prior Knowledge: Your students should be at least somewhat familiar with the concepts of volume and mass.Ī quick review of the difference between these two terms may be necessary.
Design a poster that shows the vastness of the solar system, by comparing one planet to another, the earth to the sun, the sun to other stars, etc.
Demonstrate knowledge of the solar system by arranging spherical objects of different sizes in an order that represents the eight planets and the sun.