Thematic Units - Solar System
You will find various Lesson Plans on the top portion of this page.
Further down, you will find Web Sites.
We have a page full of Books that you can order directly from Amazon.com!
This indicates resources located on The Teacher's Corner.
Constellations & Stars Grades K-2
A fun way to learn about the constellations. We do the Solar System each year in Jan. Due to the fact our school is small (117 students) we get a sky lab from a nearby college and each grade goes into it several times during the week we have it. We learn all about the winter sky and the myths behind the constellations. One of the fun things I do with my first graders (got this from Copycat mag.) is to make "star jars". I use small clear plastic jars with tops. I put in gold stars, water and corn syrup and shake. The kids love them. Each child gets to make one to take home. I also do poetry about the stars and use popcorn with glue to make constellations on black paper. Hope you can use some of these ideas.
Submitted by: Flashete@email-removed
Solar System Books Grades K-2
Integrate literature into your solar system unit.
The little bear books are great for the solar system - Mooncake, Happy Birthday Moon, etc. (there are several more) We also do the full version of twinkle twinkle little star. We usually have a Cloze or sequencing activity to go with the stories. Lasting Lessons has a book about the solar system with some great ideas.
Submitted by:Marysue111@email-removed
Solar System Concentration Grades K-2
A simple and easy way to create your own game.
One of the "teacher" stores had some planet stickers. I bought double the stickers so that I would have two of each planet. I then stuck them each on an index card, and laminated them. The kids in my class really love concentration.
Submitted by: Axogirl229@email-removed
Printable Worksheets
Make your own Solar System word searches and word scrambles in seconds.
Build a Solar System Grades Various
"Make a scale model of the Solar System and learn the REAL definition of 'space.' "
Meet the Planets Grades 1-6
"In this lesson, students will identify the planets in the solar system, observe and describe their characteristics and features, and build a scale model out of everyday materials."
Solar System Grades PreK-12
"Lesson plans, interactive activities, and other resources to help students learn about and explore our solar system."
Solar System Grades 2-5
"The students will learn about the Solar System, the order of the 8 planets, special words such as orbit and asteroid."
The Solar System: Learning About Planets Grades Various
"Students will be able to identify the planets in the Earth's solar system. Students will be able to determine the position of the planets from the sun."
The Story of the Solar System Grades K-5
"Students demonstrate an understanding that there are objects other than our Sun and the planets in our solar system"
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Astronomy
A great resource on Ducksters.
Discovery Channel Online
Their site contains some great articles on the latest space projects. The day I visited, there was a feature story on Mars, as well as several other space related stories.
Earth and Moon Viewer
This is an INCREDIBLE site!! You can view any part of the Earth you want. You can view the areas in the sun, or in the darkness of the moon. You can choose a city to view as well. FUN!
Education and Public Outreach Activities at the HEASARC
This is an incredible site that contains an enormous amount of resources.
You can find your way to other sites.
The Magic School Bus Fun Place
This site may not have solar system activities when you visit it, but it has a great deal of information dealing with the MSB programs.
NASA Home Page
This site allows you to find information on NASA's latest projects, as well as information on the Solar System in general. If you don't see what you're looking for, you can search the NASA site.
National Space Science Data Center Photo Gallery
Solar System Family Portrait includes a very cool picture of our solar system taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft taken from the edge of the solar system.
The Nine Planets
A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System.
Planets for Kids
Information and downloadable pictures.
Science Interactives
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Scholastic.com and MSNBC are proud to present interactive activities on a variety of topics. Explore these science interactive activities to learn more about space, science, and technology."
Solar Data Analysis Center
See the sun in a whole new way!
Solar System Exploration
An awesome resource from NASA.
Star Child
A learning center for young astronomers.
Ulysses/NASA home page
The Ulysses Mission - A Deep Space Voyage to High Latitudes over the Solar Poles. This site contains some incredible pictures and information about the Ulysses voyages.
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The Teacher's Corner has hand selected a bunch of books for our Solar System Unit that you can find at great prices on Amazon.com
