Our Solar System Students will travel through the solar system and learn how far apart the planets are and how they move through the solar system. Grade Level: 2nd Next Generation Science Excellence in Environmental Standards Education Guidelines Phenomena: How long does it take the 2-ESS1-1. Use information from Strand 1—Questioning, planets to orbit the sun? several sources to provide evidence Analysis, and Interpretation that Earth events can occur quickly Skills or slowly. Objectives: F) Learners understand that relationships, patterns, and Students will create a model to Science and Engineering demonstrate how far apart process can be represented by Practices (SEP): models. planets in our Solar System are Constructing Explanations and from each other. Designing Solutions Students will differentiate between the two ways in which Disciplinary Core Ideas: planets move through the solar The History of Planet Earth system (rotation and revolution). Crosscutting Concepts: Students will demonstrate how Stability and Change those planets move using a model. Materials: Planet walk posters Objects to represent planet Background planets are made of lighter sizes (optional) materials, mainly gas. These Chalk Yard stick The solar system is the are, in order, Jupiter, Saturn, Earth ball neighborhood in which our Neptune and Uranus. The planet resides. It is called planets are not evenly the solar system because it spaced and the outer planets Appendixes: Plant walk distances: Page 4,5 centers around the sun. are very far from the sun. Orrery diagram: Page 6 There are now eight planets Planet walk posters: Page 7-14 that orbit the sun and a The planets in the solar number of smaller “dwarf” system are not stationary; Time Considerations: planets. Our earth is the they move in several different Preparations: 30 minutes ways. The first way planets Lesson Time: minutes third planet from the sun and Intro: 10 minutes is the only one we know of move is called rotation. This Activity 1: 20 minutes is where a planet spins on its Activity 2:10 minutes that supports life. The four Activity 3:10 minutes inner planets are known as axis; one complete rotation is Conclusion: 10 minutes the ‘rocky planets’ because a day. The second biggest movement planets make is Related Lesson Plans: they have solid surfaces. Our Amazing Moon, Our Special These are, in order, Mercury, called revolution. This is Planet, Comparing Worlds, Solar Venus, Earth and Mars. The where planets orbit the sun, asteroid belt separates the one revolution makes a year. inner planets from the outer, The speeds of these gas planets. The outer movements vary with each 1 planet. Some move faster or is 150 cm (59.1 in) from the sun be visiting the planets today and slower relative to Earth. with 26 marks. And Mars is 228 learning cool facts about each cm (89.8 in) from the sun with one. You can model the movement 50 marks. Chalk is the best way of the planets by constructing to make the orrery, and if it Activity 1: Planet Walk an orrery. The instructions for doesn't rain, you will only need Have the students stand up and making an orrery can be found to refresh the tic marks. Each in the preparation section. stretch to prepare for the space mark represents two weeks of flight. Have them put on their Scientists who study the solar the planets orbit. The Students space suits and helmets and sit system and universe will model how the planets move down and get ready to take off. (astronomers) believe the solar through the solar system. Refer Before the countdown starts, system is about 4.6 billion to page 5 for orrery diagram. make sure you give years old. During this time the Planet Walk: expectations about how the kids sun ignited from a nebula students should act (stay in line, (planetary cloud) and the It is helpful to review the details inside voices, etc). Also, planets formed as the debris on each planet. It is also helpful mention that we are going to do coalesced. to scout out where the best a whisper countdown (so we place to walk out the planets don't disturb other classes). 3, Preparation would be. This activity needs a 2, 1… BLAST OFF!!! lot of space and it is rare to get past Uranus. But the scope is After the space ship has taken This lesson requires a bit of set still very real to the students and off, line the kids students up at up time. The setup of the orrery they can conceptualize the rest, the door and head outside. takes the longest and requires especially when you say that Take the class to the furthest the naturalist to arrive at the Uranus is only half way through part of the school yard to school at least 20 minutes the solar system!! maximize the distance you can before the lesson to make sure travel. it is chalked out. Doing the Activity Begin with the sun; talk about Orrery: how it is the center of the solar Introduction: system and that we are going to An orrery is a model of how the travel from here. Walk the planets move within the solar Today we are going to talk appropriate number of steps to system. To create the model, about the solar system and how get to the next planet. Have the you will need to find an open it moves. Take a few minutes to students line up shoulder to place on the cement or blacktop talk to your partner/neighbor shoulder and help to count out where you can draw it out. Start about what you know about the the pacing. As you arrive at with the sun as the center. The solar system. each planet talk about the points first planet is Mercury. On the on the posters. model, Mercury is 58 cm (22.8 After the students discuss for a in) from the sun and there are 6 few minutes, have them tell the It is rather difficult to get past marks, equally spaced, class a fact about the solar Uranus in the planet walk. If this demonstrating Mercury’s orbit. system. Make sure any is the case, you can talk about misconceptions are pointed out how far we would have to go to Next comes Venus, which is 108 and cleared up. See if the get to Neptune and that Uranus cm (42.5 in) from the sun, with students can name all eight is the center of our solar system 16 marks around the sun. Earth planets. Tell them that we will 2 (when the dwarf planet Pluto is a revolution. Show this with the good to practice with one or two included). earth ball. What does this steps before doing the whole create? (a year) thing. Have the students start in Activity 2: Planets in Motion a line along the orrery. Ask the Now all of the planets move this students if the planets are lined After traveling through the solar way, but they all move at system, bring the students up like this in space. (no) We different speeds. We are now will see what happens when together to talk about how the going to do an activity that will planets move in the solar they start moving. Tell Earth show us the difference in how that they will need to yell out system. Use the earth ball to the planets move. demonstrate. Begin by asking ‘stop!’ when he/she completes questions: Are the planets lined Activity 3: Orrery one full revolution. (It is helpful up in a straight line? (no) Do to make a special mark so the they stay in one place or do they Bring the students to the orrery. student knows when they have move? (move) Explain that the marks on the gone all the way around.) ground represent the paths that That’s right, the planets all move the planets take around the sun. When the planets stop, point out through the solar system. We Each mark represents two to the class where each planet are going to talk about the two weeks. is. Are they lined up? Why not? main ways they move today. If the students can remember Lets think about Earth; how Choose students to represent each planet and the sun in the how many times they revolved does Earth move? (if the around the sun, use that to students bring up spin, orbit, or orrery. Explain that we will be moving all at the same time to further show how planets move another name for the motions go at different speeds take different with that way first) Earth spins revolve around the sun. Each time the instructor claps, the amount of time to make a on its axis, or rotates. Show the revolution around the sun. To earth ball spinning. What does students will move one mark in the orrery. This needs to be help students remember how this motion create? (day and many revolutions they made night) Earth also moves around, made clear so the students don't get ahead of themselves. It is they can each have a partner or orbits the sun. This is called help them to keep track while Our Solar System http://nineplanets.org/ 3 Along the planet walk show an object that represents the relative size of the planets. Planet Walk Distances Mercury: 10 paces from the sun Venus: 9 paces from Mercury 19 paces from the sun Earth: 7 paces from Venus 26 paces from the sun Mars: 14 paces from Earth 40 paces from the sun Students acting as planets revolving around the Sun during Orrery Activity Jupiter: Photo By: NOS 109 paces from Mars 149 paces from the sun they are walking.