Does your class know their planets? Implement an activity that has them describing the solar system, identifying properties of the planets, and placing them in order from their distance from the sun.

Should Pluto be considered a planet or a dwarf planet? Scholars research planets in our solar system to understand their similarities and differences. It also includes memory activities related to the order of the planets. 

Students study robotic spacecrafts that have provided detailed information about the inner and outer planets. In this exploring the planets lesson plan, students use posters and diagrams to study the various robotic spacecraft sent to...

Learners examine the new categories of planets and how planets were reclassified.  In this solar system lesson students complete activities using Venn diagrams and images of planets. 

What is most useful about this lesson plan is the "Student Explanet Worksheet," a set of instructions for collaborative groups to use to collect information about an assigned planet. After students have researched and organized their...

Young scholars study the planets Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. In this solar system lesson plan, students read facts about the planets and their location in the solar system. Images, diagrams, and background information on the planets is...

Students gain knowledge about earth and space science by studying the nine planets in the solar system as well as their key characteristics. In this solar system lesson, students identify the nine planets. Students work in groups to...

In this planets worksheet, young scholars fill out a chart where they fill in the distance each planet is from the Earth, and how much travel time in years and hours it would take to get there. Students do this for 8 planets.

Students identify the main components of the solar system. For this earth science lesson, students order the planets according to their distances from the Sun. They differentiate planets from dwarf planets.

Explore the solar system with this lesson. Learners create a model of the solar system using toilet paper. With this creative approach, learners create a solar system according to distance and scale parameters, and write down a list of...

One way to identify possible volcanic activity on other planets is by testing the planet for magnetism. A science lesson begins with pupils constructing their own planet from a dead battery, magnets, paper, and tape before labeling...

Earth's magnetic poles switch positions about every 200,000—300,000 years. In the activity, groups create a planet with a magnetic field. Once made, they use a magnetometer to determine the orientation of the planet's magnetic field....

Galileo first observed Saturn's rings in 1610. Through the use of a flashlight and baby powder, classes see how they can observe the rings of the outer planets from far away. Another demonstration shows how these rings, made of ice and...

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...

Students construct three-dimensional solar system mobiles.

Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to travel around the sun. In the fifth of 22 lessons, young scientists create a travel guide to a planet in our solar system. They provide tips for others on what to bring, what they see, and their...

Motivate your class with this instructional activity. Learners explore the solar system and practice working with fractions using this resource. They construct scale models of our solar system, and use fractions to correctly configure...

Not novel, but fun, this lesson plan gets your space science learners to model the size of the planets and the solar system along your school's hallway. Scaled measurements as well as actual distances are provided for both planet...

Young scholars learn the order and key characteristics of each planet in our solar system. In this solar system lesson, students work in groups to characterize each planet on an index card. They use their index cards to put the planets...

In this science worksheet, students learn the names of the 9 planets in our solar system (Pluto is still included here) and locate them in a word search. Students answer 9 questions about the planets--their positions and attributes.

First graders investigate the five outer planets. In this space science lesson, 1st graders read the book Our Solar System and identify the five outer planets. Students create a booklet and write about outer planets.

Learners participate in various hands-on activities to visually demonstrate the positions of the planets from the sun. Then they draw a pictorial representation of the order of planets from the sun.

Students receive pre-cut templates of cardboard with appropriate diameters of each planet and the sun. They use multi-colored construction paper, scissors, yarn, and other art supplies to create their own models of planets. When students...

Second graders create planet mobiles in order to reinforce concepts such as planet size, position in relation to the sun, and planet names.