Planetary Movement Through The Solar System
Author(s): Dennis Eaton
Subject: Earth Science
Grade Level(s): Grade 3
Big Idea(s): Planets in our Solar System move around the Sun in the same direction (counterclockwise). The time it takes to complete one revolution around the Sun is called a year, and each planet’s year is longer or shorter depending on its distance from the Sun.
What you need: One sign for each planet, the Sun, and the asteroid belt. (Students may hold the signs, but it’s nicer to attach yarn to them so they can be worn around students’ necks).
Either name tags for students so they will remember their assigned planets, or a clipboard for the teacher with these assignments on it.
Setting: The lesson needs to take place in a large area, preferably on the playground.
Time Needed: This lesson takes about 45-60 minutes.
Summary:
Students will create a “living model” of the Solar System, and move about the Sun based on instructions from the teacher. This hands-on approach will give students a basis for understanding why it takes planets differing amounts of time to complete one trip around the Sun. It will also show students in a concrete way that the planets move in the same direction around the Sun, and change position relative to each other as they move (i.e. – at times planets are on the same side of the Sun, and at other times they are on the opposite side of the Sun from one another).
Learning Goals / Objectives:
Students learn that the planets in our Solar System move in the same direction around the Sun, but it takes each one a different amount of time to make a complete orbit.
Standards:
3 ES 4.d. Students know that Earth is one of several planets that orbit the Sun and that the Moon orbits Earth.
3 IE 5.e. Collect data in an investigation and analyze those data to develop a logical conclusion.
Background
Planets move on a relative plane around the Sun, but take different amounts of time to make one complete trip, depending on their location in the Solar System. This activity is designed to illustrate to students one of the big reasons why other planets make the trip faster or slower than Earth.
Setup:
The biggest part of preparation for the lesson is to have an area marked on the playground with 9 concentric circles, approximately 3 feet apart, leaving space in the center for the Sun. A straight “starting line” should be made from the center of the circles to the edge of the outermost circle (see attached diagram). Your maintenance department should have a chalk field marker, and may even mark the field for you. You will also need a sign for each planet, the Sun, and the asteroid belt.
Anticipatory Set:
Note: Students should already understand that the planets orbit the Sun in an organized way, and it is helpful if they know the order of the planets from the Sun.
Ask students what they know about how Earth travels around the Sun. Have them make predictions about how fast Earth is traveling right now as it circles the Sun (about 67,000 miles per hour). Tell them that you are going to go out to the playground to make a living model of the Solar System that shows how the planets move around the Sun.
Instructions / Activities:
1. Students sit around the concentric circles in their groups.
2. Each student in the first group is given a sign identifying them as the Sun, one of the planets, or the asteroid belt.
3. Select one of the three groups, and starting with the Sun, send the students in planetary order out to their spots (chalk lined orbits) on the starting line. You can ask students in the remaining two groups which planet should be next.
4. On your instructions, have students walk 3 steps heel-to-toe (this helps to keep step length approximately the same).
5. Continue giving instructions to the “planets” as to how many steps they should take, varying the number each time. Have the two other groups observe as this plays out.
6. In a short period of time the planets will have left their neat little line, and some will even be on the opposite side of the Sun from the others.
7. Choose a second group to come up, following the same procedure as before. Participating in versus observing the activity gives a different perspective.
8. Have the last group participate in the activity.
9. Return to the classroom for follow-up activities (see “Assessment”).
Assessment:
Formative assessments:
Upon returning to the classroom, have students discuss at their table groups what they observed/learned during the activity about how planets travel in space.
State a vocabulary word aloud and have students share its meaning with their think/pair/share partner. Call on volunteers to share with the class.
Ask a few true/false and yes/no questions about the activity and have students use the thumbs up/thumbs down signal.
Summative assessments:
Students will make a diagram of the Solar System in their Science Journals, showing the planets in possible positions (other than a straight line).
End of unit test on the Solar System.
Wrap-up / Closure:
In the computer lab, students will do a Google search to find the speed in miles per hour at which each planet travels around the Sun and record their findings in their Science Journals, to be shared and analyzed back in the classroom (the closer planets go considerably faster — something that was not represented in the activity).
Tags: Grade 3
Categories: Earth Science