The Solar System: Introduction to Unit

Grade: Third Grade

ELA Standards:
RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly
to the text the basis for the answers.
RI.3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a
text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events
occur).
W.3.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision)
and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
W.3.2d - Provide a concluding statement or section.
W.3.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital
sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into providing categories.
Science Standards
Solar System & Universe: Earth and Space Science Unifying Concept B;
E.5.B Students understand that there are many components in the solar system
including Earth.
Solar System & Universe: Earth and Space Science Unifying Concept B
E.5.B.2 Students know the solar system includes the Sun, planets, and moons. E/S
Solar System & Universe: Earth and Space Science Unifying concept B
E.5.B.4 Students know there are cyclical patterns of observable objects in the solar
system. I/S
I chose to do the solar system for my unit. For day one, the teacher would teach about the Sun, day
two the teacher would teach about the planets, day three the teacher would teach about asteroids,
comets, and moons, and day four the teacher would take the students on a field trip to the UNR
observatory.
Because I live in Northern Nevada, I planned the field trip for this area. Teachers will have to either
dismiss this lesson or if they have an observatory in their area, they will have to set up a field trip
for their area.
I find that the solar system fascinating, whats all around the Earth, how the planets move, and how
the Sun is the main source for our survival. I feel it is important for students to get an idea of all
that is out there. We may never know what might spark the students interest and what they all may
become if we dont give them ideas of things that are all around.
This lesson provides hands on experience of learning the solar system through research, reading
books, writing, and finding answers to questions.
The biggest problem I see the students having is when they are looking through books and finding
resources on the computers when they are looking on the computers. I will go around the room and
check on the students and if I see that they need help, I will show them in more depth than when I
did it in front of the class. This is just the beginning of them learning how to look through books
and do research on the computers.

Student Introduction:
I would ask the students some questions for example:
What do you see when you look up in the sky?
Have you ever wondered what is up in the sky along with the stars, moon, and the Sun?
What do you think might be out there?
Why do you think it is important to know what is out in our solar system?
Herere some videos of what our astrologers are finding out on Mars:
Mars Rover Curiosity in 2 minutes: http://www.space.com/22226-mars-rover-curiosity-time-lapsevideo.html
Landing of Mars Rover Curiosity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiEoGUHEobo
But before we learn about our planets, it is important to start with the center of the solar system and
that is the Sun.

NEVADA STATE COLLEGE

TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Solar System
By: Sandra Montgomery

Description of Classroom:
This is a third grade general classroom of 24 students. There are two ELL students, and two students
who are in the special education program.

Background:
In this lesson, students will learn about the Solar System, what order the planets are in and how they
orbit the Sun.

Content Objective(s):
Students will be able to tell what order the planets are in.
Students will demonstrate the Solar System.
Students will be able to identify the planets

Language Objective(s):
Students will be discussing what they find in their research. They will be writing down the
information they found. The students will also express what they have learned and share it with the
class.

Nevada Standards:

Solar System & Universe: Earth and Space Science Unifying Concept B;
E.5.B Students understand that there are many components in the solar system including
Earth.
Solar System & Universe: Earth and Space Science Unifying Concept B
E.5.B.2 Students know the solar system includes the Sun, planets, and moons. E/S
Solar System & Universe: Earth and Space Science Unifying concept B
E.5.B.4 Students know there are cyclical patterns of observable objects in the solar
system. I/S
RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text the basis for the answers.
RI.3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a
text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
W.3.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision)
and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
W.3.2d - Provide a concluding statement or section.
W.3.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources;
take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into providing categories.

Key Vocabulary:
Planets
Sun
Axis

Rotate
Solar system

Orbit

Best Practices: (put an X next to those that you address in your lesson)
Preparation
Adaptation of content
Links to background
Links to past learning
Strategies incorporated
Integration of Processes
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing

Scaffolding
Modeling
Guided practice
Independent practice
Verbal scaffolds
Procedural scaffolds
Application
Hands-on
Authentic (Meaningful)
Linked to objectives
Promotes engagement

Grouping Options
Whole Class
Small groups
Partners
Independent
Assessment
Individual
Group
Written
Oral

Teaching Strategies:

Sticky notes
Video
Small informal discussion groups
Journal

Lesson Sequence:
Teacher Preparation
Have a bulletin board prepared for students to put up the solar system, meaning have the paper and the
border up. Students are going to be doing projects, getting pictures of their planets. They will be
sticking up their planets, creating the solar system. If there is a bulletin board outside the classroom for
the school to see, then put it outside the classroom.
Have the Sun, planets, moon, asteroids, and comets printed and cut out and ready to be hung up on the
board. Laminating them will make them last longer and will be able to reuse them.
Prepare in advance a field trip to the UNR observatory to watch video the solar system and check out
some displays of the universe.
Day 1 Information Scavenger Hunt
Materials
Journals (Can just use a data sheet with questions for students to use if you dont use journals)
Questions and answers of the Sun (attached)
Youtube video The Sun: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?
q=youtube+video+on+the+sun&qpvt=youtube+video+on+the+sun&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=
AA0797468E2B81EFE2F9AA0797468E2B81EFE2F9
Youtube video Sun: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?
q=youtube+video+on+the+sun&qpvt=youtube+video+on+the+sun&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=8
D734EB90018CAEDBF408D734EB90018CAEDBF40
Vocabulary words (Attached)
24 cards numbered 1 6
Light colored pencil
Teacher Preparation
Have the videos ready to play from the beginning.
Post the information to the questions, around the room.

 Before doing lesson, have the students cut and paste their questions into their journal.
Create 24 cards with individual numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 on them. This will put the students into groups.
Warm-up Activity
First show the video and the students can sing along with the video.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?
q=youtube+video+on+the+sun&qpvt=youtube+video+on+the+sun&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=AA
0797468E2B81EFE2F9AA0797468E2B81EFE2F9
*I thought that this is a good visual for the students to see on the Sun.
Science Lesson Activity Italics are instructions for the teacher. Words in parentheses are the answers.
Place on the board vocabulary words and go through each one. Have the students write them in their
journal or the method that you use for vocabulary words.
If we were able to look straight at it, what do we see in the sky during the day? (Sun) Do we ever look at
the Sun? (No) If we were to look at the Sun it will damage our eyes and can make us blind. Do NOT ever
look at the Sun. This is important for students to know, so they wont go look at the Sun.
Today you are going on an information scavenger hunt. Remember the questions you glued into your
science journal? Take a look around the room; see how there is paper up with questions and some
information on it?
You are going to go to each station and find the answers to the questions that you have in your journal. You
are going to write the answers to the questions in your journal. You will have five minutes at each station to
find your answer. When the timer is done, you will move clockwise to the next station. The person on the
end with question 6 will move to question 1.
This part of the assignment, you will work individually and answer the questions yourselves. If you need
help, ask someone in your group for help.
Pass out the numbered cards to the students. You have just been given a card with a number on it. The
number determines what station you are going to start at. Walk quietly to your stations and touch your head.
When everyone is ready, start the time. You may begin.
When they get done have them go to their seats and sit together in the same group. Then have them discuss
with each other what they found.
Show only 32 seconds of the youtube video. It shows live shots of the Sun.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?
q=youtube+video+on+the+sun&qpvt=youtube+video+on+the+sun&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=8D7
34EB90018CAEDBF408D734EB90018CAEDBF40
Language Arts Activity
You are going to write a paper on what you found out about the Sun. Dont just to write down the questions
and the answers, but in a story telling us about the Sun.
For example: The information that was gathered was about the Suns surface. Put up the information on the
Suns surface. Have the huge easel paper to write on.
See the information here on the board, I am going to take that and create a report or story about the Sun. I
would start with writing something like this:

There are different layers to the Sun. On the surface of the Suns atmosphere it has three layers. These
layers are called photosphere, chromospheres, and corona. The photosphere is the bottom layer, the
chromosphere is the middle layer, and the corona is the top layer of the Sun.
This next part you will work together as a group. Take out a light colored pencil and underline the important
information under each question. Then when you are done, bring it up and show me. When it has been
okayed by me, then you will go and start writing. Make sure that everybody works together on this project.
You are to write two things that you found out that is interesting and one that you underlined about the Sun
for each question.
What did we just learn about? (The Sun)
Pick a student. Come up here and find the picture of the Sun. Place it on the bulletin board.
I will type up what each of you has said and your name will be on it. Then we will hang it up under the Sun
tomorrow morning.
Day 2
Materials
Books on planets (attached is a list of some book ideas)
Sticky notes
24 3 x 5 cards with numbers and names of the planets on them.
Youtube video planets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvwrDgId2HY
Line paper
Journals
Teacher Preparation
Create 24 3 x 5 cards with numbers 1- 8 on one side; these will put the students into groups. They cannot
trade with anyone. Have the names of the planets on the other side of the cards; put 1s Mercury, 2s
Venus, 3s Earth, 4s Mars, 5s Jupiter, 6s Saturn, 7s Uranus, 8s Neptune.
Have the books ready to pass out and find printouts on the computer for the planets.
Have the youtube video ready to play.
Just make sure that the students have plenty of line paper.
Rubric
Warm-up Activity
Show them the video so they can hear how they sound Uranus. Play it again, and then have the students sing
along with the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvwrDgId2HY
*Having the students sing along will help them remember the planets.
Lesson Activity Italics are instructions for the teacher
How many planets are there? (8)
You will be grouped into 8 groups of 3. Each group will be given a planet to research and find information.
You will be given a rubric and on that rubric is all the information that is expected in your paper. The

questions that have just been handed to you have been separated for each person to answer and each person
in the group will look for those answers. You will also be graded on well you worked together.
The books and resources from the internet about your planet are placed in certain stations.
Pass out the numbered cards. These cards determine what group you are in and what planet you are doing.
You are to work together and participate; otherwise you will do the assignment by yourself. Assign areas for
the students to work at.
Pass out the stick notes.
The sticky notes are for you to take notes on. If you found the answer to your question, write down
something small and place it on the page you found the information on. If something you read sounds really
neat, write it down on the sticky note and place it on that page. Have it all set up and ready to go, but model
what you expect them to do. Have the sticky note with some information on it and place it on the page in the
book.
Remember yesterday as we did the Sun, it talked about the size of the Sun. This information is important, so
I wrote down size of Sun on the sticky note and stuck it on the page that I found the information on.
When you get done raise your hand and I will come and give you more directions.
On the back of the cards you will see a planet on it; that is the planet you are going to be doing. The books
and other resource pages are in stations. Send them to their stations; you can say ones over here, twos there,
and so on. You can get started now.
When the group get done and raise their hands, go over and tell them discuss with each other what they
found out about their planet. Have them each write down one thing from each question on a piece of paper
they found important.
When they are done have them go to the desks in their groups and take the book with them. It will have a
picture of their planet.
Get your journals out and write something that you found interesting about that planet and why.
On the table over there are pictures of the planet you just did. Each group will go up and find their planet and
bring it up. When they do, put it up on the board next to the Sun. Then staple the students paper underneath
the planet they did.
Day 3 Combine language arts and science together, this will allow them enough time to find their
information.
Materials
Library
Lined paper
Journal
Teacher Preparation
Set up a time with the librarian to take the class to the library.
Plenty of lined paper to take to the library.
Pictures of asteroids, comet, and moons. Use the Earths moon, but explain that each moon has its own

unique look. If it has more than five moons, then just write the number on the moon.
Lesson Activity Italics are instructions for the teacher (answers are in parentheses)
There are a few things that we are missing in our solar system; can you think of what we are missing?
(asteroids, comets, and moons)
We are going to go to the library and do some research on the internet about asteroids, comets, and moons.
You will find out 5 things about asteroids, 5 things about comets. On the moons, just tell us what planets
have moons and how many they have. If you find something interesting about the moon, write that down
too.
In order to find what we want on the internet we must first learn how to search for what we are looking for.
See right here? Place the pointer to the search engine. This is where you will type in what you are looking
for. So if I was looking up information on the Sun, then I would type in Sun here in the search engine. See
how many choices it gives me?
You will have 15 - 20 minutes when class is about over to find what you need and write everything down.
When you find the information that you want on asteroids, comets, and moons write it down. The lined
paper will be on a table in the library.
Line up quietly. Take them to the library to get started on their work.
When they are done, go back to the room
Now we need to finish up our solar system. What do we need to put up to finish it again? (asteroids, comet,
and moons) hang up the asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, the comet, and the moons. Hang the moons in
the correct spot.
When I hang up the moons, you will tell me how many moons each planet has.
Write one thing in your journal that you learned about the solar system. What did you find interesting and
would like to learn more on?
If they would like to share this to the class, let them do it.
Hand in your journal and all your paperwork.
Type up some things the students liked about the asteroids, comets, and moons. Then staple it up on the
bulletin board.
Day 4
Materials
Signed permission forms
Teacher Preparation
Set up time beforehand for a field trip to match up time with this lesson.
Send permission slips home at least three weeks prior for field trip to observatory.
Lesson Activity Italics are for the teacher
We are going on a field trip to UNR observatory.

Summary of field trip

The observatory shows a video on the solar system. It shows on a circular shape roof and the chairs incline
for the students to see it. It gives the illusion that they are traveling in space. The observatory also has a
room to show models of asteroids and other things that would be up in space. They also sell stuff to people
as souvenirs.

Accommodations:
If there is an ELL student or someone who struggles with reading within the group, there will be a student
who can read well, they will point to the words and read the information to the students.
When doing research and they need help, partner them up.
With the writing assignments, cut down how many sentences they have to write.

Supplementary Materials: Materials needed for each day is listed under the days.

Reference books and articles

Suggested book list is attached
Pictures of planets, asteroids, moon, and comets
Vocabulary words

Review/Assessment:

Their writings of their assignments will be an informal assessment.

There will be a formal assessment where students will have to describe the solar system of whats in it
and tell some basic things about the solar system. (attached as Our Solar System)

Reflection:
This lesson gives students the opportunity to write, do some research, and learn to find important information
in non-fiction books.
Doing this lesson plan has been very interesting and challenging to put together. It has been fun to do, it
made me think outside the box and had to redo this lesson plan several times.
Form: 005
JDC 4/22/08

Vocabulary Words
Planets: A large body in orbit around a star.
Sun: A star that is the central body of the solar system which the planets
revolve around.
Axis: An imaginary straight line on which an object rotates.
Rotate: The spinning motion of a body about an axis.
Solar System: The Sun and the planets that revolve around it.
Orbit: The path of one object around another object.

Questions to have students glue into their journals or create a data sheet for them to fill out.

How big is the Sun?

How far away is the Sun from the Earth?

What is the Sun?

What are solar winds and solar flares?

How hot is the inside and outside of the Sun?

What is the inside of the Sun made of?

Answer Key

How big is the Sun?

864,949 miles or 1.4 million kilometers

How far away is the Sun from the Earth? 92,955,807 miles
What is the Sun?

A star

What are solar winds and solar flares?

Solar winds: Steady stream of charged particles.
Solar flares: Patch of particles that burst from the Sun.

How hot is the inside and outside of the Sun?

Inside of the Sun: 28 million degrees Fahrenheit or 15.5 million degrees
Celsius.
Outside of the Sun: 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit or 5,500 degrees Celsius.

What is the inside of the Sun made of?

Helium that has been

converted from hydrogen through nuclear fusions.

1.

How big is the Sun?

Compared with the billions of other stars in the universe,
the sun is unremarkable. But for Earth and the other planets
that revolve around it, the sun is a powerful center of
attention. It holds the solar system together; pours lifegiving light, heat, and energy on Earth; and generates space
weather.
The sun is a big star. At 864,949 miles (1.4 million
kilometers) wide, it could hold 109 planet Earths across its
surface. If the sun were a hollow ball, more than a million
Earths could stuff inside it.

2.

Whats the inside of the Sun made of?

Deep in the suns core, nuclear fusion reactions convert
hydrogen to helium, which generates energy. Particles of
light called photons carry this energy through the suns
spherical shell, called the radiative zone, to the top layer of
the solar interior, the convection zone. There, boiling
motions of gases (like in a lava lamp) transfer the energy to
the surface. This journey takes more than a million years.

3.

How hot does the inside and outside of the Sun get?
If the sun were a hollow ball, more than a million Earths
could stuff inside it. But the sun isnt hollow. Its filled with
scorching hot gases that account for more than 99.8 percent
of the total mass in the solar system. How hot? The
temperature is about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5,500
degrees Celsius) on the surface and more than 28 million
degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 million Celsius) at the core.

4.

What are solar storms and solar flares?

In addition to light, the sun radiates heat and a steady
stream of charged particles known as the solar wind. The
wind blows about 280 miles (450 kilometers) a second
throughout the solar system. Every so often, a patch of
particles will burst from the sun in a solar flare, which can
disrupt satellite communications and knock out power on
Earth. Flares usually stem from the activity of sunspots,
cool regions of the photosphere related to a shifting
magnetic field inside the sun.

5.
What is the Sun?
The Sun, which sits in the center of our solar system, is a
medium-sized star. As we all know, the Sun provides us
with light and warmth; however, as the largest body in our
solar system, the Sun plays an additional important role.
With a diameter of 864,949 miles (1,392,000 kilometers),
the Sun is more than one million times larger than Earth.
Because it is bigger than all the other planets in our solar
system, too, the Sun exerts a greater gravitational pull. It is
this pull that keeps all the planets, including Earth, fixed on
their orbital paths. Without this pull, the planets would
simply float off into space.
6.
How far away is the Sun from Earth?
The sun is at the heart of the solar system. All of the bodies
in the solar system planets, asteroids, comets, etc.
revolve around it. The distance from Earth to the sun is
92,955,807 miles.

Information of the Suns surface

The suns surface, or atmosphere, is divided into three regions: the
photosphere, the 16hromospheres, and the solar corona.
The photosphere is the visible surface of the sun and the lowest
layer of the atmosphere. Just above the photosphere are
the 16Chromospheres and the corona, which also emit visible
light but are only seen during a solar eclipse, when the moon
passes between the Earth and sun.

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Neptune

Uranus

Moon

Asteroids

Comet

Rubric for Planets

Questions
answered:
What size is the
planet?

5
The students
answered the
questions.

The students
worked together
How far is it from as a group.
the Sun? From
Earth?
They made notes
throughout their
How does it
book/article.
rotate?

3
Students
answered the
questions but not
completely.

1
Students
answered a
couple of them.

Students worked
mostly together.

Students did the

work, but didnt
work together.

They did do
notes, but not
throughout the
book/article.

They took only a

couple of notes
throughout the
books/articles.

0
They didnt do
the work.

How long does it

take to orbit the
Sun?
Describe the
planet. For
example, if it has
a color what color
is it? Does it
have rings? How
many moons does
it have?
Quality of work Students writing Students writing Students work
was great and was was good and was was a bit sloppy
easy to read.
readable.
and barely
readable.
Students wrote
Students wrote
down some
neat things, but
Students just
important
not very
wrote things
information
important.
down the
important
information.

Students didnt do
the work.

Book resources
If you cant find better books, these books will give the students what they need to learn and they
are easy reading. I was only able to look on Amazon, I did think they looked good.
Books
Simon, Seymour. (March 2002). Planets around the Sun. Chronicle Books. Chronicle Books.
ISBN: 1-587-17-145-7
Simon, Seymour. (1992). Our solar system. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0688099923
Simon, Seymour. (1989). The Sun. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0688092368
Simon, Seymour. (1992). Mercury. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0688105440
Simon, Seymour. (1992). Venus. HarperCollins. First Edition. ISBN-13: 978-0688105426
Simon, Seymour. (2003). Earth. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Revised edition.
ISBN-13: 978-0689835629
Simon, Seymour. (2004). Destination: Mars. HarperCollins, reprint edition.
ISBN-13: 978-0060546380
Simon, Seymour. (2000). Destination: Jupiter. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0064437592
Simon, Seymour. (1988). Saturn. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0688084042
Simon, Seymour. (1988). Uranus. HarperCollins; 1st Mulberry Ed edition.
ISBN-13: 978-0688084042
Simon, Seymour. (1997). Neptune. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0688152772
Simon, Seymour. (1998). Comets, meteors, and asteroids. HarperCollins.
ISBN-13: 978-0688158439

Our Solar System

1. What is the center of our solar system?
A. Planets
B. Moon
C. Asteroids
D. Sun
2. What is the Sun called?
A. Moon
B. Star
C. Planet
D. Asteroid
3. Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Uranus are:
A. Moons
B. Planets
C. Stars
D. Asteroids
4. What are the rock looking formations that are mainly between Mars and Jupiter?
A. Rocks
B. Comets
C. Asteroids
D. Moons
5. Most planets have these around them; we even see one in the sky.
A. Asteroids
B. Comets
C. Moons
D. Suns
6. What are the icy balls of balls that have a tail at the end?
A. Comets
B. Meteor
C. Meteorites
D. Asteroids
7. Describe what the Sun does for us and why we need the Sun?

8. What would you like to learn more on?

Summary of Changes: I created this lesson plan on my own. I didnt take this lesson from
anybody else.
Accommodations: If there is an ELL student or someone who struggles with reading within the
group, there will be a student who can read well, they will point to the words and read the
information to the students.
When doing research and they need help, partner them up.
Writing assignments, cut down how many sentences they have to write.
Description of Accommodations:
Student reading to a student who is struggling or ELL: The student who is reading will read at a
slower pace while moving his finger with the words he is reading. I believe this will help for the
students will get to hear and see the words that are being read. I would have the students taking
turns reading and getting help as they need to.
Partnering up while doing research: Doing research can get confusing if one doesnt know how to
use the computer, or know what to do to look up information. If a student just doesnt know what
they are doing, and they can get guidance by being shown to eventually doing it on their own, they
will learn how to do it.
Reducing the writing: If the students are struggling with keeping up with the class and just are
having a hard time writing, then I would cut it down. I would do this so it wont overwhelm the
student trying to write and keep up with the class. The more they get comfortable with writing, and
then the writing assignments would increase.
Strategies Reflection:
Sticky notes
Video
Small informal discussion groups
Journal
Sticky notes: I feel that if students were to make a quick note on a sticky note and place it where
they found the information, then they can go back and refer easily to those pages and can read the
text at a faster rate. I feel that if they found the information and writing the whole thing down and
then continuing on they would forget what they were reading. If they jot a quick note, then they can
continue with their reading and comprehend better what they are reading.
Video: Sometimes seeing a video makes everything more interesting and students can get an idea
of what they are reading. Reading can get boring if that is all that they are doing, if they can see a
video if they arent able to do an activity then I believe it will motivate the students when they do
need to read.
Small informal discussion groups: When students are able to discuss with each other, they get to
bounce off their thoughts to one another. This allows teaching moments to each other, for one
might miss something where another student caught what it was and vice versa. It could also clear
up misconceptions or bring a question out to clear up something that they dont understand. It also
will help students to open up to each other, where sometimes they have trouble opening up to the
teacher.

Journal: Writing in a journal allows free writing of the student where they dont need to worry
about errors as much like they do with reports. This is a great communication between the teacher
and the student and the teacher gets better ideas of where the student is really at.
Multimodal Ideas:
Linguistic students will be writing down what information they have found, and writing in
their journal.
Visual They are going to create a solar system bulletin board. They are also going to so
pictures from their books and internet research.
Audio - There are a couple of youtube videos, which have a beat to the songs they put to the
information.
Spatial: The students will learn the layout, organization, and direction of our solar system.
Youtube videos:
There are three youtube videos: Two of them are of the Sun. I felt that this is a good one to use,
because nobody can just go outside and look at the Sun without special devices. The video shows
the Sun and describes the Sun in a fun and unique way.
The other video names the planets, but the way Uranus is pronounced now is different from when I
learned it. I want the students to hear how it is said. Also, I feel that they would learn it more
because it is in a song.
I feel that these videos do fit in with the content are of science, even though the students will get the
language arts section with writing things down about the Sun its always good to see what you are
writing about than just pictures.
Non-fiction books: This allows students to learn to search through books that are non-fiction and
learn to decipher what is important in them.
Computers: Students will learn how to do research on the computer to find their information that
they need.
With the nonfiction books and computers this helps students to find information through various
resources. They then write down the important information that they find. Once they learn how to
do that, then they can be taught how to put the things they write down in their own words.
Overall Reflection
Sometimes when planning lesson plans I am not exactly sure on time limits and sometimes the
plans I have made or think of last longer than what I really think they will. With this lesson plan, I
feel that a couple of days of mine might go longer than what I am thinking they will. I would
actually plan the field trip the end of the following week, to allow me extra time if I need to extend
my lessons. The other thing, is also assessments, are the students learning, what are they struggling
with and then coming up with new ideas on how to help them so they will understand what is being
taught to them. I dont want anyone to fail or not learn because I didnt want to come up with a
new way of teaching them. However, I would do my research and best to figure out if there is
another strategy that can be done to help any student.
Best Practices Summary
There is a lot of reading and writing in this. This will accomplish the ELA standards for it allows
students to learn how to read and write from non-fiction books. It gives them practice with what
they are learning and write for an extended amount of time.

Works Cited
Simon, Seymour. (March 2002). Planets around the Sun. Chronicle Books. Chronicle Books.
ISBN: 1-587-17-145-7
Simon, Seymour. (1992). Our solar system. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0688099923
Simon, Seymour. (1989). The Sun. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0688092368
Simon, Seymour. (1992). Mercury. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0688105440
Simon, Seymour. (1992). Venus. HarperCollins. First Edition. ISBN-13: 978-0688105426
Simon, Seymour. (2003). Earth. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Revised edition.
ISBN-13: 978-0689835629
Simon, Seymour. (2004). Destination: Mars. HarperCollins, reprint edition.
ISBN-13: 978-0060546380
Simon, Seymour. (2000). Destination: Jupiter. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0064437592
Simon, Seymour. (1988). Saturn. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0688084042
Simon, Seymour. (1988). Uranus. HarperCollins; 1st Mulberry Ed edition.
ISBN-13: 978-0688084042
Simon, Seymour. (1997). Neptune. HarperCollins. ISBN-13: 978-0688152772
Simon, Seymour. (1998). Comets, meteors, and asteroids. HarperCollins.
ISBN-13: 978-0688158439
Videos
Time for Learning.com. The Sun is a incandescence gas. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?
q=youtube+video+on+the+sun&qpvt=youtube+video+on+the+sun&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&
mid=AA0797468E2B81EFE2F9AA0797468E2B81EFE2F9
NASA. 4/21/2010. New eye on the Sun delivers stunning new images.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?
q=youtube+video+on+the+sun&qpvt=youtube+video+on+the+sun&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&
mid=8D734EB90018CAEDBF408D734EB90018CAEDBF40
Youtube. December 31, 2012. The Planets. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvwrDgId2HY