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Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Cosmic Cookies

For Students 6th - 12th
Scholars read about each planet then bake a plate of cosmic cookies—no-bake cookies decorated to look like the planets; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Know Your Planets

For Teachers K - 4th Standards
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.
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Printables
Research Parent

Solar System Cards

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Find all things solar system in a set of reference cards. Even Pluto makes an appearance! Each of the 24 cards has a picture and accompanying informational text that gives brief background about the object.
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Phases of Charon

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Pluto, although no longer considered a planet, has five moons. Pluto's moon, Charon, is the focus of a resource that describes how the moon is viewed from the surface of Pluto. Photos help individuals see how Charon would look at...
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Lesson Plan
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Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

Looking to the Future

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
New Horizons set forth on a mission to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, the spacecraft is still on its way. Here, enthusiastic scholars predict what they will be like—likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.—when New Horizons arrives at its...
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Lesson Plan
media.yurisnight.net

Science Lesson Plan: Our Solar System: I Wonder?

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Ever wonder why Pluto isn't considered a planet? Or how large the Earth is compared to the other inner planets? Explore the universe with a series of projects that simulate different aspects of our solar system. The activities require...
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Activity
Star Date

Solar System Scale Model Demonstration

For Students 6th - 8th
Explore outer space and decorate your classroom with an astronomy project. Learners create a visual model with the creation of a scaled solar system using different sized balls.
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Activity
Star Date

Astronomy Day from McDonald Observatory Solar System Scale Activity

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Add a visual aid to your solar system lessons. Enthusiastic astronomers create a model depicting the nine planets and their distance from the sun. 
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Lesson Plan
Voyage Solar System

Round and Round We Go — Exploring Orbits in the Solar System

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Math and science come together in this cross-curricular astronomy lesson plan on planetary motion. Starting off with a hands-on activity that engages the class in exploring the geometry of circles and ellipses, this lesson plan then...
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Activity
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Center for Math and Science Education

Pocket Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
How in the world can something as big as the solar system possibly fit in your pocket? Complete this simple modeling activity and find out, as young scientists gain an appreciation for the incredible scale of outer space.
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Activity
Center for Math and Science Education

Solar System Launch

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Trying to understand the vastness of outer space can be quite a challenge for young scientists. Help put things in perspective with this cross-curricular activity as students work in pairs creating scaled models of the solar system,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using a Graphic Organizer to Research a Question

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Is Pluto still a planet? Using this popular question, kids are introduced to graphic organizers as a writing tool. As a class, they watch a demonstration on how to use them and work together with a partner to research whether Pluto is a...
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PPT
3
3
Curated OER

Earth Science

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
A slide for each of the planets (including recently downgraded Pluto), the sun, our moon, four of Jupiter's moons, and the rings of Saturn make up this visually appealing PowerPoint. A few facts for each body in the solar system...
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Worksheet
3
3
Curated OER

Characteristics of the Outer Planets

For Students 4th - 7th
A brief reading comprehension exercise, this learning exercise covers the characteristics of the outer planets. It still considers Pluto a planet and Charon its moon. It is therefore a little out of date, but this fact can be discussed...
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Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

Phases of Charon

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Charon, the largest of Pluto's moons, was discovered in 1978. Lesson is a walk through of how to solve for the phases of Charon. It uses two different points on Pluto and takes into account the tilt of the pole, the rotational axis, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Spacecraft Launched on Mission to Pluto

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Pupils read a news article about a space mission being launched to the planet Pluto. They study the necessary vocabulary and complete an anticipation guide of questions which they revisit after they read the article.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Seeing a Dwarf Planet Clearly: Pluto

For Students 9th - 11th
In this dwarf planet worksheet, students use images from the Hubble Space Telescope and they determine the scale of the image, they identify the largest features in the images, they calculate the volume of Pluto and they create a model...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Outer Planets

For Students 7th - 9th
In this outer planets worksheet, students determine if 15 statements about Neptune, Pluto, Saturn and Uranus are true or false. If they are false, students change the italicized words in the sentences to make the statements true.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Solar System

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this online interactive Solar System activity, learners access a specific website to locate the multiple choice answers to 4 questions dealing with the Solar System. Students answer 3 short answer questions and draw a line connecting...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Email From Another Planet

For Students 4th - 6th
In this article about emails and plants worksheet, students read short descriptions about 8 planets in the solar system and then imagine they are visiting one of the planets and send an email to a family member describing their...
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Organizer
Curated OER

The Outer Planets

For Students 3rd - 8th
In this outer planets worksheet, students will write in the names of the outer planets on a chart. Then students will fill in the chart with information about each of these planets including size and composition, atmosphere, below the...
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Writing
Curated OER

Planet Pluto and Personification

For Students 5th - 6th
In this writing prompt worksheet students are asked to use personification in discussing the redefinition of "planet Pluto" to "dwarf planet." Students are asked to communicate the feelings of the planet as it pertains to its...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pluto a Planet No More

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Pupils help to create a list of planets in the solar system. They review the terms in the news section and complete the sentences given. They then read the article together and discuss.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering Planet X

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate the movements of the planet Pluto. Students participate in a hands-on activity to record data similar to the movements of the planet Pluto. Students compare their data to that found on a website.