Curated OER
Making Models of the Solar System
Students make several models of the solar system to learn the positions of the planets in the solar system as well as relative distances and sizes. Creation of these models will help them identify the planets by size, shape, color,...
American Museum of Natural History
Cosmic Cookies
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.
Curated OER
Behind the Mission to Mercury
Learners read an E-Sheet about the Mission to Mercury. They follow a variety of worksheets and on-line activities that follow the E-Sheet. They discuss several different scenarios regarding space exploration. They analyze one of the...
Curated OER
Mercury
In this solar system instructional activity, students color a detailed picture of the planet Mercury. Students answer 5 essay questions about the planet.
Coloring Castle
Planets
From Mercury to Uranus, this printable coloring page includes images of all eight planets found in our solar system, making it a fun way to engage young scientists in learning about outer space.
Curated OER
Be A Planet
Young scholars identify the name, order and attributes of the planets. They role play the position of planets, and draw pictures of the planets as well.
A to Z Teacher Stuff
Solar System Book
Young astronomers travel through the solar system in the pages of this printable book. With clear pictures and simple sentence structure, this is a perfect resource for exploring the planets in the early elementary grade levels.
American Museum of Natural History
Solar System Scavenger Hunt
Scholars go on a hunt to locate objects that best fit the measurements to create an eye-catching scale model of the solar system.
Research Parent
Solar System Cards
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.
Curated OER
Our Changing View of the Solar System
Students identify and name the eight planets and the five dwarf planets in our solar system. In this space science instructional activity, students view a slideshow of the planets and label them on an included Solar System chart.
Curated OER
The Planets in Our Solar System
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...
Curated OER
Kepler-The Hunt for Earth-like Planets
In this hunt for planets worksheet, students read about the Kepler satellite used to detect exoplanets. Students solve 6 problems including drawing a sun disk and determining the scale in kilometers/millimeter, finding the area of the...
Curated OER
Planets
In this planets worksheet, learners read about Mercury, Venus, and Earth and then complete 21 multiple choice, 2 true or false, and 1 short answer question.
Curated OER
Planetary Alignments
In this planetary alignments activity, students use 2 different methods to find out when planet alignments will occur. They use a three number series and they use least common multiples to find out when Mercury and Venus will align.
SciShow Kids
Let's Make the Solar System
Get crafty with the help of pictures and a real-time demonstration from a video that details the step-by-step process in creating a paper solar system.
Messenger Education
Sensing the Invisible: The Herschel Experiment
The electromagnetic spectrum includes everything from very powerful gamma rays (which are used to treat cancer) to much weaker radio waves (which include microwaves). Through a hands-on activity, scholars explore the temperature...
Curated OER
Behind the Mission To Mercury
Young scholars assess the goals, benefits, success, and limitations of technology (instruments) on a space mission.
Curated OER
Our Solar System
Students study the Earth and Solar System through a variety of activities. They compile a coloring book show the characteristics of the Sun and nine planets.
Curated OER
Charting The Planets
Students conduct different activities in order to unlock the secrets of the universe. They answer different questions that are written to assess knowledge of the planets. Information can be found on the internet to help.
Star Date
Modeling the Night Sky
Dramatize the stars and planets as they become a visual representation of the solar system in this activity. Young astronomers track and simulate various constellations as they orbit the Earth to learn the position and motion of...
Mrs. Sol's Class
Solar System Project
Finish or launch your unit on the solar system with a jigsaw project covering major celestial concepts such as the Milky Way Galaxy, asteroids, meteors, comets, Earth's moon, and, of course, all the planets. Learners start by...
Curated OER
My Angle on Cooling
Students explore how the angle and distance of an object can change it's temperature. After reviewing how the position of the Earth affects the temperature of the planet, student groups design and perform an experiment to test how...
Curated OER
Create an Alien Life Form
In this creative writing worksheet, students answer a series of questions about an alien they imagine. There are also other pre-writing exercises about historical figures, monuments, a zoo, and other topics designed to aid in the...
Curated OER
Sensing the Invisible
Students study visible light and explain why we want to use infrared radiation to study Mercury. In this sunlight instructional activity students construct a device to measure the presence of infrared radiation in sunlight.