Solar System Lesson Plans

As teachers, we all know that students are more likely to retain information they find interesting.  When I first started teaching, I always looked forward to my space unit the most, as it was easy to motivate kids to learn about the stars, planets, and spaceflight. After several years, I started incorporating more and more aerospace into the rest of my curriculum, until one day I realized that nearly every unit I taught contained some reference to spaceflight. 

Teaching students about the solar system provides teachers with a multitude of ways to interest even the most reluctant learners.  For example, scale can be taught by having students learn about planets and their distances from each other, and they can compare their relative sizes.  Language arts connections can be made through comparing and contrasting the planets. Technology standards can be met by having students do planetary research and recording this data in spreadsheets and word processing programs.

Studying the solar system can also help teach the nature of science, especially as astronomers argue over whether objects like Pluto should be classified as planets. Teachers can ask students to evaluate which planets might be suitable for colonization, and then design a colony using existing resources on the planet of their choice.

Inquiry investigations are also possible during a study of the solar system. You can conduct some research on the asteroid that many scientists believe caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. How big was this asteroid? How big is the crater it made on impact? Students can design an experiment that will answer the question: “How does the size of an asteroid affect the width of the crater it makes on impact?”  In the conclusion, they should discuss the importance of asteroid size in any future impacts on planet Earth. Before you know it, your students will be motivated to learn any topic – as long as it relates to space! Here are some more lesson plans to get students interested in science and a variety of other topics.

Solar System Lesson Plans:

Modeling the Solar System

This lesson has students construct a model of the solar system to show that most it is just empty space. They talk about the distance between planets and discuss how long it takes to travel through the solar system.

Solar System - Inner vs. Outer Planets

In this lesson students compare the planets in our solar system. They discuss their differences in size, temperature, and compostition by engaging in a variety of activities. They create a dance based on the information they have learned.

Galactic Vacation - Touring the Planets

This lesson has students work in groups to conduct Internet research on the planets in our solar system. They record their data in a spreadsheet, and type their information into a word processing program. At the end they create a Power Point presentation including images.

Creating Craters

In this lesson students learn about craters. They compare ones found on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. They learn about the relationship of mass, velocity, and size of the projectile in creating craters.