This short video gives a brief description of the solar system. Although it doesn't go into great detail, it is a great starting point to get the students interested on the subject and excited to learn more about solar system. One thing that I really like about this video is the fact that is doesn't say anything about Pluto. Many of the other videos that I watched still included information about Pluto.

This lesson plan starts out with the students comparing the size of the planets in the solar system and relating them to sizes of objects that they see everyday. After having a discussion about the solar system with the class, the teacher groups the students and assigns each group a planet. The students then research the planet and come up with a few sentences about the properties of the planet as well as some interesting facts about the planet. I like that this lesson incorporates writing skills and encourages the students to use their words to describe the planets.

Although this field trip would only work for a school in Chicago, I found that the Adler Planetarium has an amazing exhibit about the solar system. Besides extensive information about each planet, students can participate in a space walk where they have the chance to explore the different terrain and atmospheres on the other planets. My favorite thing about this exhibit is that is gives the students the opportunity to touch a piece of Mars and the moon! I think the students would find this field trip very interesting and it would be much more entertaining to them than staying in the classroom and watching videos of the solar system!

I like the idea of this matching game, however I would take the time to make the cards out of construction paper and laminate them so that the students could use them at their desks instead of having to be at the computer. I would also probably add more descriptions and have each planet as an answer two or even three times, just to make the game more challenging and show that the student has proficient knowledge over the material that has been covered in class.

This activity steps out of the normal lesson in the classroom, but I think it would keep the students entertained because of the candy that is involved. Each student would have a paper plate and would glue different pieces of candy on the plate representing the sun, each of the planets, and the asteroid belt. I really like that this activity steps out of the comfort zone that most teachers have and allows the students to do such a hands on activity that involves something that they like!

During this activity students will complete a worksheet (that is attached on the bottom of the website) where they will gather information about each planet. I like that the information that is needed to complete the worksheet is quite extensive compared to other worksheets. This webquest could be used as a lesson one day to break up the tediousness of sitting in a desk and reading from the book. I like that it incorporates technology in the classroom by allowing students to use computers.

This is a hands-on activity that allows students to grasp the idea of how far the planets are from each other and from the sun. The activity starts by having the students perform simply mathematics to convert the distance in astronomical units to centimeters. I really like that the students have to perform this task themselves and that it incorporates mathematics into the science lesson. After determining each planets distance from the sun, the students use color beads on a string to show each planets distance from the sun.

This is an interactive video tour through space that gives the students basic details about each planet. The video also offers mini quizzes that tests the students knowledge over the material that has been presented in the video. This video could be used as an introduction to a solar system lesson to get the children familiar with the planets before diving deeper into solar system.