8 Year Old Distance Education

Science- The Solar System

Lesson 1- Where Are the Planets?

  • Look at the pictures provided below of the solar system.  What order do the planets come in?  Where is the asteriod belt?
  • Listen to this song:  Planet Rap            
  • Go to KidsAstronomy.  Go down to the bottom of the page and click "Make a Solar System".  Play with this game to help you learn the order of the planets, as well as the shape and color of the planets.
  • Read this link: Assignment 1 .  It uses a phrase to help remember the order of the planets from the sun.  Create your own phrase to help others remember the order of the planets.  Send this as an e-mail to your teacher. 
    •  Use this link:  One Motion to make a picture of the solar system (the planets and asteroid belt).  Press "OK" to start and then paint on your planets with the paint brush.  If you can, use the paint brush to write the names of the planets next to or on them. When you are finished the drawing click on the File button on the top right side of your drawing paper. Press "Save" and then a box will pop up, press "Save" again.  Give your painting a name and save it to your computer's desktop or documents. When you have saved it please send it as an attachment in e-mail.  If you were not able to write the names using the paintbrush tell your teacher what colors you made each of your planets in the e-mail.
    • Check out the fantastic example by Ruslan below!

 

Lesson 2- Lets learn more about the Planets

 

Lesson 3- Comets and Asteroids

 

Lesson 4- Seasons

 

Lesson 5- Day and Night

Activity-  Ask your mom or a friend to be the “sun”.  You are the earth.  The earth moves around the sun.  We call this- revolving.  Walk around the “sun”.  The path you take while walking is your orbit.  An orbit is the path the planets take around the sun.  As you revolve around your sun spin slowly in a counter clockwise direction.  The earth spins while it revolves around the sun.  This is called rotating.  Now rotate (spin) in front of the sun.  Ask the sun to once and a while say "stop".  When you have stopped decide if it would be day or night.  If you can see the sun it is day, if not then it is night.

 

Lesson 6- Moon Phases

Lesson 7- Eclipses

 

Lesson 8- Final Project 1

Project 1

Create a poster project for your planet.  Look at this example for some ideas.  Project Example

Or

Make a video presentation for your project.  You can use props, pictures, or costumes to complete this project.

 

Lesson 9- Final Project 2

Create an alien that could live on your planet.  Fill out this INVENT_an_ALIEN[1].doc and then do your good copy on a white paper.  Draw a picture of your alien and write a paragraph about it.  Use the details from your worksheet to help you write your paragraph (make sure you include all of your ideas.

 Here is a list of things that you should be able to do by the time you are finished the unit.  These are taken directly from the Quality International School curriculum website:

SCIENCE-8

 

ESSENTIAL UNIT 2 (E02)

 

(The Solar System)

 (June 2004)

 

Unit statement: 

This unit examines the interaction of the planets, the sun, and other celestial bodies in space that form the solar system.  The student will explore what causes day and night, seasons, phases of the moon, and eclipses.

 

Essential Outcomes:

 

1.      The Student Will identify the solar system’s nine planets.

   

2.   TSW describe other bodies in the solar system.

 

3.   TSW explain why there are seasons.

 

4.   TSW identify the causes of day and night.

 

5.   TSW illustrate and explain the moon’s phases.

 

6.   TSW identify what causes eclipses.

 

7.   TSW recall the terms:  solar system, orbit, planet, asteroid, comet, rotation, axis, revolution, phase, lunar eclipse, and solar eclipse.

 

 

Ruslan's solar system