Series of Lesson Plans on ‘The Solar System’
Group 7: ‘The Rainbows’
Duration: 1 week
Age group: Primary School students
1. The solar system
- We will begin by asking the class questions to see what they already know about the solar system. We will then put this information into a mind map on the blackboard to show the students what they already know.
- We will discuss the solar system with the students and ask questions like “Which planet do you think is the hottest/coldest?”. We will also discuss how the planets revolve around the sun.
- We will split the class into groups and give each group a planet which they can research and come up with a few facts on it. Students can use the internet, books, magazines etc. The students will also be asked to make a replication of the planet they were given using balloons and paper mache. Students will be asked to take size into consideration and to paint their planet the correct colour. Each group of students can then come up to the front of the class and present their planet and give the rest of the class a few facts on their planet.
2. The relationship between the earth and the sun.
- We will begin by asking the students how the day turns into the night. We will discuss how, as the earth revolves around the sun, it also spins on its own axis. We will also discuss how the seasons are produced. While discussing these topics, the students own models of the planets can be as visual aids.
- We will ask the students how they think shadows are formed. This will then lead onto lunar eclipses and that light rays travel in straight lines. To show this we can turn of the lights and get students to make shadows.
3. The relationship between the earth and the moon.
- The moon is something that all students no matter what age can relate to as it is something that they can see. Again, we will ask the students to tell us what they already know about the relationship between the earth and the moon and create a mind-map. We will discuss the reasons why we are able to see the moon and night and also that the moon and the earth have to same rotation time so we only ever see one side of the moon!!
We believe that the series of lesson plans that we have created allow the students to learn about the solar system in an interesting and hands-on way. The students are gaining knowledge in many different areas of the curriculum including: Art, Geography, Physics and maths as well as building communication skills through group work and presentations.