LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Goal 5

The learner will build understanding of the Solar System.

Objective 5.01

Analyze the components and cycles of the solar system including:

  • Sun.
  • Planets and moons.
  • Asteroids and meteors.
  • Comets.
  • Phases.
  • Seasons.
  • Day/year.
  • Eclipses.

Resources aligned to this objective

A Walk Through the Solar System
A practice in scientific notation, measurement, and scale distances, this lesson plan integrates mathematics into the science curriculum.
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Mathematics and Science)
By RhondaS Dausman.

Lesson plans on the web

Bacteria ballistics
In this Science Update, from Science NetLinks, students hear about the possibility that microbes from Mars may have once seeded the Earth. In this interview, students learn about an unusual experiment that could help provide the answer. (Learn more)
Format: activity (grade 6 Science)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Exploring the solar system
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to earth's moon and the eight other planets in our solar system. Students will learn about the geology, composition and orbits of other planets by planning a trip to another planet. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science
The four seasons
This purpose of this Science NetLinks lesson is to dispel common misconceptions and help students understand that the tilt of the earth's axis causes seasons. After reading about the topic, students observe a demonstration of tilt. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 and 9–12 Science)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Make a mission
This Science NetLinks lesson revolves around the MESSENGER spacecraft mission to Mercury (MESSENGER stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging). The focus of the lesson is technology, not only how it allows humans to collect scientific data and information on a faraway terrestrial planet, but also the constraints involved in designing the spacecraft to carry this technology. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Mapping mars
This lesson, from Xpeditions, introduces students to some common map projections and representations (e.g. globes or close-ups) and asks them to consider the ways that each representation can be used to show specific features of Mars. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
Provider: National Geographic
Measuring shadows
Students determine the pattern (length and direction) of shadows cast by sunlight during a several month period and develop an interpretation of the daily and seasonal patterns and variations observed. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science and Mathematics)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Mercury
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the planet Mercury and help them develop an understanding of the planet’s composition, geology, and other important characteristics. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science
My angle on cooling: Effects of distance and inclination
In this Science NetLinks lesson, students discuss what heat is and how it travels. They discover that one way to cool an object in the presence of a heat source is to increase the distance from it or change the angle at which it is faced. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Sensing the invisible: The Herschel Experiment
In this lesson, from Science NetLinks, students find out that there is radiation other than visible light being emitted from the sun. They reproduce a version of William Herschel's 1800 experiment that discovered the existence of infrared radiation. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Science)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Sizing up the solar system
Students use the internet to investigate and design various models of size and distance related to the solar system. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science and Mathematics)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Sky watching
In this lesson, students will make their own night-sky observations and then look at pictures taken by telescopes. They will compare the two ways of observing to confirm what telescopes can reveal about the night sky. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science
The sun
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to our local star, the sun, especially its structure and its features such as sun spots, magnetic fields, and solar flares. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science