Solar System Lesson Plan: Earth’s Place in the Universe

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Solar System Lesson Plan. 

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Solar System, and supports the standard of explaining that the solar system consists of the Sun and a collection of objects that are held in orbit by the Sun’s gravitational pull. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students:

• What planets make up our solar system?
• Why do you think planets stay in orbit?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

• Read the description on the Solar System topic page.
• Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
• Have students read one of the following Related Reading articles: “Famous Faces” or “In Depth.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.
  

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Students take the Solar System Challenge and Quiz, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: EXTEND and DEEPEN

Students express what they learned about the solar system while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

• Make-a-Movie: Produce a travelog describing a journey through the solar system from the Sun to Neptune. In your travelog, answer these questions: What planets and smaller bodies do you encounter? How would you describe each?
• Make-a-Map: Identify the positions of the planets relative to the Sun, and analyze the role gravity plays in their orbits.  
• Creative Coding: Code a sorting game challenging players to determine whether information describes inner planets, outer planets, dwarf planets, moons, or comets. 

More to Explore

Sortify: Celestial Bodies: Play a sorting game to deepen understanding of the solar system.

Space Unit: Learn more about  Earth’s place in the universe with these related BrainPOP topics. 

Teacher Support Resources:

• Pause Point Overview: Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas. 
• Learning Activities Modifications: Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
• Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.