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STEM Supplies Exclusive STEM Supplies Exclusive Product Curriculum Includes Lessons and Curriculum

SolarStudy Set

Keep students active while exploring the position and motion of planets in our solar system!
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Item# 35-850
Set
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Create a scaled down version of the solar system while learning about the planets in it and the distance between them. Students start by identifying each of the 8 planets by their size and discussing the features of each. Then it's time to get up and get moving! In a gym, long hallway, or outdoor space, students set up a course by arranging the poly spots in the solar system kit according to predetermined dimensions in the provided lesson direction. Choose from a shorter or longer course depending on the available space. Have one student stand at each planet. Using a stopwatch, time how long it takes the student to walk from the farthest planet to the next closest planet. The second student walks to the next planet, and so on, until the final student reaches the Sun. Through the process, students discover how distance from the Sun plays a role in the size of each planet's orbit. Add more activity by having students skip or run, or create a relay race. Students can also discuss the role of gravity, what causes other objects to orbit a planet, and calculate the velocity of orbiting planets.

Set includes 10 poly spots (8 planets, 1 sun, 1 moon), 2 stopwatches, a tape measure, and lesson direction adaptable for grades K-4 and 5-8. The included lesson direction details setup instructions, activities by grade level, learning objectives, and teaching suggestions to expand lessons. Accommodates 12 students. Recommended for Elementary and up.

Next Generation Science Standards*:

  • MS-ESS1-2: Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.

  • MS-ESS1-3: Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.

  • HS-ESS1-4: Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.

*The Next Generation Science Standards are a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics*:

  • CCSS.Math.Content.6.RPA.1: Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities.

  • CCSS.Math.Content.6.RPA.3: Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.

  • CCSS.Math.Content.6.RPA.3b: Solve unit rate problems including those involving unit pricing and constant speed.

  • CCSS.Math.Content.7.RP.A.1: Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

  • CCSS.Math.Content.7.RP.A.2.b: Identify the constant of proportionality (unit rate) in tables, graphs, equations, diagrams, and verbal descriptions of proportional relationships.

  • CCSS.Math.Content.8.F.B.4: Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities.

  • CCSS.Math.Content.HSN.Q.A.1: Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step problems; choose and interpret units consistently in formulas; choose and interpret the scale and the origin in graphs and data displays.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards. Washington, DC: Authors.