Kaitlyn Bolesta

September 25, 2014

CSC 155 Computers and Instructional Technology
Professor Bortz
Solar System Lesson Plan

Specific Objective to Meet Goals:
Students will be able to identify and describe the characteristics of the planets of our solar
system.
Students will be able to write a creative story in the perspective of an astronaut exploring outer
space.
Students will be able to compare and describe different types of celestial bodies found in our
galaxy.

Common Core Standards- Grade 2:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.7
Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate
understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
Also, the National Science Education Standards provide guidelines for teaching science as well
as a coherent vision of what it means to be scientifically literate for students in grades K-12. (To
view the standards, visit http://books.nap.edu)
This lesson plan addresses the following standards:
Earth and Space Science: Earth in the solar system
Unifying Concepts and Processes: Evidence, models, and explanation

Motivational Techniques:
I will set this lesson into motion- and hook the interest of my students by showing the students
a really amazing video taken from outer space of planet earth.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDEmtWLwMOM) Then I will say that as cool as that
was, there are more planets out there in our galaxy- more planets, more stars, and more moons!
Then we will jump right into our lesson about the planets.

Materials Needed:
The students will need pencils, paper, scissors, glue or tape, and magazines and handouts with
pictures of various stars, planets, and celestial bodies in space. They will also need white
construction paper that will be used for their journal entry, and for the entire class, I will need
access to the internet and a projector so I can show them the videos connected to this lesson.

Procedure for the Lesson:
- First, I will introduce the lesson by showing the video previously mentioned, and then I
will begin talking about the Milky Way Galaxy and our solar system. I will have a power
point or Prezi prepared that describes our solar system and all the planets in detail with
pictures. We will discuss the various stars, planets, and other celestial bodies found in our
galaxy.
- Then, just for fun, we will watch the Blues Clues video about outer space, which
includes a song that helps with remembering all the planets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU97OUFVWGo
- After that, the students will pretend to be astronauts who have just returned from a
journey across our galaxy. In that role, they will create journals documenting what they
saw in outer space on their expeditions! The journals must be descriptive and include
facts and pictures about all of the planets in our solar system, along with a few different
pictures or drawings stars or even celestial objects (such as a black hole, asteroid, or
meteor).
- The students can use the power point presented in class, or the magazines and articles
provided to gather their information for their journals. Also, they can use Google Images
to find pictures to print out, or they can draw their own pictures. They can even use a
combination of both.
- Finally, students will volunteer to read part of their journals aloud to the class, and then at
the end of class, everyones journals will be collected and displayed around the
classroom.

Academic Language:
The language being used includes all of the scientific terminology relating to outer space, along
with the terms comprehension, documenting, research, exploration, journal, and describe.

Assessment Methods:
I will evaluate the students journal entries by making sure they followed all the directions along
with being creative and inventive. They need to have included pictures and facts of all the
planets in our solar system, along with other celestial objects, and written entries describing their
adventures in space. All of the qualifications must be met.

Sources:
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/stargazing.cfm
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/2/