Kayla Rhodes

Secondary Lesson Plan Template

Topic:
Structure and Elements of
the Solar System

Grade Level: 9

Length of
class:
50 min.

LEARNING GOAL/PURPOSE (What is the overall goal/purpose of this

lesson)?
Students will understand the reasoning behind the classification of
components in our solar system.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES (What will students know or be expected to do

in this lesson? Use verbs from Blooms Taxonomy):

Students will be
planet.
Students will be
are terrestrial.
Students will be
drawings.
Students will be
and rotation.

able to identify the characteristics of a terrestrial

able to distinguish which four of the eight planets
able to illustrate characteristics of a planet through
able to explain the difference between revolution

STANDARDS (What national or state standards will you address?):

HS-ESS1-4: Understand and apply knowledge of the components of

our solar system.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS NEEDED (What materials and resources will I

need in this lesson?):
Seven cups, 7 sets of 4 planets to draw from, construction paper, colored
pencils, terrestrial vs. jovian graphic organizers (jovian section will be
completed in next lesson), planet graphic organizers, power point
presentation, and video: The Solar System Space School.

PLAN for LEARNING (How will you organize

lesson?
LESSON SEQUENCE & PACING (How will I
organize this lesson? How much time will
each component of the lesson take?)
1. Have students write essential
question in notes (on first power point
slide). Play The Solar System Space
School video (link is also on the 1st
slide). Have students listen for the
three distinct criteria to earn the name
planet.
Start the video at 50 seconds and
stop at 2 minutes and 33 seconds.
5 minutes

student learning in this

ACTIVATE/ENGAGE
(How will I engage students
in learning or prepare
students to learn by
activating/building up their
prior knowledge?)
Ask a question, think-pairshare activity, Anticipatory
set activity, checklists, quick
write, cooperative learning
activity, inquiry-based task,
carousel activity, KWL, circle
map, show a video clip, do a
demonstration, tell a story,
quiz, thumbs up, fist-to-five,
etc.

2. Hand out graphic organizers.

Important to fill these out as we
discuss the 8 planets of our solar
system. We will be using these notes to
complete a project later in the class
period.
3. Power Point/Inquiry (Terrestrial
Planets)
Engage students when presenting
definitions of rotation and
revolution by having two
volunteers stand up. Have one
student spin in a circle while the
other walks around their desk.
Ask the students: Who is making a
rotation and who is making a
revolution? How is what he/she
just did a rotation? How is that
like what the planets do? How is
what he/she just did a revolution?
How is that like what the planets
do?
Remind students of which
information should be included in
their notes (on the graphic
organizers provided).
Stop the presentation when you
get to the slide with instructions

ACQUIRE/EXPLORE/APPLY
(How will I help students
acquire and apply new
knowledge and skills?)
Lecture, demonstration,
guest speaker, inquiry-based
activity, text analysis,
discussion, debate,
simulations, skits, projectbased learning, jigsaw
activity, cooperative learning
activity, flexible grouping,
learning center rotation,
research activity, etc.

for the first activity.

10 minutes
4. Nonlinguistic Representation:
Model for students: Show them
where you want them to write
terrestrial (at the top), where you
want them to write the name of
the planet (at the bottom), and to
not make their drawing any bigger
than the size of their fist in the
middle of the page.
Students desks are arranged in
groups of 4. Place a cup in the
center of each table containing
each of the four terrestrial planets
to draw from. Have each of the
students draw a planet from the
cup. Hand out construction paper
while they are drawing their
planet from the cup. Colored
pencils are already at the tables.
Have the students create an
illustration of the planet they
chose using the characteristics
from their notes (graphic
organizers). Their picture should
be their representation of the
planet (it doesnt have to look like
ASSESS/CLOSURE/BRIDGE
the pictures seen in the power
(How will I assess my
point).
students understanding or
10 minutes
5. Thinking Map:
Demonstrate how to construct a
bubble map.
Have students create a bubble
map by using the drawing of their
planet as the center bubble. They
will branch off their drawings with
characteristics of that planet. The
result will be a drawing of their
planet surrounded by its
characteristics.
10 minutes
6. Collaboration w/peers:

provide closure in the

lesson?)

Selected Response (Test,

quiz, exit slip)
Products from
Performance assessment
(Skit, role play,
dramatization, debate,
cooperative learning, project,
student-inquiry)
Written Communication
(Short-answer, journal entry,
bulleted response, essay,
exit slip)
Personal Communication
(Questions, Discussion

Have students compare their

drawing/characteristics bubble
map with others in their group. All
four terrestrial planets will be
compared within each group
because each student will have
done their bubble map on a
different terrestrial planet.
5 minutes

Interview)

7. Put Exit Slip Questions on the board:

What are the characteristics of
the terrestrial planets?
List the terrestrial planets of our
solar system.
Describe the difference between
revolution and rotation of planets.
Have students answer these
questions on the back of their
drawing/bubble map, and turn in
before they leave. This exit slip will
be used as a formative assessment
of student understanding.
10 minutes
DIFFERENTIATING YOUR INSTRUCTION:
How specifically will you differentiate your content, process, or product
based on student readiness, interest, or learning style? Will you gather
information about your students prior knowledge? Will you work to build
on your students prior knowledge? Will you scaffold student instruction?
Will you flexibly group students based on readiness, interest, or learning
style? Will you give students choice in this lesson?
WHAT COULD YOU DIFFERENTIATE?
_x__
_x__
_x__
_x__

CONTENT (WHAT STUDENTS LEARN)

PROCESS (HOW STUDENTS LEARN)
PRODUCT (HOW STUDENTS DEMONSTRATE THEIR LEARNING
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

BASED ON
_x__ READINESS
_x__ INTEREST
_x__ LEARNING STYLE (VISUAL, AUDITORY, KINESTHETIC)

DIFFERNTIATED INSTRUCITONAL STRATEGIES

___ FLEXIBLE GROUPS
ASSIGNMENTS
_x__ COOPERATIVE LEARNING GROUPS
BOARDS
___ LEARNING CENTERS
PROJECTS
___ RAFTS
QUESTIONING
_x__ GRAPHIC PRGANIZERS
___ SCAFFOLDED READING/WRITING

___ TIERED
___ MENUS/CHOICE
___ INDEPENDENT
___ LEVELS OF