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01

The planets

Journey through the Solar System

time

learning outcomes

materials needed

40 minutes

To:

25 hoops

know/recognise the names

(One of which is yellow,

of the eight planets

or one with a picture

know that the planets

of the Sun)

revolve around the Sun

and that the Sun gives light
differentiate between in
front, behind, above, below,
left and right
be given opportunities to
listen, understand and respond

Tip Do this lesson

in the gym.

Preparation
Before starting the activity Introduction to the planets go over the names of the
eight planets. Starting from the Sun these are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
For the activity Planet game keep a note of the names of the planets close at hand
so you can name the different planets quickly.

Introduction to the planets 10 min.

Children sit in a circle on the floor. Question: What is the name of the town where
we live? Do they know what country this town is in? And what planet this country
is on? On Earth. Can they name any other planets?
Briefly talk about the names of the eight planets in our solar system.
The children find out what planets there are and that they orbit the Sun.

Planet game 15 min.

Spread the hoops throughout the room: these are the planets. Put the yellow hoop
in the middle: this is the Sun. Explain to the children that in this game they are
space rockets flying from one planet to another. They can do this by hopping, running or jumping between the hoops. While they are doing this, call out the names
of countries or famous characters etc. that are familiar to the children. Only when
children hear the name of one of the planets may they land on a planet. They do
this by standing in the hoop, either alone or with several children. Explain that
they may not stand in the hoop representing the Sun as it is far too hot there!

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19 Journey through the Solar System LESSON 1

At the end of the game, ask what planet names the children can remember. You
might like to repeat all the names once more. And why is the Sun in the middle?
Explain that this is because the planets revolve around the Sun.

Planet dance 10 min.

This activity focuses on the pupils spatial orientation.
Each child stands in their own hoop. You stand in the central hoop (the Sun)
and give the following instructions:

Stand with legs wide apart on your planet.

Stand in your planet.
Stand behind your planet.
Stand next to your planet.
Stand to the left of your planet.
Stand to the right of your planet.
Stand under your planet hold the hoop above your head.
Check that the children are obeying the instructions properly.
Repeat the activity a couple of times.

Spin your own planet

5 min.

Explain that the planets revolve around the Sun, but also spin on their own axes.
The children will now do this with their own planet. Ask them to Roll the planet
like a wheel around the Sun, stay walking next to it. Then tell them to hold their
planet in front of them and spin it.

Talk to the children again about what planets there are.

What do the planets revolve around?

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20 Journey through the Solar System LESSON 1

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02

The Man in the Moon

Journey to the Moon
time

learning outcomes

materials needed

55 minutes

To:

coloured circular

know that the Moon

craft sheets

is a sphere

coloured crescent-shaped

know that the Moon doesn't

craft sheets

always look the same

glue

know that the figures

paint

in the Moon are fantasy

scissors

provide opportunity to

sticky tape

develop creative imagination

white paper circle

white paper crescent

end product

polystyrene spheres,

Moon craft project

one of which is white

Preparation
For the Make your own Moon project make sure you have enough paint, coloured
craft sheets, spheres, glue, and scissors for each group.

The Moon 10 min.

Engage the children's interest in the Moon by showing them a white paper circle.
Ask the children if it looks like the real Moon. Now show them the crescent-shaped
white paper. Does that look like the Moon? And the sphere? Do they think that that
looks like the Moon?
Explain to the children that they are going to find out what the Moon looks like,
and why it is that some people say they can see shapes like people on the Moon.

Make your own Moon 15 min.

Explain that they are going to make their own Moon and they can use all the
materials laid out on the tables.
When they have finished, ask them why they made their Moon the way they did.
Pay particular attention to the colour and the shape. Ask them if the Moon really
looks like that. Explain that the Moon is really a sphere. From the Earth we can
only see one side of the Moon at a time, which is why it looks flat. Sometimes we
see the Moon as a circle, and sometimes as a crescent.

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21 Journey through the Solar System LESSON 1

Moon rhyme 10 min.

Sit in a circle and show the children the discussion sheet that goes with the
rhyme. What does the Moon look like here? Explain that you are going to learn
the rhyme that goes with this picture. At the end of the lesson get the children
to colour in the picture.

Man in the Moon, Man in the Moon

I see you from my bedroom
Your eyes and nose and mouth are there
But you don't have any hair
Your head is very round and bald
Don't you find it rather cold?
If you'll just come down for a chat
I'll warm you with this woolly hat

Figures in the Moon 20 min.

Hand out the worksheet. What figures can the children see in the Moon?
Encourage them to identify shapes/figures on the image by colouring,
sticking or marking.
Ask if the Moon really has eyes, nose and mouth and wears a woolly hat,
like in the rhyme. Why is it that they can see all kinds of figures in the Moon?
Explain that some places on the Moon are lighter and some places are darker.
The darker places make it look like there are figures on the Moon. Explain
clearly to the children that their ideas and drawings are based on fantasy.
In real life there is no Man in the Moon, or any other animals etc.

Use discussion techniques to encourage the children to share what they now
know about the Moon.

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22 Journey to the Moon LESSON 2

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discussion sheet

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23 Journey to the Moon LESSON 2

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02
YEAR 1-2

worksheet

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24 Journey to the Moon LESSON 2

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03

Martian landscape
Journey to Mars
time

learning outcomes

materials needed

35 & 30

To know that:

photograph of Martian

minutes, spread

there are rocks

landscape (Appendix)

across two days

on the planets surface

photograph of the Earths

there is a large mountain

landscape (Appendix)

on Mars

photograph of Olympus Mons

the soil on Mars is reddish

(Appendix)

brown

self-hardening white

there are no plants or trees

modelling clay or modelling

growing on Mars

paper such as papier-mch

the surface of Mars

(optional: gravel and stones)

looks very different from

brushes

the surface of the Earth

red and brown paint

end product
a clay or papier-mch
model of a Martian landscape

Preparation
For the activity Mars you will need the photographs of the Martian landscape,
the Earth's landscape, and the Olympus Mons from the Appendix.

Mars 15 min.
Sit in a circle with the children and ask if they have ever heard of the planet Mars.
Show the children the photograph of the Martian landscape. Ask them what they
can see on the photo. Do they see that the planet is reddish brown? That the surface is rocky and that there is a very big mountain? Explain that the mountain is so
wide that it would take you a whole afternoon to drive from one side to the other!
The top of the mountain is 2.5 times higher than an aeroplane flies.
Show the photograph of the Earths landscape. Ask the children what differences
they can see between the two landscapes. Explain clearly that there are no plants,
trees or grass growing on Mars, unlike the Earth where these things grow almost
everywhere. The Martian landscape looks most like a desert!
The children discover what the Martian landscape looks like.

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25 Journey to Mars LESSON 3

Good to
know This

mountain is a very
high volcano. This
volcano is called
Olympus Mons and
it is 25 kilometres
high and about 624
kilometres wide.

Make a Martian landscape 20 min.

Give each child a lump of clay or papier-mch and encourage them to make
the surface of Mars.
Help the children to make the volcano and the rocks; gravel and stones can also
be used. Label each landscape with the child's name and put them in a safe
place to dry. Leave the clay to dry for one day.

Paint the Martian landscape 25 min.

After a day the clay has dried to become hard and white. But in real life the Martian landscape is reddish-brown, not white, so the children need to paint their
landscapes reddish brown. Give each child a paintbrush, paint and their own
landscape.

Mars and Earth 5 min.

Ask the children what they have learned about Mars. What differences do they
know between the planet Earth and the planet Mars? Does the Earth have any
mountains or volcanoes as high as on Mars?

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26 Journey to Mars LESSON 3

Landscape on Earth LESSON 3

Landscape on Mars LESSON 3

Olympus Mons Mars Lander LESSON 3

Does Saturn float?

Journey to other celestial objects

time

learning outcomes

a Lego block

55 minutes

To:

a clothes peg

know that the planets in our

a wooden bead

solar system are all different

a table tennis ball

know that Saturn has rings

a pencil sharpener

identify whether an object

a hair elastic with a

floats or sinks

metal (iron) joining clip

an ordinary elastic band

materials needed

a hair pin

photographs of the planets

a sandwich bag with

(Appendix)

a twist tie

2 balloons (red and blue)

a cork

a football

an A3 size copy of the

a marble

worksheet (laminated)

sand

scissors

a waterproof marker

glue

a large transparent
container with water

Preparation
For the activity Are all the planets the same? you will need the photographs of
the eight planets from the Appendix. For the activity What else floats? make an
A3 copy of the worksheet and laminate it.

Are all planets the same? 15 min.

The children sit in a circle. Ask if they all look the same. Reach the conclusion
that this is not so. Do they think all the planets are the same? Show the photographs of the eight planets to the children and ask if all the planets look the
same. What differences can they see? For example differences in colour, and
whether or not they have rings.
Ask the question: What planet do we live on? Show the photograph of the Earth.
Does the Earth look different from the other planets? Now show the photograph
of the planet Saturn and let the children compare these two planets in more detail.
What differences can they see? Explain that Saturn is nearly the largest planet in
our solar system. Show the football and the marble. Explain that if Saturn were
the size of the football, then the Earth would be the size of the marble.
Let the children explore the differences between the planets Earth and Saturn.

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30 Journey to other celestial objects LESSON 4

04

Does Saturn float? 20 min.

Take the two balloons. Blow the red balloon up as big as it will go. Fill the blue
balloon with sand. Explain that the red balloon represents Saturn and the blue
balloon represents the Earth.
Which of the two balloons will float? Let the children guess.
Next, place the balloons on the surface of the water in the container.
What happens?

Good
to know

An object remains
afloat if the density
of that object is less
than the density of
water. The density
of Saturn is only 70%
of the density of water.
So even though Saturn
is very big, it would
still float on water.

The balloon filled with sand (the Earth) sinks. The balloon filled with air (Saturn)
floats, even though it is much bigger.
It is highly unlikely that the real planets Saturn and the Earth would ever really
end up in water. This experiment is only intended to show the children that
Saturn and the Earth are made from different materials.

What else floats? 20 min.

The children find out other things that float. Look at the cut-out sheet together
and get the children to name the objects. Ask the children to take a pencil and
draw circles round the things they think will sink.
Lay the laminated A3 worksheet by the water table. Then split the children up
into groups of four. At the water table the children put the objects into the water
to find out whether they float or sink.
Each object is then put in the right place on the laminated worksheet. They put
the objects that sank in the container of water and the objects that floated on
top of the water.
When the children have finished doing this, they cut out the pictures on the cutout sheet.
They paste the objects that remained afloat on top of the water on their own
worksheet and they paste the objects that sank in the water container on their
worksheet.
In this way each child creates their own logbook of which objects float and which
objects sink.
You can also get the children to try other objects.
What floats and what sinks? The children can draw these objects in or above the
water container on their worksheet.
Discuss with the children what differences they now know between the Earth
and Saturn. Then look together at the results of their investigations. Include the
predictions of the children in your discussion. Did the objects that they thought
would sink actually sink in the experiment? It is important that the children discover that whether an object sinks or floats depends on the material it is made
from and not its shape; it is not dependent on the size of the object.

Tip The children can use craft materials

to make their own Saturn and Earth.

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worksheet

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32 Journey to other celestial objects LESSON 4

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cut-out sheet

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34 Journey to other celestial objects LESSON 4

other celestial
4
objects LESSON 4
Mercury
6 Journey to LESSON

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Venus LESSON 4

Earth LESSON 4

Mars LESSON 4

Jupiter LESSON 4

Saturn LESSON 4

Uranus LESSON 4

Neptune LESSON 4