Developmental Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Katie Dotterweich Date: 10/26

Group Size: Allotted Time: 50 minutes Grade Level: 4th

Subject or Topic: Lesson 3- Planets

Common Core/PA Standard(s): 3.3.4.B1. Identify planets in our solar system and their basic
characteristics. Describe the earth’s place in the solar system that includes the sun (a star),
planets, and many moons.
Learning Targets/Objectives:
The fourth grade students will be able to identify and display the order of the planets in our
solar system (including the sun) by developing an interactive video presentation that includes
at least 7 facts about their planet.
Assessment Approaches: Evidence:
1. Science Journal 1. Vocabulary and Diagram
2. Cartoon 2. Content

Assessment Scale:
1. Out of 3 Points:
3- All definitions of the lesson are there and accurate
2- All Definitions of the lesson are in the journal, but not all
accurate
1- Not all definitions of the lesson are present or accurate
0- No entry in the journal for the lesson
 2.

Subject Matter/Content:
Prerequisites:
Students must understand the concept of orbiting, which we did a few days prior, and that we
are not the only planet orbiting the Sun. Students must also know that there are other things in
our solar system than planets, such as moons which we covered the past two days. Students
have already worked with the app “Toontastic”, so they are prepared for the project at the end
of the lesson.
Key Vocabulary:
Solar System: the Sun and everything that orbits the Sun
Sun: a star at the center of our solar system which is the largest object in our solar system
Planets: Round objects that orbit a star
Mercury: the planet closest to the Sun
Venus: the planet second closest to the Sun
Earth: the planet third closest to the Sun
Mars: the planet fourth farthest from the Sun
Jupiter: the planet fifth farthest from the Sun; the largest planet
Saturn: the planet sixth farthest from the Sun; has rings
Uranus: the planet seventh farthest from the Sun
Neptune: the planet farthest planet from the Sun
Content/Facts:
● The planets orbit around the sun
○ Each planet orbits at its own speed that determines its year length
○ Each planet has at least one moon
● The order of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune, Pluto)

○ Acronym to remember the planets’ order: My Very Energetic Mother Just

Served Us Nachos.
● Research of a planet assigned to their group from a website I provide
Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:
Tell the students that today they all will be different scientists, so you will not be wearing a lab
coat. Tell them they all will be becoming astronauts and will be exploring the planets that are
all around us. Have the students sit in the reading nook and read them the book Planets by
Elizabeth Carney.
Development/Teaching Approaches:
● Ask the students to take out their science journals, a glue stick, and a pencil while you
hand out the small (non-labeled) diagram of our solar system. Have the students paste
the diagram to the top of a fresh piece of paper.
● You will be using this powerpoint when presenting the content to students. When
telling the students to write in their journals, display the words and definition. When
asking the students to label a planet on their diagram, click the name of the planet on
the first slide and it will take you to the slide that shows the diagram with that planet
labeled.
● “Okay astronauts, today we are talking about our Solar System. Please write the word
Solar System into your science journals. The Solar System is defined, as you can see
on the board, as ‘the Sun and everything that orbits the Sun’. Please label your diagram
‘Solar System’ like you see on the board. The solar system is where our Earth exists.
We are constantly orbiting around the Sun. Who can remind the class what it means to
orbit?” have a student provide a definition like “the path of one object in space around
 another object”.
● “The next word for you to write in your journals is ‘Sun’. Sun is defined as ‘a star at
the center of our solar system which is the largest object in our solar system’. This is
the thing we see every morning and do not see at night. It is the largest thing in our
solar system and is the source of our heat. Please label the sun on your diagram as the
first thing on the left side of the diagram. It is also on the board if you are confused.”
● “The first planet in our solar system is Mercury. When I say that it is the first planet in
our solar system, that means it is the planet closest to the Sun. Please write Mercury in
your journals and define it as ‘the planet closest to the Sun’. Who can take a guess
where we are going to label mercury on our diagram?” Have a student or two point on
their diagram where they think the planet Mercury is and then show them where it is on
the powerpoint.
○ “Something I want you all to remember when we are talking about our solar
system is that the closer the planet is to the Sun, the hotter it is. The farther
away the planet is from the Sun, the colder it is. So, Mercury is the hottest
planet.”
● “The second planet closest to the sun is Venus. Please write Venus in your journals and
define it as ‘the planet second closest to the Sun’. Can someone look at our diagram
and tell us if they think Venus is bigger or smaller than Mercury?” have a few students
guess and ask why they think that way. Have the other students give a thumbs up if
they agree or a thumbs down if they disagree with the student.
○ “Yes, the planet Venus is larger than Mercury and is labeled here (pointing to
the powerpoint) on our diagram.”
● “This next planet starts with an ‘E’... can everyone yell out what they think the name of
this planet is? You’re right! It is Earth. Please put earth in your journals and define it as
‘the planet third closest to the Sun’. Label it as the fourth planet from the sun.”
● “The next planet is Mars and that should be defined as ‘the planet fourth farthest from
the Sun’ in your journals. It is labeled on your diagram like this (showing them on the
board). Mars is a very, very red planet.”
● “Can anyone look at their diagrams and tell me something they notice about the next
planet?” Look for someone to say that this next planet is the largest. “Exactly, Jupiter,
is the fifth planet and is the largest planet. Write the definition on the board in your
journals. Then, label the largest planet Jupiter on your diagrams.”
● “Now, can anyone notice something about this next planet?” look for someone to say
that there is a line going around the planet. “Yes, this planet has something we call
Rings. This is not the only planet that has rings, but they are the most noticeable. This
planet is called Saturn and is defined as ‘the planet sixth farthest from the Sun; has
rings’. Please write the definition in your journal and label Saturn on your diagram.”
● “The next planet is called Uranus and is defined as ‘the planet seventh farthest from the
Sun’. Please label this on your diagrams.”
 ● “The last planet is called Neptune. Can anyone guess what Neptune’s definition is?
Yes, Neptune’s definition is ‘the farthest planet from the Sun’. Who can take a guess at
what it feels like to be on this planet?” Look for a student to say that it is very, very
cold.
● “Okay now that we know all the planets I want you to write this sentence in your
journals, ‘My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nachos.’ If you take the first
letter of each word in that sentence, you get the first letter of each planet in our solar
system, in order.”
● Have the students count off by 8. Assign each number a planet. Have each group meet.
Give each student ipad. Have each of them open this website from my teacher page.
Have each group research their planet on this page. Have each group agree on 7
important facts about their planet. Have them write the facts into paragraph form. Then
have them use the app Toontastic to create a cartoon that includes the 7 facts about
their planet. They will present these at the end of the unit. The teacher will show the
exemplar video about Pluto that is at the end of the powerpoint. Remind them that this
is a project they can continue to work on the rest of the week at the end of the day
during free time. Walk around the room while the students work and make sure they
are on task. Have them turn in their journals and keep their paragraphs in their science
folders until their videos are finished.

Closure/Summarizing Strategies:
To close, the teacher will ask the students to present one fact per person in the group, but they
have to stand in their groups in order of planets and present their facts in order. For instance,
the first group to present their facts should be Mercury, then Venus, and so on. Lastly, tell the
students that we are done being astronauts and tomorrow we will return to Earth to investigate
the seasons.

Accommodations/Differentiation:
For the Student with Visual Impairment- have the vocabulary in braille by the special
education teacher and the diagram tactile before beginning the lesson. The website is to be
looked at on a device that has “Text to Talk” capability. The cartoon is done in partners who
will work well with the student and describe the scenes.

Materials/Resources:
MATERIALS:
● Projector
● Pencils
● Ipad
● Science journal
● Powerpoint
● Video
 ● Planets book by Elizabeth Carney
● Diagram (seen below)
RESOURCES:

Carney, E. (2012). National Geographic Readers: Planets (Illustrated ed.). National

Geographic Kids.

solar system. (n.d.). Britannica Kids. https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/solar-

system/353789#:%7E:text=The%20solar%20system%20consists%20of%20the

%20Sun%20and%20everything%20that,solar%20system%20is%20empty%20space.

The Nine Planets. (2020, November 12). The Nine Planets of The Solar System | Eight

Planets Without Pluto. https://nineplanets.org/

Reflective Response:
Report of Student Learning Target/Objectives Proficiency Levels

Remediation Plan (if applicable)

Personal Reflection Questions:

1. Did I cover enough content in this lesson? 2. Does researching the planets on the website
I provide provide a memorable experience?

Additional reflection/thoughts:

Blank Diagram: