SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY

Loretto, PA 15940

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

LESSON PLAN Format

Student Teacher Greg Johnston Grade 3

Subject Science _
Time Needed for Lesson 1 hour Lesson Concept Inner Planets__

PA STANDARD(S) (Write out standards):

Standard - CC.1.4.3.B

Identify and introduce the topic.

Standard - CC.1.4.3.C

Develop the topic with facts, definitions, details, and illustrations, as appropriate.

BIG IDEAS/ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

The Solar System is a quintessential example of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

EQ: Can students identify the inner planets?

ELIGIBLE CONTENT:

E03.C.1.2.2 Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and/or details.

OBJECTIVE(S) (Be sure to include all four parts):

After the lesson, the learner will know the planets that comprise the “inner planets” and that their
commonality is that they are comprised mostly of rock. The lesson will be followed by a
worksheet about the Earth. 100% completion is expected by each student.

MATERIALS:

 PowerPoint pertaining to Solar System

 Worksheet “Earth”
 Pencils

ACTIVITIES (There are three sections here):

OPENING (Introduction, purpose, hook)

Long before Astronomers could look through telescopes at the night sky, people thought that
planets were just stars traveling through the sky. Does anybody remember from yesterday
what stars are made of? (Student response…glowing gas)

The word glowing is the key word…What is a key word? (glowing) Because when comparing
stars and planets…stars make their own light, they are glowing and planets reflect light.

Now Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can all be seen with the naked eye, so it's
impossible to say who was the first human to discover them BUT Fast forward to the year
1783…March 13th to be exact. What do you think happened on this date?

A man by the name William Hershel discovered a planet…guess which one.

Uranus

So, by the year 1783 someone had discovered planet number 7, how many planets are there?

Which planet had yet to be discovered?

Neptune…which would be discovered September 23, 1846

So there you have it, the 8 planets that make up our solar system.
 BODY (Bulleted step by step/differentiation must be included)

Today we are going to talk about the four closest to the sun.

Why? Because these four have something in common, they are all made of rock.

They are called the inner planets.

Name them

Start Slides (#5)

Discuss slides (5-15)

CLOSURE (Wrap up and brief summary): How will you plan to restate the lesson
objective?

Based on what you just learned…If you were to board a rocket ship, which of the inner planets
would you travel to, and why?

Ticket out the door…”Earth” Worksheet

ACCOMMODATIONS/MODIFICATIONS:

Questions from the worksheet may need read by teacher

ASSESSMENT: (How you will determine that student has mastered objectives?): Consider
formative and summative assessment measures for all levels of differentiation.

Throughout the lesson students are given opportunities to respond to the different topics
discussed, teacher will listen carefully to check for understanding. The overall success of the
lesson will be determined by students answering questions throughout, by the student’s
attentiveness, and by completing the Earth worksheet.
SELF-ASSESSMENT/REFLECTION: (Complete this section if you have taught this lesson to
peers or in clinical placement):

Gambit has helped drive the lesson. Rivalling Gambit, sour patch kids. Extrinsic rewards for
participation has kept the class engaged.