This document provides an overview of a 5-lesson unit on the solar system for elementary school students. In the unit, students will learn about the sun, moon, stars, and planets through research online and class discussions. They will create a KWL chart to track their prior knowledge and questions. Students will also complete a webquest and outlines to research facts about different objects in the solar system. Their final assignment will be to write short reports about the sun, moon, stars, and planets using the information they learned.

1. Our Solar System Unit created by Rachel Niland EDT 514 2007

2. Introduction Welcome to the solar system project for Ms. Niland's second grade class. We are about to explore the solar system. We live on earth and earth is just a tiny part of the solar system. The object of this project is to explore and learn about the world around us and to learn that we are just a very small part of it. Students will learn about the moon, the sun, the stars and the planets. These are all parts of our solar system. They will learn the differences between these different parts of our solar system. While students research about the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars in our solar system they should be looking for interesting facts that can be assembled in a final report. Students will be given a list of websites to use to research these facts. The solar system is a fascinating place with many interesting things to report on.

5. Our Solar System K W L

10. Outline for Solar System Report Name____________________________________________ Directions - using the webquest, research and complete this outline. You need to find at least two facts about each of the following subjects. 1.Read about and then write about two facts you learned about the sun. a. Fact one - ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ b. Fact one - ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Read about and then write about two facts you learned about the moon. a. Fact one - ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ b. Fact two - ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Read about and then write about two facts you learned about the stars. a. Fact one - ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ b. Fact two - _____________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Read about and then write about two facts you learned about the planets. a. Fact one - _____________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ b. Fact two - ____________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Read about and then write about two facts you learned about the earth. a. Fact one - ____________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ b. Fact two - ____________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________

12. Resources The Planets in Our Solar System, by Fran k lyn M. Branley http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/solar_syste m.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/ http://www.brainpop.com/science/space/solarsystem/index.weml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_System http://www.solarviews.com/eng/solarsys.htm