Planet song: “Planets song for kids/Solar System Song” (available in Epic) Read aloud: The Planets by Gail Gibbons (available in Epic)

Math: Writing equations equal to 8 (8 to represent the 8 planets)
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Day 3

Students fill in a planet facts table using The Planets and the Planet song
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Day 4

Informative writing about a planet Math: Favorite Planet Bar Graph
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Day 5

Read aloud: The Moon by Gail Gibbons (available in Epic) Moon Milestones Timeline

Home/School Connection: Choice of differentiated activities
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Day 6

At home investigation: Phases of the Moon
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Day 7

At home investigation: Craters on the Moon
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Day 8

Read aloud: How the Moon Regained Her Shape by Janet Ruth Heller (available in Spanish in Epic)

Independent reading: How the Moon Regained Her Shape Sequence of events

Home/School Connection: Family interview-legends about the Moon
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Day 9

Narrative Writing: Students write and illustrate their own legend
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Day 10

Read aloud: The Stars (Journey Through Space)

Independent reading: reread The Stars (Journey Through Space) Vocabulary words: list in alphabetical order; define & illustrate
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Day 11

The Stars (Journey Through Space) : Follow a star activity
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Day 12

Solar System Project: Project Choice Board
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The table below outlines the academic vocabulary that will be used on specific days of this unit. This vocabulary can be posted in a traditional word wall format in the classroom or in an online word wall. An online word wall can be easily created as a simple Google document that can be shared with students or it can take the form of a word cloud. Wordcloud.com is a free online word cloud generator that allows users to create a word cloud with their own vocabulary list / . You can modify the font, the font color and the shape of the word cloud to make it more appealing for students. Provide students with the link to the online word cloud so they can refer to it during independent assignments.

Resources

The Planets by Gail Gibbons (available in Epic)
The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons (available in Epic)

The Moon in a Month by Tracy Nelson Maurer (also available in Spanish in Epic: La Luna en un mes)

How the Moon Regained Her Shape by Janet Ruth Heller (also available in spanish in Epic: Como la Luna recobró su forma)

The Stars (Journey through space) by Jeff Wimbush (available in Epic)
Planets song for kids (several available in Epic)

Ask students to interview one or two family members and ask them about what they know about the solar system. Give students a choice of summarizing their findings in a 5 sentence paragraph or drawing what their family members know about the solar system.

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Begin an online word wall or word cloud. Wordcloud.com is a free online word cloud generator that allows users to create a word cloud with their own vocabulary list . You can modify the font, the font color and the shape of the word cloud to make it more appealing for students. Provide students with the link to the online word cloud so they can refer to it during independent assignments.

Ask students to reread The Planets and answer the following questions. These questions can be printed and given to students or inserted as a PDF file into a Seesaw assignment. For differentiation, you can ask students to only answer half of the questions.

The Planets by Gail Gibbons: 20 Questions

Read The Planets in Epic. Answer the following questions with a complete sentence. Write the page number of the page in The Planets where you found the answer. The first question is answered for you as an example.

1. 1 - What do we call a scientist who studies the planets and the stars?

   A scientist that studies the planets and the stars is an astronomer. I found this answer on page 30.

2. 2 - Why can we see the planets in space?

3. How many planets are there in our solar system?

4. 3 - What does the word ‘solar’ mean?

5. 4 - What is the path that a planet follows around the Sun called?

6. 5 - What instrument do people use to see faraway planets like Uranus and Neptune?

7. 6 - What is the planet closest to the Sun?

8. 7 - What is the smallest planet?

9. 8 - What is the biggest planet?

10. 9 - Which planets have rings?

11. 10 - What is the second planet from the Sun?

12. 11 - Why is Venus bright?

13. 12 - How far is Earth from the Sun?

14. 14 - How many days does it take for Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun?

15. 15 - What is a Moon?

16. 16 - Why is Mars red?

17. 17 - How many moons does Jupiter have?

18. 18 - Which planet has the largest rings?

19. 19 - What is the seventh planet from the Sun?

20. 20 - Why does Neptune appear to be blue?

Math Assignment (Number of the Day): Equations that are equal to the number 8 (to reinforce the concept that there are 8 planets in our solar system)

• - Reinforce that our solar system has 8 planets by highlighting the number 8 in a math assignment. For this assignment, tell students that 8 is the number of the day. Ask students to write 15 equations that are equal to the number 8.

• - Review the definition of an equation and a number sentence.

• - Second grade students can write addition and subtraction equations. This assignment allows for differentiation as well as formative assessment. Some students may be working with basic addition and subtraction facts, one and two digit numbers. Some may be ready to write addition and subtraction equations with three digit numbers.

• - Third grade students can write addition and subtraction equations, multiplication equations and may be ready to try basic division equations. Some students may be working with basic addition and subtraction facts while others may be ready to write addition and subtraction equations with three digit or four digit numbers. Third graders may also be willing to try multiplication and division equations depending on the time of the instructional year.

• - This can be used as a diagnostic assessment throughout the year to analyze student error patterns to help guide your small group intervention instruction.

Day 2, continued

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• - Discuss facts about each individual planet with students. Refer to The Planets by Gail Gibbons and to the planet song that students listened to on Day 2. Encourage students to reread the book and listen to the song again in Epic. Both are excellent sources of information for this assignment.

• - Instruct students to select three planets and fill in the following table with facts about the three planets.

  
  

  Our Solar System: Planet Facts
  Planet Name	Numerical order from the Sun (Example: Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.)	How far is this planet from the Sun? (miles)	What is the temperature of this planet (hot, cold or just right for life)?	How many moons does this planet have?	How many days does it take to complete one orbit around the Sun?	What makes this planet different from the other planets?

  
  

  *This chart can be printed and given to students or inserted as a PDF file into a Seesaw assignment.

  
  

  
  
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      Day 4. Informative Writing and Bar Graph Math Assignment

  Informative Writing

  
  

  • - Ask students to refer to the table that they filled out on Day 3 with facts about 3 planets. Instruct them to select one planet and write an informative text about that planet.

  • - Students must write at least one five-sentence paragraph about the planet they selected. Remind students to write complete sentences and to be mindful of punctuation and spelling.

  • - Provide a word bank for students to scaffold the use of academic language in their writing. Student’s writing should have at least 8 of the words from the word bank.

    
    

    Informative Writing Word Bank
    moon	days	orbit	atmosphere	surface	temperature
    rings	miles	gases	solar system	rocky	life

    
    

    
    

    Math assignment: Class discussion question and favorite planet bar graph

    
    

  • - Set up a discussion with this question: Which is your favorite planet? This can be a whole group discussion in class or can be set up as a discussion in an online learning platform. The online discussion can be set up to allow students to view all responses.

  • - Ask students to use tally marks to record how many times a particular planet is selected and then use their data to make a bar graph of the favorite planets.

  • - The “Which is your favorite planet?” tally mark table and bar graph can be printed and given to students or inserted as a PDF file into a Seesaw assignment.

    
    

    
    

    Planet	Tally Marks
    Mercury
    Venus
    Earth
    Mars
    Jupiter
    Saturn
    Uranus
    Neptune

    
    
    
    
    Which is your favorite planet?

    Votes Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune 16   15   14   13   12   11   10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1

    
    
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        Day5: The Moon: Read aloud, Moon Milestones Timeline, Homework

    The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons read aloud

    
    

  • - Ask students what they know about the Moon.

  • - Tell students that the Moon is Earth’s natural satellite.

  • - Read The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons in Epic. Students follow along.

  • - Tell students to pay special attention to page 30 Moon Milestones. Tell students that they will make a timeline of Moon Milestones. Ask students to select 5 Moon Milestones and fill in the timeline template. This timeline can be printed and given to students or inserted as a PDF file into a Seesaw assignment. Students can also make a list, in chronological order, of 5 important Moon events.

    

    
    

    
    

    Home/School Connection (Allow students to choose one or two for the week.)

    
    

  • - Ask your family what they know about the Moon, sketch/write what you learn.

  • - Find an image of the Moon. Draw the Moon. Include the details you see on the surface of the Moon.

  • - Go outside and observe the Moon. Draw what you see. Write two complete sentences to describe what you observe.

    
    

    
    
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        Day 6. At home investigation: Phases of the Moon

  • - Read The Moon in a Month by Tracy Nelson in Epic (also available in Spanish, La luna en un mes). Students follow along.

  • - Discuss the phases of the Moon with your students. Ask them to create the phases of the Moon with materials they have at home.

    
    

    Students can draw and label the phases of the Moon.

    
    

    

    They can also use construction paper to make the phases of the Moon.

    
    

    

    
    

    Students should create 8 Moon phases:

    
    

    1. 1 - New Moon

    2. 2 - Waxing Crescent

    3. 3 - First Quarter (or Half) Moon

    4. 4 - Waxing Gibbous

    5. 5 - Full Moon

    6. 6 - Waning Gibbous

    7. 7 - Third Quarter Moon

    8. 8 - Waning Crescent

    
    

    
    
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        Day 7. At home investigation: Craters on the Moon

    Assign this 5 minute video to your students: Moon Craters Investigation . The video presents the concept of craters on the Moon and gives students instructions for carrying out their own investigation at home.

    Materials: shoebox, sand, three different sized rocks, ruler

    Investigation:

    1. 1 - Fill the shoebox with sand. The sand should be about 3 inches deep. Use your ruler to measure how deep the sand is.

    2. 2 - Smooth out the sand with your hand to create a flat surface.

    3. 3 - Use your ruler to measure three feet above the sand.

    4. 4 - Hold a rock three feet above the sand and drop it into the sand.

    5. 5 - Observe what happens to the sand.

    6. 6 - Repeat with the medium and the large rock. Record your observations.

    7. 7 - Ask students what they observe once the rock hits the sand in the box. Make a table like the one below for students to fill in. Students record their observations after they drop each different sized rock into the sand.

    8. 8 - Conduct a meaning making circle with your students to allow them to share their observations. Ask students to analyze the information in their tables. Lead the discussion starting with, what happened and why did this happen? Is there a pattern to how craters form?

       Do larger objects make deeper craters?

       Do smaller objects make craters that are more shallow?

       How did the craters on the Moon form? (Asteroids hit the surface of the Moon to form the craters. )

       
       

       
       

       Object	Size (small, medium, largest)	Describe what happened and why you think it happened	Drawing of the crater	Size of the crater (inches)
       Rock 1
       Rock 2
       Rock 3

       
       

       
       

       *This chart can be printed and given to students or inserted as a PDF file into a Seesaw assignment.

       
       

       
       
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           Day 8. Legend about the Moon

       Read aloud and independent reading

       
       

  • - Begin by referring to page 31 Moon Legends and Stories in The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons. Tell students that humans have always been fascinated and puzzled by our Moon so there are many legends and stories about the Moon. Tell them that they will be reading a legend about the Moon.

  • - Assign How the Moon Regained Her Shape by Janet Ruth Heller in Epic. This book is also available in Spanish. It recounts the legend of how the Sun bullied the Moon and the Moon got so upset that it disappeared from the sky. The Moon’s friends help her to regain her self-confidence and reappear in the sky. This book is also available in Spanish in Epic, Como la luna recobró su forma.

  • - Read the book with your students or assign it as independent reading. Differentiation: class read aloud, small group, independent reading

  • - Ask students to retell the legend in their own words. Alternatively, you can print or copy the following sentences and ask students to arrange the events in sequence as they happened in the story.

    
    

    How the Moon Regained Her Shape: Sequence of Events

    
    

    1. 1 - Now if someone hurts her feelings and she dwindles, she always remembers her friends and regains her strength and fullness.

    2. 2 - Once the moon was round and full.

    3. 3 - The moon visited Round Arms on Earth.

    4. 4 - The moon felt better and regained her self-confidence.

    5. 5 - Round Arms showed her how the people and animals loved and missed her.

    6. 6 - One day she danced across the face of the sun and the sun yelled at her.

    7. 7 - The moon danced and sang all the way back to her sky path.

    8. 8 - The moon’s feelings were hurt and she began to shrink until she was a sliver of her former self.

    
    

    Home/School Connection (allow students to choose one assignment)

    
    

  • - Ask your family members to tell you any stories or legends that they were told as children about the moon. Write the story in your own words and draw a picture.

  • - Write and illustrate a poem about the Moon.

    
    

    
    
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        Day 9. Narrative Writing: How the Moon Regained Her Shape

  • - Start today by telling students that legends are cultural stories that are passed down by word of mouth from one generation to the next. Legends are often used to try to explain naturally occurring events. In this case, How the Moon Regained Her Shape “explains” why the moon changes phases throughout a month. Tell students that they will be writing their own legend.
    

    - Ask students to write and illustrate their own story about:

  • Why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

  • Why clouds move through the sky.

  • Why the rivers flow into the sea.

  • Why do we hear thunder in the sky?

  • Why leaves turn different colors and then fall off the trees in autumn.

  • Why seasons change from spring to summer

  • Why zebras have black and white stripes

  • Why birds sing in the morning

• - If time permits, you can plan time for a session of “Author’s Chair” presentations to allow students to share their legends.

  
  

  
  
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      Day 10. The Stars (Journey Through Space): Read aloud, independent reading, vocabulary

  Read aloud and independent reading

  
  

• - Read The Stars (Journey Through Space) by Jeff Wimbush (available in Epic) with your students. Students follow along as you read.

• - Start by previewing the book with your students. Review the text features of a nonfiction text.

• - Ask students to pay attention to the important words in bold text.

• - Assign this book for independent reading.

  
  

  Vocabulary Words

  
  

• - Give students the following list of vocabulary words from The Stars (Journey Through Space). Ask students to make a list of the vocabulary words in alphabetical order. If you are teaching a dual language class, you can also ask students to identify the words that are Spanish/English cognates.

• - Ask students to choose four vocabulary words. Students need to write the definition of the word, write one complete sentence using the word and illustrate the word.

  
  

  The Stars (Journey Through Space)
  light-year	clusters	constellation
  gravity	galaxies	telescope
  core	rotate	nebulas
  axis	supernova	orbit

  
  

  
  
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      Day 11. The Stars (Journey Through Space): Follow a star activity

  Are Stars Moving?

  
  

• - Begin by referring to pages 14-15 in The Stars (Journey Through Space). Start your discussion by asking: Are stars moving? Read page 14 with students. Explain that stars appear to move because the Earth rotates on its axis. Explain that Earth’s rotation on its axis causes day and night.

• - Introduce the “Follow a Star Activity” on page 15. This activity can be assigned throughout the week to allow students to follow a star for several nights and document their observations.

• - Students need to:

  • - Go out on a clear night and find a bright star that is low in the sky.

  • - Draw a picture of where the star is, using a reference landmark such as a treetop or the top of a building.

  • - Wait one or two hours. Go back to the same place you went to before and draw the star’s location again. Remember to use the reference landmark. Did the star move?

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