Mrs. McMahon's Planet Activity
 
 
 


     

 
 
 

Teacher Introduction

  1. The teacher discusses with students the importance of citing sources, signing your work as the author, providing information about your class and school, and stating your purpose for the site clearly.

    2.  
  2. Next, students (in pairs) write information paragraphs on the planets.  They use fact grids and informative sites (URLs included - see Activity Links included at the bottom of this page) as tools.

    3.  
  3. Using the fact grid and informative sites, students collect up to eighteen facts, which are listed as short phrases of up to five words in each rectangle.

    4.  
  4. Students then cut out their rectangles and organize and glue them into like categories on a larger piece of construction paper.  This is known as a "Category and Sort Activity" explained more fully in Tomorrow's Classroom Today.

    5.  
  5. Students number their categories in a logical order and use them as a basis for forming informative paragraphs about the planet they are studying.   They should be writing about three to five paragraphs per group of two students.

    6.  
  6. When the groups finish writing down their paragraphs and sources, have them type in their work using a word processing program on the computer.  They should sign their paragraphs and site the source(s) they used to gather their information from in a bibliography or resource list.

    7.  
  7. Not only can you print out their finished product for them, but you also may wish to place students' work on a Webpage for all to view and refer to, as a celebration of their achievement.  Ensure there is a spot for a graphic for each planet with space to type in the source below it, and make sure the site is easy to navigate.

    8.  
  8. You may wish to include a comparison chart of the planets, that your class completes using the information that they have gathered about each planet.  I have included a blank comparison chart and one with the completed information for your reference.  Please access my activity sheets using the button marked as such, and you have my permission to use them with your class.

    9.  
  9. Our class site, when completed, will be linked to my homepage and called "Planet Page" at http://members.shaw.ca/mrs.mcmahon.  My update notation is also located there.

References:

Brownlie, Faye, Susan Close, and Linda Wingren. 1990. Tomorrow's Classroom Today: Strategies for creating active readers, thinkers, and writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

 
 


 
 

Activity Sheets
 




 
 








 
 

Student Activity Links:

  1. Windows to the Universe

    2. http://www.windows.ucar.edu
    A NASA-funded site from the University of Michigan offering a choice of elementary age-appropriate informative text.
Choose:
Enter the Site
Our Solar System
Planetary Systems
Beginner
Planet of study -   gather facts from
Interior & Surface; Atmosphere; and Planetary Facts)
  1. StarChild

    2. http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild
    A NASA site with elementary age-appropriate informative text.
Choose:
Level 1 Solar System
The Planets - scroll to choose
(Planet of study - read and scroll to gather facts)
  1. The Nine Planets Just For Kids

    2. http://mercury.nineplanets.org:8011/tnp4kids/index.html
    A CalPoly University graduate student site transforming the original "The Nine Planets" site of SEDS (Students for Exploration and Development of Space) from University of Arizona.  Excellent informative facts written at an elementary level.
Click on:
Graphic of Solar System
Choose:
Planet of study - scroll to choose
Read and scroll at right to gather facts
  1. Kids Astronomy

    2. http://www.KidsAstronomy.com
    A site by Hiram Bertock - a former elementary teacher with a background physics.  A great site for younger audiences.
Choose:
Solar System
Planet of study
Great graphic sites of the planets from NASA
    APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day)
    http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

    Welcome to the Planets
    http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets