Lesson plan (English)
Topic: Solar system
Supplementary material for use in lessons in the group of natural sciences (nature, biology, chemistry, geography, physics), additional classes, science clubs. It can serve as a resource for expanding knowledge, preparing students for science competitions.
Author: Zyta Sendecka
Target group
Students of the 7th grade of an elementary school (geography).
Core curriculum
7th grade (geography)
V. Earth movements: The Earth in the solar system; the Earth’s revolution and rotation motion; consequences of Earth movements. The student:
4) demonstrates the Earth's revolution using models (e.g. tellurium or globes).
The general aim of education
The students describe the planets of the solar system and describe the Earth as one of the planets of the solar system.
Criteria of success
You will describe the differences between views and opinions on the Earth’s place in the Universe;
you will build the Solar System model;
you will name and recognize the planets on the solar system model.
Key competences
communication in the mother tongue;
communication in foreign languages;
mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology;
digital competence;
learning to learn;
social and civic competences;
Methods / forms of work
Conversation, work with text, and workshop work.
Individual work and work in pairs.
Teaching aids
abstract;
interactive or traditional board;
tablets/computers.
Lesson plan overview (Process)
Before lesson
Before the lesson, the students in groups of 2‑4 people collect the necessary items that they bring to the lesson:
styrofoam balls, one with Ø 12 cm, 10 cm, 8 cm, 6 cm, 5 cm and two with Ø 4 cm and 3 cm
styrofoam ring with a diameter of 8 cm
1 m long wire
fishing line
acrylic paints, brush
water cup
paper plate
tacks
scissors
possibly a cardboard or bristol, compass, ruler
Lesson plan overview (Process)
Introduction
The teacher presents the topic, lesson goal and criteria of success.
The teacher asks the students about the names of the planets of the Solar System that they know. The teacher also asks the students what the sun is.
Realization
The students watch a film that shows the stages of building a Solar System model, and then in pairs they make a similar model from materials that they brought to the lesson.
The teacher asks the students to become familiar with the views on the Earth’s place in the Universe, and to perform selected interactive exercises.
Using the Solar System model, the students independently do exercises concerning the arrangement of the planets.
The teacher tells the students that using a technique of creating a sentence in which the first letters are assigned a particular meaning, it is possible to remember the order of the planets in the Solar System, e.g.: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles Then, the students perform interactive tasks indicated by the teacher.
Summary
The teacher asks the students to do the exercise selected from the abstract on their own.
The teacher asks the students to finish the sentences:
On today's lesson I have learnt that...
On today's lesson I liked...
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
ciało niebieskie – dowolny obiekt znajdujący się w kosmosie (gwiazda, planeta, naturalny satelita, kometa), który nie jest zbudowany przez człowieka.
teoria geocentryczna – teoria zakładająca, że Ziemia znajduje się w centrum wszechświata, a wokół niej krążą inne obiekty kosmiczne, czyli Słońce, Księżyc, planety i gwiazdy.
teoria heliocentryczna – uznawana obecnie teoria zakładająca, że centralną częścią naszego układu jest Słońce, a planety wraz z Ziemią krążą wokół niego.
Układ Słoneczny – układ składający się ze Słońca i okrążających go ośmiu planet, ich satelitów i innych obiektów takich, jak komety czy asteroidy.
Texts and recordings
Solar system
The Earth is the perfect place for us to live. It is at the right distance from the Sun, which means that temperatures on the Earth enable us to live. However, the Earth is not the only planet revolving around the Sun. Some of those planets are real giants; the Earth – huge as it may seem to us – is but a dwarf compared to them.
Throughout history, people believed that all celestial objects visible in the sky revolve around the Earth. It seems to be true when we look up in the sky, doesn’t it? This way of thinking is called today the geocentric theory. According to this theory, the Earth is the centre of the Universe, and the Sun, the Moon, planets and stars revolve around it.
It was the studies, observations and measurements conducted by the Polish astronomer Nicolas Copernicus that proved that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. Currently there is no doubt that it is the heliocentric theory developed by Copernicus is true. The Earth turned out not to be the centre of the Universe, but merely one of many objects in it. In reality, the Sun is in the centre of the solar system with planets, including the Earth, revolving around it.
Back in Copernicus’ times, only five planets were known apart from the Earth. Improvement of observation equipment enabled more planets to be discovered. Today, the solar system is considered to comprise of eight planets. The first four – counting from the Sun – are small and rocky. Because of their closeness to the Sun, they are called inner planets. The following four are much larger and their surface consists of gases and tiny ice crystals. They are called the outer planets.
The geocentric theory was based on the observation of the apparent movements of the Sun and other celestial bodies, but it turned out to be incorrect.
The heliocentric theory, created by the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, correctly explains the structure of the Solar System and the place of the Earth in the universe.
The solar system consists of the central star – the Sun, eight planets orbiting it and a large number of smaller objects, e.g. asteroids.