Earth and Its Place in the Universe

The student will investigate the structure of the universe.

Day 1 Distinguish between comets, asteroids, planets, moons, stars, and galaxies.

1. Workbook p 11-13 Make a mini book "Our Solar System" (3 pages cut in half to make a 6 page booklet) and read.

2. Workbook p 10 "What is It?" Label each part of the galaxy.

Day 2 - Ordering the Planets - Distinguish among the planets according to specific characteristics.

1. Workbook p 15 "Put the Planets in Order". Color each planet the correct color. Cut out the planets and glue on construction paper in the correct order.

2. (Students have a worksheet to help them remember the correct sequence of the planets.)
   
   To Remember the Correct Planet Order --

My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.

 

Mercury  Venus  Earth  Mars Jupiter  Saturn  Uranus  Neptune  Pluto

3. Make a model to show the relative distances of the planets from the sun.

Mercury	1"
Venus	1.5"
Earth	2"
Mars	3"
Jupiter	11.5"
Saturn	19"
Uranus	38"
Neptune	60"
Pluto	79"

Day 3 - Distinguish among the planets according to specific characteristics.

1. Workbook p. 37-41 Make a mini book "The Planets" (5 pages cut in half to make a 10 page booklet) and read and discuss.

2. Watch The Inner Planets stopping video after learning about each planet to fill in three facts about each one. Worksheets to do this are on pages 42-45. Students may look back at "The Planets" booklet if they have trouble.

3. Review the Order of the Planets. (Students put on planet "necklaces". These are in a Ziploc in the back of the notebook. Have students arrange themselves in a line in the correct order. Example, if a student  is wearing Mars he must get between the two people wearing Earth and Jupiter.)

My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.

 

Mercury  Venus  Earth  Mars Jupiter  Saturn  Uranus  Neptune  Pluto

4. Worksheet Order the planets.

5. Label the Solar System Worksheet (Students have an answer key and a page with blanks to fill in.)

Day 4  - Distinguish among the planets according to specific characteristics.

1. Watch The Outer Planets stopping video after learning about each planet to fill in three facts about each one. Worksheets to do this are on  pages 46-50.

2. Review the Order of the Planets.

My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.

 

Mercury  Venus  Earth  Mars Jupiter  Saturn  Uranus  Neptune  Pluto

3. Make paper model of the planets. (See instructions at the back of this notebook. An example is in a Ziploc bag, and the colored pages of the planets are in the students' binders.)

Day 5 - Identify and arrange the phases of the moon in the correct sequence.

1. To understand the phases of the moon try this experiment.

• Each student needs a sheet of drawing paper folder into quarters, a crayon, and a clipboard to draw on.

• Students sit in a circle around a large pitcher with a handle and draw what they see in the first box on their papers.

• Have everyone move counterclockwise one quarter of the way around the circle and draw what they see from the new angle.

• Repeat 2 more times until students have draw the pitcher from 4 angles.

• Discuss what happen.

Example

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Explain to the students that the pitcher did not move yet the pictures look different. This is the same with the moon . . . .

2. Workbook p. 58-59 Cut out the moon phase wheels and attach with a paper fastener. By turning the bottom wheel to the right, the phases of the moon will appear in the correct order in the window.

3. Use moon phase cards to put moon phase cards in the correct order. (Blue cards in a Ziploc bag)

4. Students may make their own sets of moon phase cards. (See the cards in their packets in the students' notebooks.)

5. Worksheet - Label the moon phases.

Day 6 - Identify the force that pulls objects toward the Earth.

1. Make astronaut with toilet paper roll. Discuss what happens when the astronaut is in space. (Floats) Why doesn't he float around on Earth? (gravity)

2. Gravity Experiment

Day 7 - Differentiate between the Earth’s rotation and its revolution.







 

1. Using a flashlight, the picture of a person glued to Tennessee,  and a globe illustrate how the globe rotates to make day and night. Rotate several times saying day and night. (Talk about the rotation of the Earth.)

2. Worksheet page 271 (Day and Night)

3. Workbook p. 71-75 Make a mini book "When the Earth Moves" (5 pages cut in half to make a 10 page booklet) and read and discuss.

4. Have students experiment with this by sticking a pencil through the center of an orange.

   1. Does the Earth really have a pole sticking through it?

   2. What does the Earth spin around?
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
       

3. Place a lamp in the center of the room and move the globe around the lamp (the sun). Keep the globe titled in the same direction. Discuss that when the North Pole is tilted toward the "sun" or away from the "sun" we have summer or winter.  Revolution
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    

4. Make sure students understand terms revolution and rotation.

Day 8 - Recognize that the appearance of an object in the sky is affected by its size, motion, and distance from the Earth.