This Science quiz is called 'Solar System 1' and it has been written by teachers to help you if you are studying the subject at middle school. In the early years of space exploration, scientists didn’t know what kind of effect traveling in space would have on human beings. They came up with a variety of ways to organize the planets into categories based on data from the fact cards. Email. The four outer planets also have rings that encircle them with Saturn having the most rings. You will create 5 different categories with 5 different partners. Mission Assignments using Google Sheets Template (, Mission Information using Google Slides Presentation Template (, Sample slides from one of my 6th grade groups (, Teacher or student created Planet Fact or Planet Trading Cards (. Contact. Space Lesson Plans. Why are there black holes in the middle of galaxies? The planet Earth takes 365 days or one year to orbit the Sun. This was a great way for the students to learn about different missions, practice their research, tech, and collaboration skills, and to get a better understanding of the history of unmanned space missions. For the economy and the environment? Finally, there is also an asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter containing irregularly shaped objects called asteroids. Venus is the second planet in our solar system and named after the Greek goddess of love. The largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter. The path the planets use when traveling around the sun is oval-shaped and is called its orbit. Possible Categories that students will use: Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. What is the closest planet to Saturn? Activity: Planet Card Sort . It costs only $12.50 per month to play this quiz and over 3,500 others that help you with your school work. Atmosphere has Hydrogen or doesn’t have Hydrogen? The asteroid belt is another object in the solar system. There is news, a calendar, missions to learn more about the solar system, and a site for kids. If they could name the mission without clues (just an image of the spacecraft) they earned 2 points, if they named the mission with clues, they earned 1 point. What wil Earth and Venus are similar in size to each other. It wasn’t until more recently that scientists even knew that black holes existed. More. Students also enjoyed trading partners and changing seats. Image Source: NASA. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. When you see a picture of our earth from space, it looks exactly like a round blue and white marble. This lead to longer discussions and deeper thinking between each pair, which lead to categorizing the planets in categories that were less obvious at first. Playing educational quizzes is a fabulous way to learn if you are in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade - aged 11 to 14. Kepler - A mission to search for habitable planets. Solar System Exploration - news, current missions, and history of past missions from NASA. At no cost to you, I make a commission for purchases made through the links or advertisements. It was challenging to come up with categories that neither student had used yet once they met with their 3rd partner. Inference, Reading a Graduated Cylinder- Volume & Displacement Free Online Resources, Free Science Starters, Bell Ringers, Warm Ups, Writing Prompts, Charles Darwin Survival Game - Link Updated. A comet is basically a big ball of ice and rock. Elementary School Science. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Number of rings – more or less than ______? Each of the planets follow an oval-shaped path around the Sun which is called the planet's orbit. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Great site for finding out about current space missions. In the sky, Venus looks like just another bright star. Write down one fact for each planet within the category. The Earth is part of the solar system because it also travels around the sun. After taking an in-depth look at missions to Mars (blog entry) and learning more about the planets in the solar system (blog entry), we learned about past, present, and future unmanned space missions and their mission objectives. The planets of the solar system are also a variety of sizes and are made up of different substances. LLAP. The smallest planet is Mercury, which is also the closest planet to the Sun. Learn more about the celestial bodies that exist within our solar system. When you and your partner are done, have your work checked and then you will be paired up with a new partner. What does it mean for the evolution of utility companies? The planet taking the longest time to go around the Sun is Neptune. Anything that comes close to the earth from outer space is known as a near-earth object (NEO). For the next 5 categories, you and your partners will create new ways to sort the planets. These planets, in order, include Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It takes Mercury less than two months or 88 days to travel around the Sun. 4.0—Earth & the Formation of Our Solar System. When you are done, you can work on the challenges in small groups. Label the headings for each column, how will you sort the planets? You and your partner will sort the planets according to each category. If you have seen any of the films taken by the astronauts in outer space, you know that the earth spins. When students were done with their slides, the next class involved a fun game of “Name that Mission” (girls vs boys). Throughout time, people have looked up at the night stars with imagination and awe. The other planets take more or less time to orbit the Sun. The asteroid belt is approximately located between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. Middle School Science Blog Free lesson plans and resources for grades 5-8 by Liz Belasic (Liz LaRosa) solar system Exploring the Solar System – Past, Present, and Future Missions. Why are there black holes in the middle of galaxies. March 1, 2015 July 4, 2015 Liz Belasic Leave a comment. Each group of students created a shared Google Slides Presentation, and within each group, students were assigned 4-6 numbered slides with specific missions (public link). 4.0—Earth & the Formation of Our Solar System. Using slides that the students created, I pulled a total of 20 or so slides from different groups and classes and added animations to them. Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Helium, Carbon Dioxide, and other gases can be used, too, View middleschoolsciencelessons’s profile on Facebook, Exploring the Solar System – Past, Present, and Future Missions, Planet Sorting Activity – Comparing, Contrasting, and Categorizing the Planets, 'The Goat by the Water' : Observation vs Inference (Originally named 'The Boy in the Water'), Qualitative vs. Quantitative Observations Worksheet, Mystery Footprints - Observation vs. They are leftovers from the beginning of the solar system. Students were engaged, challenged, and made great observations about the planets. All of the planets in our solar system are constantly orbiting around our sun. The Sun is a star similar to the other stars in the sky but it is much closer to the Earth. I used this activity last week with my 6th graders and I was happy with how the activity went. A moon is a celestial object (object in space) that orbits another body in space. Google Classroom Facebook Twitter. Earth is located between Venus and Mars. To link to this The Solar System page, copy the following code to your site: Space : Solar System Games and Worksheets, Solar System Planets Facts Games and worksheets, Solar System vocabulary word scramble game, Solar System vocabulary Alphabet Sorting (ABC Ordering) Games, Solar System vocabulary : theme Free Word Scramble Worksheets.