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Teacher's Guide to Utah SEEd Strand 6.1


Back to Utah Sixth Grade Standards

Key Concepts:

  • Students should gain an insight into the immense size of the solar system, and our place in it.
  • The definition of a planet recently changed, and may change again. Currently (July 2016), a planet must orbit the Sun, have strong enough gravity to have pulled itself into a round shape, and its gravitational field must have pulled in all of the other small objects in its orbit. That last part was what caused Pluto to lose its status as a planet. Clearing other objects from an orbit was added as we discovered more and more objects in the solar system that fit the previous definition of a planet. Scientists either had to change the definition of a planet or add quite a few new planets (Ceres, Charon, Eris, and possibly quite a few other objects in the solar system as new planets.
  • The inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) have a solid surface, a metallic core made up mostly of iron, and a mantle made up mostly of silicates. They are relatively small, and have very few if any moons.
  • The outer planets are divided into the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) which are made up mostly of hydrogen and helium, and the ice giants (Neptune and Uranus) which are made up mostly of water, methane, and ammonia, with thick atmospheres of hydrogen and helium. The outer planets are relatively large, and have many moons.
  • Pluto, along with Ceres, Charon and Eris are now considered to be dwarf planets as they share their orbits with other objects.

Misconception Alert:

Closest Planet: Which planet is closest to the Earth? Beware of this question! Depending on where they are in their orbit around the Sun, the closest planet may be Mars, Venus, or Mercury.

Covering the Basics:

To give your students a basic understanding of this topic, try the following.

  1. I would suggest starting with the Global Science activity, either by showing the video to your students, or even better if you have several globes, by talking them through the activities yourself. This will get them started using and understanding scale models, as well as giving them a good foundation for phenomena observed from Earth.
  2. I would follow that with the Why is the Full Moon So Bright? activity. Have the student sit in a swivel chair as the Earth. Have them decide which way the chair should turn, so that the Sun rises in the East. Explore things such as:
    • Why does the full Moon always rise as the Sun is setting?
    • Why can we sometimes see the Moon during the day?
    • Why don’t we have an eclipse every month?
    • Is there really a "dark side" of the Moon?
  3. To explore Strand 6.1.2, try using the Marbles, Inertia, and Paper Plates activity. The curve at the edge of the paper plate models the gravitational pull of the Earth, and the marble is the model for the Moon. Start with a whole paper plate, and let students see that there is a balance between gravitational pull (the rim of the plate) and inertia. Too much force, and the Moon jumps the rim and leaves its orbit. Too little, and it “falls” in towards the Earth.
  4. Move to a bigger scale by Making a Scale Model of the Solar System.

    Click here for materials list.

    You can find the current locations of the planets at : The Planets Today. This is an outside web page, not part of The Happy Scientist website.

    • a roll of string at least 25 meters (80 feet) long
    • one or more colored markers
    • Meter stick or yard stick
    • metal key ring
    • a sturdy stake or rod for the Sun's location. The key ring should be large enough to fit around the rod.
    • 8 or more flags to mark planets and other objects
    • printed copy of the Planetary Data Sheet
    • printed copy of the current locations of the planets

    You might also try marking the inner planets on the floor of your classroom with tape, and then updating their positions every week. This lets students see the relative motion of the planets. Explore things such as:

    Imagine that you are going to launch a manned mission to Mars.

    • Does it matter when you launch the rocket?
    • How long will it take to get there, assuming a speed of 20,000 km/hour?
    • Would the astronauts be able to come back whenever they wanted?
    • After visiting Mars, what if the astronauts wanted to continue on to Jupiter? What would they have to consider?
  5. How do we know how far away the planets are? Try the How Far is that Planet? activity.
  6. Compare the gravitational properties of the planets with the Planets and Pennies activity. You may want to show The Difference Between Weight and Mass video so students will understand that the mass would not change, only the weight.

    Click here for materials list.

    You can find the current locations of the planets at : The Planets Today. This is an outside web page, not part of The Happy Scientist website.

    • a roll of string at least 25 meters (80 feet) long
    • one or more colored markers
    • Meter stick or yard stick
    • metal key ring
    • a sturdy stake or rod for the Sun's location. The key ring should be large enough to fit around the rod.
    • 8 or more flags to mark planets and other objects
    • printed copy of the Planetary Data Sheet
    • printed copy of the current locations of the planets

Quest: 6th Grade, Solar System

Some review questions about our Solar System. Quest: 6th Grade, Solar System

Nature of Science Potential

Most of these activities are excellent examples of the use of models in science.

Fun Facts

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