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Featured Lesson: How Big is the Solar System?

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Contributed by Funderstanding.com, an educational website that aims to provide thoughtful parents and educators with tools to deepen learning in students.

Astronomy, like the size of the solar system, is such a vast subject that it can be a challenging one to teach. It’s a fascinating topic and there are so many angles to choose when trying to effectively teach astronomy.

Our experience is that most public schools teach astronomy in a way that does not inspire awe and elicit the interest the topic warrants. Most astronomy courses are not interactive and this is definitely a topic that needs to be hands-on. Powerpoints and lectures won’t cut it.

So we created a lesson plan drawn from The Thousand Yard Model or The Earth as a Peppercorn created by Guy Ottewell.

This lesson gets kids outside and keeps them energized and engaged. The goal is to teach the size and scale of the universe in a way that is realistic – a challenging endeavor given the enormity of the topic!

Lesson: How Big is the Solar System?

Concept / Topic To Teach: An understanding of the scale of the universe by teaching the relative size and spacing of the planets.

Goal: To help students obtain a clear understanding of the size of the sun and the other planets in our solar system. Help students grasp the concept of the vastness of our universe.

Age Range: This lesson plan applies to a vast age range – ages 6-18. The basic activity remains the same for all ages. The teacher’s discussion questions will vary greatly according to the audience. This particular lesson plan applies to ages 6-10.

Specific Objectives:

• Engaging students to be excited and in awe of the huge world we live in!
• Teaching basic concepts of measurement and distance (inches, yards, miles)
• Strengthening knowledge of planets in the solar system
• Increasing understanding of size of the sun and other planets
• Learning the scale of the solar system
• Encouraging children to explore the universe on their own (e.g., get a telescope for backyard viewing)

Materials: