TheMajesticSolarSystem

Author:JenniferFansler
Datecreated:09/12/20168:52PMEDTDatemodified:10/06/20162:45PMEDT

PLANNING
EssentialQuestion

WhyisitimportantthattheEarthislocatedthirdclosesttotheSun?Humansneedsunlightforsurvival,sowhydo
humansnotliveonMercury,beingthatMercuryisclosesttothesun?

Topic/unitofStudy&time
allotment

ThetopicofthislessonisthenamesoftheplanetsinourSolarSystemandtheirchronologicalorderfromthesun.The
unitofstudythatthissinglelessonfallsunderistheSolarSystem,whichincludesspecificsaboutthesun,moonand
planets.Forthissinglelesson,theclasswilllearnabouttheplanetsovertwodaysinafortyfiveminutetimeperiod.

Grade/Level

Grade3

Subject(s)

Science

CTApproval/Date

October6,2016

21STCENTURYSKILLSANDTECHNOLOGYTOOLS
Standards

NCNorthCarolinaEssentialStandards(2011)
Subject:InformationandTechnology
GradeorConcentration:Grade3
Strand:TechnologyasaTool
EssentialStandard:
3.TT.1Usetechnologytoolsandskillstoreinforceclassroomconceptsandactivities.
ClarifyingObjective:
3.TT.1.2Useavarietyoftechnologytoolstoorganizedataandinformation(e.g.,wordprocessor,graphic
organizer,audioandvisualrecording,onlinecollaborationtools,etc.).
ClarifyingObjective:
3.TT.1.3Usetechnologytoolstopresentdataandinformation(multimedia,audioandvisualrecording,online
collaborationtools,etc.).

Subject:Science
GradeorConcentration:3rdGrade
Strand:EarthintheUniverse
EssentialStandard:
3.E.1Recognizethemajorcomponentsandpatternsobservedintheearth/moon/sunsystem.
ClarifyingObjective:
3.E.1.1Recognizethattheearthispartofasystemcalledthesolarsystemthatincludesthesun(astar),planets,
andmanymoonsandtheearthisthethirdplanetfromthesuninoursolarsystem.

USACommonCoreStateStandards(June2010)
Subject:EnglishLanguageArts&LiteracyinHistory/SocialStudies,Science,andTechnicalSubjects
Grade:Grade3students:
Strand:SpeakingandListening
Domain:
ComprehensionandCollaboration
Standard:
3.Askandanswerquestionsaboutinformationfromaspeaker,offeringappropriateelaborationanddetail.

USAISTENETSforStudents(2007)
Standard:
5.DigitalCitizenship
Indicator:
b.exhibitapositiveattitudetowardusingtechnologythatsupportscollaboration,learning,andproductivity.
Standard:
6.TechnologyOperationsandConcepts
Indicator:
b.selectanduseapplicationseffectivelyandproductively.

USAISTE:NationalEducationalTechnologyStandards(NETS)forAllTeachers(2011)
Standard:1.FacilitateandInspireStudentLearningandCreativityTeachersusetheirknowledgeofsubjectmatter,teaching
andlearning,andtechnologytofacilitateexperiencesthatadvancestudentlearning,creativity,andinnovationinbothfaceto
faceandvirtualenvironments.Teachers:
PerformanceIndicator:
c.promotestudentreflectionusingcollaborativetoolstorevealandclarifystudents'conceptualunderstandingandthinking,
planning,andcreativeprocesses
Standard:2.DesignandDevelopDigitalAgeLearningExperiencesandAssessmentsTeachersdesign,develop,andevaluate
authenticlearningexperiencesandassessmentsincorporatingcontemporarytoolsandresourcestomaximizecontentlearning
incontextandtodeveloptheknowledge,skills,andattitudesidentifiedintheNETSTeachers:

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PerformanceIndicator:
a.designoradaptrelevantlearningexperiencesthatincorporatedigitaltoolsandresourcestopromotestudentlearning
andcreativity

LearningTargets/Objectives

1.ThestudentswillbebeabletoidentifythesunasthecenterofourSolarSystem.
2.ThestudentswillbeabletonameandidentifytheeightplanetsinourSolarSystem.
3.Thestudentswillbeabletolistandarrangetheplanetsintheirorderfromthesun,specificallynotingthatEarthisthe
thirdplanetfromthesun.

TechnologyTools

Materialsandresources:
Textbook(whichcontainsinformationandpicturesoftheplanets)YouTube(https://youtu.be/0H0cYRSxyWY),
SafariorInternetExplore(http://www.markothepencil.com/html/PlanetOrderGame.html),GoogleDraw,Smart
Board,Word,PaperandPen
Technologyresources:
Safari,Word,Onsafari,YouTubewillbeusedtoshareasongaboutourSolarSystemwiththestudents.Secondly,
asolarsystemgamewillbeusedviasafari.Lastly,GoogleDrawwillbeaccessedthroughsafariforaspecial
learningactivity.
Thenumberofcomputersrequiredis1perstudent.
StudentsFamiliaritywithSoftwareTool:
Manystudentsmayknowhowtousesafari,theinternet,youtube,etc.,butIwilldemonstratetheexactstepsto
accessthespecifictoolsinfrontoftheclassusingthesmartboard.Therefore,astudentwhomaynotunderstand
howtousecomputerswellwillhavenoproblemcompletingtheirlearningactivity.
Iwillsplittheclassintothreegroupsbasedonthetypeoflearnertheyare,whethervisual,auditoryor
kinesthetic.Eachstudentwillhavetheirownlaptopforthisactivity.
VisualLearners:Usingthesmartboard,IwillshowthisgrouphowtoaccessGoogleDraw.Thestudentswillclick
andtypeontheirlaptopsjustasIdemonstrateforthemonthesmartboard.Oncethestudentshavereached
GoogleDraw,Iwillmodelforthemhoweachofthetoolsonthissoftwarework.Iwillmainlyshowthemhowto
addcircles(fortheplanetsandsun)andhowtoaddatextbox,sotheycantypethenameoftheplanetorsunin
oraroundthecelestialbody.Next,Iwillshowthestudentshowtoaddcolortotheirdigitaldrawing.Finally,the
studentswillbeshownhowtosharetheirdrawingtomebytypinginmyemailaddress,whichIwillwriteonthe
dryeraseboardatthefrontoftheclassroom.
AuditoryLearners:ThisgroupwillusesafariortheinternettoaccessYouTube.Thestudentswillbeclickingand
typingtheexactsamethingsthatIdoonthesmartboard.IwillshowthestudentswhattotypeinonYouTube
andwhatsongtoselect.Iwillshowthestudentshowtopausethevideo,soaftertheylistentothesong,each
studentofthisgroupcanwritetheirownplanetjingle.Thestudentswillturninthelyricsoftheirsongtomeat
theendofthelearningactivitytime.
KinestheticLearners:Iwillusetheinternettoaccessaplanetarranginggame.Thestudentswillclickandtype
exactlywhatIdoasImodelthisprocessonthesmartboard.Oncethisgrouphasreachedthegame'swebsite,I
willshowthestudentshowtoplayandcompletethisactivity.Thisparticulargamedoesnothaveacompletion
certificateorsharebutton,soeachstudenthastoshowmetheircompleteandcorrectplanetarrangementbefore
thelearningactivitytimeisover.
Links:
1. "SolarSystemSong"Thisisajinglethatdescribeseachplanetandtellsitsplacefromthesun.
2. PlanetArrangementGameThisgameallowsthegroupofkinestheticlearnerstoclickanddragtheplanettoits
correctplaceinitsorderfromthesun.

Assessment/Rubrics

Theclasswillplayagameof"WhatPlanetAmI?"toformativelyassessthestudents'knowledgeofthecontentbutina
fun,stressfreeway.Eachstudentwillgetoutapieceofpaperandapen,inwhichtheywillnumbertheirpaperone
throughnine(Eightcluesfortheeightplanetsandoneclueforthesun).OntheSmartBoard,aWorddocumentwillbe
showntothestudents.Thisdocumentcontainsapictureofeachplanet/sunandahintabouteach,whichwillincludethe
planet'splacefromthesun.Oncethestudentsviewthepictureandtheclue,theywillbeasked,"Whatplanetor
cellestialbodyisthis?"Studentswillthenproceedtoquicklywritedowntheplanet'snameandhidetheiranswerfrom
theirpeers,socheatingisavoided.Afterfinishingthegame,Iwillcollecteveryone'spapersandchecktheanswers,then
Iwillrevealthecorrectplanetforeachclue.Finally,studentswillreceiveoneskittleforeverycluethatthey
answeredcorrectly.
Attachments:
1. "WhatPlanetAmI?"FormativeAssesment

IMPLEMENTATION
IntroductiontoLesson

Iwillstartoutthislessonbyaskingtheclassthequestion,"Whatplanetdoweliveon?"Afterhearingtheresponses,I
willsharethatweliveontheplanetcalledEarth.Secondly,Iwillasktheclass,"Whatcomesupintheskyeverydaythat
wecannotlivewithout?"Aftertheresponses,Iwilltellthestudentsthatthesunisessentialtohumanlife.Thirdly,Iwill
askthestudents,"Whatlightstheskyatnight?"Again,responseswillconducivelylendthemselvestotheanswer,the
moon.Afteraskingthesesimplequestions,Iwilltiethethreetopicstogetherbysharingwhatthesethreetopicshavein
commontheyareallapartofourSolarSystem.Afterintroducingthestudentstothename,SolarSystem,Iwillshow
themapictureofourSolarSystem.
Attachments:
1. PictureofSolarSystem

TeacherInput

Dayone:Theintroductionandlecturelikepartofthislessonwillbegiveninnomorethan1520minutes.Thelearning
activityforthislesson,whichisexplainedindetailintheguidedpractice,willtakeabout2530minutes,includingtimeto

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setupandgivedirectionsaboutthisactivity.
Forthisactivity,allthestudentscanusetheirtextbooktohelpthemcompletethisassignment.Thetextbookwillhelp
eachgroupbecauseitcontainspictures,instructionalinformationandarrangmentinformationaboutthesunandthe
planets.
Toensurethateachgroupisstayingontaskanddoingwhattheyaresupposedto,Iwillwalkaroundtheclassroomand
checkoneachgroup,answeringanyquestionsthattheymayhave.Ioccassionallymayaskastudent,"Whatplanetare
youdrawing?"or"Whatplacefromthesunisthatplanet?"or"HowmanyplanetsarethereinourSolarSystem,and
haveyouusedthemallinyoursong?"
Daytwo:Thecontentdiscussedondayoneofthislessonwillbethorouglydiscussedandreviewed.Thisreviewprocess
willbefollowedupbyaformativeassessment,wherethestudentswillplaythegame"WhatPlanetAmI?"(Thedetails
ofthisassessmentarediscussedaboveunderassessments.)
GuidedPractice

DayOne:Onthefirstdayofthislesson,afterIintroducethelessonandexplainthestandardandlearningtargetsto
thestudents,wewillbegintoreadandhighlighttheimportantaspectsofourSolarSystemfromourtextbook.Afterthe
contenthasbeenshared,Iwillsplittheclassintothreegroupsbasedontheirwayoflearning.Therewillbeagroupof
visuallearners,agroupofauditorylearnersandagroupofkinestheticlearners.Eachstudentwillhavetheirownlaptop
forthisactivity,andtheywillbeaskedtocompletetheassignedtask.
VisualLearners:ThisgroupwillaccessGoogleDrawtodigitallydrawtheSolarSystem.Iwillprovideachecklistofthe
celestialbodiesthatIwouldlikeforthemtodraw.IwillmodelonthesmartboardexactlyhowtoaccessGoogleDraw
therefore,thestuentswillfollowandclickalongtogettotheirownGoogleDrawdocument.Onceeverystudentinthis
groupisreadytobegintheirdigitaldrawing,Iwillshowthestudentshowtousethetoolsgivenonthissoftware.Before
thestudentsbegindrawing,Iwillshowthisgrouphowtosharetheirdrawingtomyemail,andIwillwritemyemail
addressonthedryearseboardsothatthestudentscantypeinmyemailwhentheyarereadytosharetheirdrawing
withme.Afterthestudentsfinishdrawingtheitemsontheirchecklist,ensuringthattheplanetsareintherightorder
fromthesun,thestudentswillsubmittheirdrawingstomeviamyemail.
AuditoryLearners:ThisgroupwilllistentoasongabouttheSolarSystemonYouTube.Iwillshowthisgroupexactly
whattoclickandtypeinordertoaccessthecorrectsongthatIwantthemtolistento.Iwillshowthestudentsinthis
grouphowtoplayandpausethesongincasetheyneedtopauseitorplayitagain.Afterlisteningtothissong,eachof
thestudentsinthisgroupwillwritetheirownjingleabouttheSolarSystem.Eachsongmusthavethenamesofeachof
theeightplanets,butthatistheonlyguidelineastowhatthesonghastohave.Aslongaseachoftheeightplanets
arenamedandbrieflydiscussedinthesong,thestudentscanbeascreativeastheywouldlikewiththerestofthe
song.Aftertheirsongsarewritten,thisgroupwilleachturntheirfinishedsongintomeortheycansingitinfrontofthe
class.
KinestheticLearners:Thisgroupwillusetheinternettoaccessaplanetarrangementgame.Inordertoaccessthe
correctwebsite/game,Iwillmodelforthestudentsexactlywhattoclickandtypetogettotherightpage.Onceeach
studentreachesthecorrectwebpage,Iwilldemonstratehowtoclickanddragtheplanetstothedifferentplacesonthe
screen.Thisgamedoesnothaveacompletioncertificateorsharetab,sothestudentshavetoraisetheirhandand
showmethecorrectorderoftheplanetsonthetemplatefortheirgamebeforetheactivitytimeisover.Bythestudents
ofthisgroupshowingmethecorrectlyplacedplanets,thatishowIwillassessthatthisgroup'sactivitywasfinishedand
completedcorrectly.
DayTwo:IwillreviewovertheSolarSystemconceptsthatwerediscussedonthefirstdayofthislesson.Theclasswill
beaskedreviewquestionsabouttheSolarSystem.Ifanystudenthasanylingeringquestionsaboutthislesson,a
questionandanswertimewillbeimplementedhere.Finally,toformativelyassesstheinformationlearnedinthislesson
thestudentswilltakeoutapieceofpaperandapencil.Theclasswillplaythegame"WhatPlanetAmI?"Thestudents
willnumbertheirpaperonethroughnine.Iwillputupapictureoftheplanetorthesun,followedbyabriefclueofthe
celestialbody,andthestudentshavetoquicklywritedownthenameofthecelestialbodyontheirpaper.Aftereach
studenthasansweredeachofthenineclues,Iwilltakeuptheirpapers.Asaclass,wewillthendiscussthecorrect
answerstoeachoftheclues.Afterfindingoutthecorrectanswers,eachstudentwillreceiveoneskittleforthenumber
ofcluesthattheyansweredcorrectly.Thatassessmentwillconcludethistwodaylesson.
Attachments:
1. "WhatPlanetAmI?"Worddocumentthatwillbeshownonthesmartboardduringtheformativeassessment
gameof"WhatPlanetAmI?"
2. ChecklistforVisualLearnerGrouptoDrawThisisthechecklistofwhatIwanttheVisualLearnergrouptodraw.

IndependentPractice

Studentswilldemonstratetheirknowledgeofthecontentduringthierindividualworkontheirownlaptop,wherethey
willeitherdigitallydrawtheSolarSystem,viaGoogleDraw,createtheirownsongabouttheSolarSystem,afterlistening
totheYouTubeexample,orplayinganinteractivegameaboutthearrangmentoftheplanetsinourSolarSystem.This
diverselearningactivitywillnotonlyallowthestudentstorecallandvisualizetheinformationthattheyhadpreviously
discussedandlearned,butitwillallowthestudentstogrowtheirknowledgeontheSolarSystembecauseeachstudent
willbeengrossedinanactivtythatfitstheirparticularlearningstyle.

DifferentiatedInstruction

Thedifferentactivities,methodsofinstructionandassessmentaretargetedtohelpdifferenttypesoflearners,nomatter
theirlearningpace.
AuditoryLearnerListeningtotheSolarSystemsongonYouTube,thencreatingtheirownsongwillengagetheauditory
learnersbecauseitenhancesandaidsthemintheirparticularlearningstyle.
VisualLearnerDrawingandcreatingone'sownsolarsystem,modeledafterourownSolarSystem,willengagethe
visuallearnerbecauseitallowsthemtorecallwhattheyhavealreadyseen(thepictureoftheSolarSystem,attached
above),anditallowsthemtoactonthisrememberingbyenvisioninganddrawingtheirownSolarSystem.
KinestheticLearnerBeingabletoplayaninteractivegame,whereeachstudentinthisgroupcanmovetheplanets
aroundtotheircorrectplacementintheSolarSystemisreallyhelpfulforthesehandsontypesoflearners.

Closure

Afterformativelyassessingthestudentsbyplayingthegame,"WhatPlanetAmI?,"Iwillconcludethelessonby
reviewingonelasttimethenamesoftheplanets,theirorderfromthesun,andwhythisorderisimportant,espciallyfor
Earth.Iwillaskthestudents,"Whatwasyourfavoroitepartofthislesson?,"and"Whatwasyourfavoriteplanetand
why?"Lastly,Iwillaskthestudentstoreadthelearningtargetsandcheckthemoffiftheybelievetheyhaveadequately

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learnedthecontentexpressedinthesetargets.Ifanystudentisunabletocheckoffanylearningtarget,theycanask
meanylingeringquestionsthattheystillhaverightthenorafterclass,sotheywillfeelconfidentthattheyhavemetthe
learningtargets.
TimeAllotment

2classperiods.45Mins.perclass.

MATERIALSANDRESOURCES
InstructionalMaterials

Attachments:
1. PlanetGamePrintoutThisisforstudenttotakehometostudytheplanets.

Resources

AfteralimitedlecturetimeaboutwhattheSolarSystemisandwhatitconsistsof,thestudentswillbesplitintothree
groupsdependingontheirlearningstyle.ThevisuallearninggroupwilluseGoogleDrawtodigitallydrawtheSolar
System.TheauditorygroupwillwritetheirownsongabouttheSolarSystem,afterlisteningtoanexampleofaSolar
SystemjingleonYouTube.Thekinestheticgroupwillplayaninteractivegamewheretheymovetheplanetstotheir
correctplaceintheirorderfromthesun.Afterthegroupscompletetheirlearningactivity,thestudentswillbeformatively
assessedontheirknowledgeoftheSolarSysteminafunyetindependentreviewgameasmentionedabove.

REFLECTION
Authorscommentsand
reflection

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