The Solar System

Teacher Candidate:
Ms. Tillis
Date:
October 1, 2014
Grade and Topic:
5th grade Science (The Solar System)
Length of Lesson:
Assignment will be approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. Students will begin at 9a.m. and finish at
1p.m.
Mentor Teacher:
School:
University of Memphis IDT 7061
Unit/Chapter/Objective/Generalization/Big Idea:
This lesson plan is part of a unit on The Universe
Lesson Objective:
Students will be creating a digital presentation of the Solar System. In the presentation students will list
each planet and key facts about the planet including the size, picture, and location from the sun.
Students will create this digital presentation using Microsoft Power Point or Google Docs. For each
planet student must have the correct picture of the planet, the correct location from the sun, and at
least two additional facts about the planet. Students must also provide a brief summary at the end of
the slide show. Students must have at least 10 slides in their power point presentation.
The purpose of this lesson is to educate the students about The Solar System. The students will be
working together in groups of two. The students will be finding information about The Solar System
from their textbooks and the web.
Standards Addressed:
Tennessee Department of Education Standards For Science
Grade 5: Standard 6-The Universe
GLE 0507.6.1 Compare planets based on their known characteristics.
ISTE Standards for students:
2. Communication and Collaboration. Students use digital media and environments to communicate and
work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the
learning of others.
3. Research and Information Fluency. Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use
information.
Materials:
Science Textbook
Internet Access
Computer
Magazines
Microsoft Powerpoint
Google Docs
Technology will be integrated so students can present a digital presentation of their work.
Background and Rationale
Students will learn about The Solar System and understand their locations and the planets appearance.
Students will also learn how to work Microsoft Power Point and Google Docs.
After completing the assignment students should know the following:
The location of each planet from the sun
The names of each planet
Recognize each planet and characteristics about the planet
This lesson connects with the previous lesson because in this unit we are learning about Earth and Space
Science.
Students have learned prior information about The Solar System from their previous grade.
We will continue with this lesson in the next few weeks by going into full detail about each planet. Each
week we will talk about a different planet.
There will be differentiated activities for accelerated students and students that need reinforcement.
Students will be divided into two groups. Students that need reinforcement will be given extra
worksheets and activities over The Solar System. Students that are accelerated will be given review
worksheets just to refresh their memory. If there are any students with disabilities accommodations will
be made depending on their disability. Students with disabilities wont be impacted they will be able to
complete the assignment as well with accommodations according to their disabilities. Lesson will be
modified to meet the needs of disabilities.
Procedures and Timeline
Introduction:
Problem Statement: How would you guys like to visit space? Well lets pretend that we are traveling to
outer space. The space museum has hired us to travel to outer space and observe the planets and
record information about the solar system. After completing our trip, the space museum wants us to put
together a power point about The Solar System and what we learned. We will create a power point
about The Solar System. Doesnt that sound like fun? Well lets get started.
Procedures:
* I will break the students into groups of two. There are 22 kids in the classroom so there will be 11
groups. I will present the lesson and problem statement to the kids
* At 9:00 a.m. I will present the problem statement to the students. The students will begin working in
groups at their desk. At their desk the students will have their Science
textbook and magazines about The Solar System. Students will have 45 minutes to gather information
notes and information to add to their power point. I will check to make sure all students have the
following:
Name of each planet
Size of each planet and distance from the sun
2 characteristics about each planet
* At 9:45 I will ask students if they have gathered the above information and are they ready to move to
the computer. If students have enough information we will move to the computer.
* At 9:50 students will began working at the computer. Students that need more reinforcement will
remain at their desks gathering information. They will have extra time at the computer and desk.
Students with learning disabilities will be helped and accommodations will be made so that they have
the extra help that they need. Once students are at the computer I will make a statement. I will tell
students that once they have gathered the required information they need to look up pictures for their
power point. They will have an hour and thirty minutes at the computer.
* At 10:30 students will began working on their power point. Each group will open up power point on
their computer. Each group will have the choice to use Google Docs or Microsoft Powerpoint. Each
group will begin to insert their data and upload their pictures to their power point presentation.
* At 11:20 I will check everyones progress to see if they are finished. We will than go to lunch and finish
up when we return to class.
* At 12:00 We will return to finish up. I give the students an extra hour to complete all necessary work
and to finish up.
* At 1:00 p.m. we will began presenting presentations.
* All students that finish early will be given a worksheet and coloring sheet of The Solar System to
complete while the other students are working.
Closure:
To close the activity everyone will present their power points and we will review the lesson and talk
about what we learned. I will ask questions and gather thoughts from the students. We will also have an
activity sheet and coloring sheet about The Solar System that all students will complete after returning
to their desks.

Assessment Evidence:
Students will be graded according to the information provided on their power point. Students power
point should have all of the following:
Pictures
Each Planet's Size
Each Planet's Distance from the sun
2 additional characteristics of each planet