Lesson Summary:
The lesson assumes a basic knowledge of the solar system and provides further information on planets and dwarf planets. It introduces the children to the physical attributes of the planet Mars. The discussion may be used for paired reading or as a resource for the teacher. Activity A allows the children to test their knowledge of Mars while Activity B is a creative activity which provides them with a mnemonic to help them to remember the planet names in order.
Objectives:
- The children will understand the definition of a planet.
- The children will be able to describe the planet Mars.
Subject Area:
Science
Lesson Excerpt:
There are eight planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto used to be included but the scientists’ now have a new definition of a planet: A planet is a body which orbits around the sun, is big enough to have its own gravity which pulls it into a round (or nearly round) shape and it has cleared an orbital path for itself (there are no other objects in its way as it orbits the sun).
Based on this new definition, Pluto is now known as a dwarf planet. There are two other dwarf planet which we know about: Ceres and 2003 UB 313. All the dwarf planets are smaller than Mercury.
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