Lesson 12: Building a Scale Model of the Solar System - petrawoolf/OutdoorScienceLab GitHub Wiki

Lesson 12: Building a Scale Model of the Solar System

Objective: To help students understand the vast size of the solar system and learn how to use scaling to represent large distances and objects.

SMART Learning Goals:

K-2nd Grade: Students will draw planets for a class model and take the appropriate number of steps from the center to show how far it is from the sun. Each planet will be different (to scale).
3rd - 5th Grade: Students will help build a scale model of the solar system, calculate distances with the group, and write 3-5 facts about the planet’s size and location.

Materials:

Activities:

Begin with a class discussion: Ask: “How far away do you think Neptune is from the Sun?”

Explain

Show a diagram of the solar system not to scale and explain how it may be misleading.
Explain the sizes of the different planets and how they differ from each other
Introduce the idea of scale models: using smaller, proportional measurements to represent very large distances.
Explain that this can be very confusing because when you look at the night sky, everything looks like the same-sized shining dot!

Make!

Students should choose a scale that their solar system should be. This could be 1 inch, 5 inches, etc., but a smaller scale will be easier to manage.
Assign a planet to each small group. Have students measure and design the planet that is correctly to scale.
Have students cut out circles and color them to make them look like their assigned planet. Note: I recommend not using the sun. It will be too big, even at a 1 cm. scale.
Have the students write a few sentences about their planet and some interesting facts or other ideas that they have learned.

Build the Model in your Outdoor Lab

If you have enough space, this is a good activity to complete in your outdoor lab.
Pick a center point.
Using your tape measure, mark the distance of each planet. Have your student groups walk to that distance with their planets.
You might consider taking a photo of your class so that they can see themselves and the distances after the project is finished.

Discuss

Ask the students: “Does this change your idea of how big our solar system is?” and “Does this change your idea of where the Earth is in relation to the other planets?”

Reflection

Students should use their science journals to write or sketch about the distance of the planets and how scaling helps them understand where our planets are placed.

How this activity supports Common Core Science Standards

K–2:

K-ESS3-1: Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals and the places they live.

3–5:

5-ESS1-1: Support an argument that differences in the apparent brightness of the sun compared to other stars is due to their relative distances from Earth.
5-ESS1-2: Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.

Related Lessons: