GRADE: Sixth

CONTENT STANDARD: Earth and Space Science

CONTENT TOPIC: Astronomy

CONCEPT: The universe has various components.

CONTENT OBJECTIVE: 653JI.00 To understand the various components of the Universe

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVE: The learner will:

1.01 define star, solar system, galaxy and universe.
1.02 state that the sun is a star.
1.03 list the objects that make up the solar system.

I. Definitions
A. Star
B. Solar System
C. Galaxy
D. Universe
II. Composition of our solar system
III. The order of the nine planets

TN GOAL:

To enable students to acquire scientific knowledge by applying concepts, theories, principles and laws from life/environmental, physical and earth/space sciences.

2.3 ORGANIZATION - Everything is organized as related systems within systems.

2.3a - Natural phenomena display a wide variety of similarities and differences.

BENCHMARK Similarities and differences can be observed from the most minute phenomena to the vastness of the universe.

CLASSROOM CONNECTOR

SKILLS: Describing, collecting data, drawing conclusions, following directions

TIME REQUIRED: One instructional period

MATERIALS: Bulletin board, white paper, filmstrip about galaxies and universe

SET:

(Have a bulletin board set up in your room. Take white paper and cover the board. Write on the top of the board "Milky Way". Have each student come to the board and make a star on it. Make sure that you name our universe make different sizes and colors. Start out by defining galaxy as groups of billions of stars galaxy as the Milky Way. ) Today, we are going to learn about the stars, galaxies, and solar system.

Define these terms STAR, GALAXIES, UNIVERSE, and SOLAR SYSTEM. Let's compare the differences between galaxies and universe. The universe consists of more than 100 billion distinct groups of stars, called galaxies. Galaxies are irregular, elliptical, and spiral. Stars differ in size, color and magnitude. The color of a star is related to its temperature.

(Show a filmstrip about galaxies and the universe. After the filmstrip, have the students answer questions on the filmstrip. Explain to the students that stars are what actually make up the galaxies and universe.)

Whisper to your partner what a universe is and what a galaxy is. (Have the students respond by answering T and F statements about the galaxies and the universe.)

(1. There are two theories about how the universe came into existence. <Creation and the Big Bang Theory> Ask the students to do research on these two theories.

2. Write these words on the board in random order. Have the students arrange the words from smallest
in size to the largest. <Earth, moon, our sun, solar system. galaxy, universe>

3. Have students address an envelope from outer space using all the above terms except sun or moon <Student's name, street, city, county, state, country, continent, planet, solar system>.)

MATERIALS:

Pencil, tape. cardboard, watch, compass, marking pen, materials for making a drawing of the sun

What do you think of when you think of the sun? Do you think of it as a star? Today, we are going to talk about the sun.

The sun is a star. It is made entirely of hot gases. As with all stars, the sun gets its energy from fusion. Fusion happens when protons crash into each other and stick together. The sun has many parts: the CORONA, the crown of light around the sun; SUN SPOTS, dark areas on the suns surface; SOLAR FLARES, powerful eruptions of hot gases from the sun.

(Make a sundial with pencil, tape, 20cm of cardboard, watch, compass, marking pen. Draw a circle <15 cm> across the cardboard. Make one place on the circle 'IN" for north. Make a hole in the center of the circle big enough for the pencil. Tape the pencil to keep it upright. Bring the sundial outdoors on a sunny day. Find 'IN" on the compass. Turn the cardboard so that the 'IN" faces north. Mark the place where the shadow of the pencil points. Write the time there. Do several times during the day.)
What direction is the sun when the Shadow of the pencil is the Shortest? response) the longest? (response) Can you tell the time by the shadow the next day? (response)

Today we have learned that the sun is a star. On a sheet of paper, write the parts of the sun.

(Have students go to the library and do reports on lunar and solar eclipses.)

MATERIALS:

Poster board, modeling clay, wires or pipe cleaners, pictures of the solar system

Today, we are going to learn the planets in order from the sun. Push all chairs away from the middle of the floor. (Have the children start moving in a circle. Let them move in different directions. Have them stop; the person that is in the middle is the sun; the person close at to the sun is Mercury; continue on in this way until you have named the nine planets. The children that are left over are the other things that are found in the universe.)

(Now that you have your children in order of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto), place a card with the name of each p lane t on them. Let the children move around the sun. Explain that all planets do not move at the same speed. Ask the children questions about who is the closest and who is the farthest away from the sun.)

(Have children make a list of things that are in space such as planets, meteors, comets, asteroids, and satellites. Verbalize in class, then write on the board things that were talked about in class. Give facts and show pictures of each planet. Also write a mnemonic device for the nine planets. Example: My Very Everloving Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pies.)

(Make a list of the terms used during instruction and put them on the board. Take the terms listed on the board and ask the children to give their ideas about what they are. Then define the terms in class and explain. Divide the class into groups. Let each group take two objects found in the solar system and do a short report. This work is to be done during class period.)
(Divide the class into two groups; half of the class will draw models of the solar system and list facts about each planet; the other half of the class will make models of the solar system out of clay and wires. They will also label and make lists of facts.)

Today, we have learned about the components that makeup our universe. Rename the nine planets and relate a fact about each one an your paper. (pause) Now list at least one other object found in space. (pause, then summarize)

(Have the children make up their own mnemonic device for the 9 planets and bring that back to class.)

 The University of Tennessee at Martin is not responsible for the information or views expressed here.

mfield@utm.edu and annetter@utm.edu