Grade 6

Standards:
MSESS12.

Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the

motions within galaxies and the solar system.[Clarification
Statement: Emphasis for the model is on gravity as the force
that holds together the solar system and Milky Way galaxy
and controls orbital motions within them. Examples of models
can be physical (such as the analogy of distance along a
football field or computer visualizations of elliptical orbits) or
conceptual (such as mathematical proportions relative to the
size of familiar objects such as students' school or
state).] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include
Keplers Laws of orbital motion or the apparent retrograde
motion of the planets as viewed from Earth.]

MSESS13.

Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of

objects in the solar system. [Clarification Statement:
Emphasis is on the analysis of data from Earth-based
instruments, space-based telescopes, and spacecraft to
determine similarities and differences among solar system
objects. Examples of scale properties include the sizes of an
objects layers (such as crust and atmosphere), surface
features (such as volcanoes), and orbital radius. Examples of
data include statistical information, drawings and
photographs, and models.] [Assessment Boundary:
Assessment does not include recalling facts about properties
of the planets and other solar system bodies.]

Objectives:

After students learn about relative size, they will be able to

compare the size of the sun and planets to everyday objects
(fruits, vegetables, etc).
After modeling the relative planetary distances, students will be
able to explain the position of the sun and planets.

Materials:

Planetary size comparison worksheet

Planet distance sheets

Procedures:
Introduction:
As an introduction, students will answer a short do now question to
review yesterdays lesson: Why was Pluto reclassified as a dwarf
planet?
Body:
After answering the do now, we will have short discussion on
relative size (ex. Illustrations may show size of plants in comparison to
a 5in diameter sun.) Students will receive the Planetary Size
Comparison work sheet. With their groups, students will Science
Netlinks Planet Size Comparison interactive to finish the worksheet.
Students will discuss their findings with their group.
Possible questions:
How easy would it be to model the planet sizes?
Are there any everyday objects we can you to compare the
planets?
After planet size we will have a short discussion on astronomical
units. An AU is a simplified number to describe a planets distance from
the sun. Its a unit of length that is the average distance from Earth to
the sun (149,600,000 km) so Earth is AU 1.
Possible question:
Why do scientists use astronomical units?
After learning about how we measure things in space, we will
move on to the relative planetary distance activity. At least one person
from each table will be given a planet or solar system object. Students
will work together to arrange themselves in the correct order and
distance from one another. From this students should get an idea of the
relative distances between objects in our solar system.
Closing:
Students will be given two questions to answer at the end of the
class to wrap everything up. (If there is not enough time at the end of
class, it will be given as homework)
Questions:
If your parent were to ask you about todays class, how would
you explain how we measured the distance between the planets?
Why do you think we did not create a relative size model of the
planets? Explain.

Assessment:
One student at each of the six tables will be able to answer both
questions.
Differentiation:
Students will be working in groups for part of this lesson so
higher students can help or explain reasoning to lower students. There
is one student who sometimes does not work well in groups so if he
feels that today is a day where he cannot work in a group he will be
permitted to work independently.