Intern Name: Alex Reiss

Topic/Title of Lesson: Solar System

Grade: 4th
Length (time) of Lesson:
LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE
In this lesson…​the students will learn the correct order of the planets and the
Overview different sizes

4.7 The student will investigate and understand the organization of the solar system.
Standard(s) of
Key concepts include the planets in the solar system and the order of the planets in
Learning the solar system.
Students will be able to…
● Identify planets
● Put planets into order
Objectives ● Know the general sizes of the different planets

I can...explain the order of the planets and the different sizes by creating a model of
Learning Target the solar systems in a shoe box
Prior Knowledge 1. The names of the planets
Required 2. General idea of what planets are
● Milky way
● Solar system
Key Vocabulary or
● Sun, Mercury, Venus. Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Concepts ● Geocentric vs. Heliocentric

● Shoe box
● Different size balls
● Colored pencils or crayons
Materials ● Construction paper
● Scissors
● Glue
● Stick on stars
*Move the desk to the conors of the classroom before class starts, that way there is
more room
1. Good Morning class! Does anyone know what kind of songs planets sing?
Introduction/
(wait a few minutes, take answers from those raising their hands) They sing
Hook Nep-tunes!
 1. After the morning introduction, students will learn the numeric ​M​y ​V​ery
E​nergetic ​M​other ​J​ust ​S​erved ​U​s ​N​achos and what each letter stands for
2. Pick a student wearing yellow, you're going to be the sun and give them a
paper that says sun; tell the student to stand in the center of the class and
slowly sipn in a circle
-Continue doing this for all the planets in order to
a. This will show how the solar systems work and help explain the
difference between heliocentric and geocentric
3. Begin to explain the shoe box project
a. The students will create their own solar system in a shoe box
i. The shoe box is required to have all 8 planets and the sun
ii. The planets should all be in different sizes that to represent
Instructional the real life different sizes of the planets
Activities 1. I will show explains of the different sizes in class and
what they could use in their project
2. I will also have spare shoe boxes and different size
boxes for a student to have if they do not have any at
home
iii. The project will be do at the end of the week, they are
expected to work on it in class and at home
4. I will lay out different sizes of balls in the classroom (an exercise ball,
basketball, soft ball, volleyball, etc.) then allow the students to arrange the
balls in the correct sizes that align with the real solar systems
5. Have the students repeat the ​M​y ​V​ery ​E​nergetic ​M​other ​J​ust ​S​erved ​U​s
N​achos and try to create their own way of remembering the order of the
planets
VISUAL IMPAIRMENT: For a student with visual impairments, i will have a
printed enlarged copy of the ​M​y ​V​ery ​E​nergetic ​M​other ​J​ust ​S​erved ​U​s ​N​achos as
well as giving the student different sized sturoform bells that way they can feel the
different sizes then I would watch the student put them into order
Accommodations
GIFTED: For the gifted students, I will assign an alternative assignment to research
different facts about the planet and create a poster on the different planets (the
student would complete this instead of a shoe box, that way they are going beyond
and using their gifted skills)
On their way out of the classroom they would give me a highfive and tell me their
Closure Activity new way of remembering the planets or one thing they learned today

Their assessment will be them putting different styrofoam balls (they will be closed)
Assessments in the correct order and will name each of them for me. This assessment will be
one-on0one work with me.
Resources
Lesson Plan Assignment: Final Grade Sheet
Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow I
Intern Name: _____Alex R. ________
Refer to the comments written ​on​ your lesson plan for detailed feedback.
Ready to Needs a few Incomplete Your
Teach! additions or Score
tweaks
Overview, SOLs, essential questions, x 10
objectives (10)

Introduction/hook & closure (10) x 9

Instructional activities (20)
Accommodations (10)
Assessment (5)
Vocab, materials, resources (5)
Supplemental materials, if applicable (5)
Reflection Questions (10)**
**only applicable for your REAL lesson plan!
x 19
x 10
x 5
x 5
x 5
n/a

Total (75​) 73

Very good lesson plan for your first one! I can tell you’re thinking through all the details and
have a knack for this! --Mrs. Free