The Solar System

1
The Solar System Beyond

• KEY STAGE 3
• (year 7)

2
Index

• Lesson 1 Knowledge and explanations
• Homework task 1
• Lesson 2 Night Day. Seasons.
• Homework task 2
• Lesson 3 How do we see the Sun, the Moon and
  other planets?
• Homework task 3

3
Lesson 1

• Knowledge and explanations.

4
Equipment

• PCM Diagram of the Solar System (1 copy per
  student)
• PCM Information table (1 copy per pair)

5
Objectives

• To extract information from an information table
• Use your knowledge and information to write brief
  explanations level 5

6
Diagram of the Solar System

• BBC Science Clips DVD Earth in Space section 5,
  Lost in Space
• Open university diagram
• Gcse.com

7
Task 1 Short task

• Draw a diagram of the Solar System using the web
  images as a guide.
• Use the information on the table to name the
  planets on your diagram (small neat print)

8
(Data obtained from The Guinness Book of
Astronomy, Patrick Moore published by Guinness
1992)
9
Task 2 Explanations

• Work in pairs using a mini whiteboard to draft.
• Show your knowledge and understanding by clearly
  explaining.
• Transfer your answers to your book.

10
Questions because

• (a) Explain why Neptune and Pluto are the
  coldest planets.
• (b) Explain why there could be no liquid water on
  the surface of
• (i) Mars.
• (ii) Venus.
• (c) On which planet would the time between
  sunrise and sunset be shortest?
• (d) Which planet has the shortest year?

11
Reporting back

• Be ready to read one of your explanations!

12
Homework task 1

• Complete both of these assignments.
• Check you explanations and improve them if you
  need to.

13
Lesson 2

• Day, night and seasons

14
Equipment

• Drawing compasses
• BBC Class Clips, DVD
• Globe
• Overhead projector

15
Objectives

• To revise the reasons for day and night.
• To learn why night is shorter in the summer.
• To learn how the tilt of the Earth causes seasons.

16
Lesson part 1 Explain day night

• BBC Science clips DVD Earth in Space section 1.
  How do we go from day to night?

17
Day Night
Use interactive whiteboard to shade annotate.
Activity Draw a globe into your book. Use a
compass. Show the Earths axis as a line. Shade
the left side of your globe to show the part that
is night. 1. Mark where Britain is in the middle
of the night. 2. Mark where Britain is in the
middle of the day.
18
Part 2 Seasons

• BBC Class Clips DVD Earth in Space, Sections 2
  and 3.
• Explore the intensity of light using a torch.
• Use a globe to identify when Britain gets long
  days and more direct intense from the Sun. Show
  Britains track as the globe rotates.

19
Seasons
Draw a diagram like this in your book. Shade to
show day night. Mark Britains track on each
globe.
Summer
Winter
20
Explanations (work in pairs on a whiteboard)

• A day and night on Mars lasts nearly 25 Earth
  hours. Explain why there is daytime and
  night-time on Mars.
• Like Earth, Mars has summers and winters.Suggest
  why there are seasons on Mars.

21
Bookwork

• Transfer your explanations to your book. You may
  be asked to complete this as homework.

22
Plenary Reporting back

• Reading explanations.

23
Homework task 2

• Make sure that all your diagrams have captions to
  describe what they are about.
• Bring your explanations up to date.
• Check that your class work is good and is up to
  date.

Homework sheet (x4)
24
Lesson 3

• How do we see the Sun, the Moon and other planets?

25
Equipment

• Overhead projector.
• Globe.
• Moon.
• Drawing compasses.
• Mini whiteboards pens.
• Handouts.

26
Getting started

• Use a whiteboard to draw a picture of the Moon.
• No cheese, Wallace Grommit or Clangers please.

27
Discussion

• Why has everyone drawn something different?
• Does the Moon really change shape?

28
Objectives

• Understand that some things produce light and
  some only reflect light.
• Understand why the Moon appears to change shape.
• Use your ability to explain scientific things in
  writing.
• Homework may be set!

29
What are stars?
Why can we see them?
Graphic SSER Ltd with permission
30
What are planets?
Why can we see them?
Graphic SSER Ltd with permission
31
Graphic SSER Ltd with permission
32
Activity

• Draw a diagram with the Sun, the Earth and the
  Moon.
• Add arrows to show how light from the Sun is
  reflected by the Moon.
• Add a caption to explain how we see the Moon.

33
What would you see?

• Imagine you are standing on the globe.
• From that position, what would you see of the
  Moon? Draw it roughly on your whiteboard.
• Use a compass. Draw a 50mm diameter circle in
  your book.
• Use shading to show what you would see of the
  Moon.

34
A week later

• The Moon has moved.
• In a week, it has done ¼ of an orbit.
• Imagine you are standing on the globe. What would
  you see now?
• Draw a 50mm circle as before and shade to show
  your view of the Moon.

35
And after two weeks?

• The Moon has now done ½ an orbit around the
  Earth.
• Draw another 50mm circle and shade to show what
  you see.

36
Three weeks?

• Use another 50mm circle to show what the Moon
  looks like after ¾ of its orbit.

37
Finishing up

• Work in pairs use a whiteboard.
• Explain why the Moon appears to change shape over
  4 weeks.
• Be ready to read your work.

38
Outcomes

• I know that that some things produce light and
  some only reflect light.
• I understand why the Moon appears to change
  shape.
• I know how long it takes for the Moon to orbit
  the Earth.
• I can explain scientific things in writing.

39
Homework task 3

• In your exercise book, write to explain why the
  Moon appears to change shape over a 4-week cycle.

40
Lesson 4

• Whats out there?

41
Equipment

• Mini whiteboards, pens erasers
• Books about planets and the Solar System
• Plain A4 paper

42
Starters

• Use whiteboards or scrap paper.
• Make a list of things you could find out about a
  planet.

43
Objectives

• To learn that our solar system includes the Sun,
  its planets and asteroids and the natural
  satellites of the planets
• That the planets orbit the Sun in similar ways to
  the Earth
• How evidence about the solar system has been
  collected and interpreted
• To use secondary sources to find out about
  planets
• To speculate on the possible conditions on other
  planets

44
By the end of the lesson

• You will have done some research using several
  different books.
• You will have prepared a presentation using a
  sequence of pages.
• This lesson will take 2 sessions homework.

45
Conditions

• Discuss in groups. Be ready to report back.
• How could you work out what conditions are like
  on a planet? What essential information would you
  need?

46
Activity

• Use books and other secondary sources to find out
  about the planet assigned to you.
• Prepare a sequence of pages using A4 landscape
  sheets.

See an example presentation