Which Planet Am I?--Guess the Planet

Grade Levels: K, 1, 2, 3, 4

Lesson Created by: Pat Hale phale@dmrtc.net

Objective: The students will show a basic understanding of the characteristics of the planets of the Solar System.

Time Requirements: one week

Topics Covered by the Lesson:
Language Arts-vocabulary words, reading about planets,
Science- learning about the planets
Art- drawing pictures with computer draw programs or with paper and crayons
Computer Skills-Using the Solar System website will improve student's computer skills.
Information Literacy- Using resources to locate information and use it to create a product.

Brief Overview:
This activity is developed to review the planets of the Solar System. Students will be writing and creating stories about the planets that will be used to create a Guess What Planet? book.

Unit Features:
The website Solar System developed by students at Elementary West can be used as a resource for this activity.

Materials Needed:

• writing processor- (Student Writing Center, Word, Works, or any other writng program)
• graphic program - (KidPix, Draw, or any other drawing/graphics program) or
• drawing paper, crayons, colored pencils.
• books, videos, magazines, and appropriate web sites that can be used for resources.
• list of resources used for the Solar System web site may be helpful for this project.

Activity Description:

1. Students will select a planet to research. They will use Internet resources, books, magazines, and videos to find true facts about their planet.

2. The student will write their information about their planet in the form of a riddle.
   Example:
   I am a the red planet. I have ice caps at my north and south poles. Some scientist think there might be have been water on my surface. I have two moons named Phobos and Deimos. I have had space probes land on my surface and they have taken soil samples. I have volcanos and canals on my surface. I am the fourth planet from the sun. I am 30 million miles from Earth. It would take astronauts 11 months to get to me. Which planet Am I?

3. They would be encouraged to put many interesting facts about their planet in the written product.
4. Students would then draw and color a picture of their planet. They could use either paper and crayons or the computer paint programs that might be available to them.
5. This could be made into a classroom book for all to read and enjoy.

Evaluation:
Students would be evaluated on their composition skills, the accuracy of the scientific information presented, effort put into artwork, and the research skills of the students.

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