I've moved to a middle school, but an elementary teacher with whom I
used to work had students do a scale model of the solar system. One
year they set it up in a long hallway. The the next year when the
hallway couldn't work he used the raised platform in the cafetorium (if
that hadn't been available he had considered doing it from the ceiling
of the cafetorium). It was great because the whole student body got to
see it.
His students had to figure out how far away from each other the planets
would be and how big each planet would be according to their scale.
e.g. tennis ball, ping-pong ball, marble, basketball, etc. Attached to
each planet was information about that planet... how long to rotate on
its axis; how long to revolve around the sun; how far from the next
planets; moons; quality of surface and gasses around the planet; etc...
They were all wet up in a long line... no revolutions or rotations
involved.
Hope these memories help.
Hi, Darcy. Below you'll find a few different ideas of reporting
information on the solar system. Let me know if you need any
clarification...I'm firing this off pretty quickly before the next round
of little angels ;) comes in!
"If I Spent the Night In": This project asks students just that..."If
I Spent the Night In". Students gather information on the nine planets.
Students report their facts as such...
If I spent the night in____________________________
I would see____________________________________
and__________________________________________
and __________________________________________
but I wouldn't see _______________________________
because that happens in ___________________________
Sensory Imagery Poem: Again, students would gather info on the nine
planets. They'd then report their findings in a sensory image poem:
Line one: Color (Mars is as red as an apple)
Line two: Sound (It sounds like the wind blowing)
Line three: Taste
Line four: Smell
Line five: Sight
Line six: Feeling
The Mystery Place Report: Students would create a mystery place game
by listing ten clues about the planet. One clue would be a "give away"
clue. Ex: This is the planet we all live on. Once complete, students
can play the mystery game with their class. A student selects a number
between one and ten. The student who created the project would read
that clue. The audience can either guess the planet if they think they
know it or they can pass.
"If I Visited": Follows the same format as "If I spent the Night In".
If I visited ____________________________________
I would_______________________________________
And _________________________________________
But I wouldn't _________________________________
_____________________________________________
or ___________________________________________
Because only visitors to ___________________________
Do that!
Fact or Fiction Book: On one page, students make a statement about the
planet and ask the reader if the statement is fact or fiction. On the
next page students tell the reader whether the statement is fact or
fiction and why. Students can include illustrations as well. This one
is a little tricky to explain over e-mail, but, hopefully you get the
gist.
How about creating a creature that is native to a particular planet?
Our fifth graders did this and then displayed them in the library.
Very
creative!
In the elementary school where I just finished my student teaching, I
noticed some "posters with a twist" outside the 4th grade classrooms.
Instead of a simple poster, the kids had added paper flaps with
questions
written on them. The viewer could read the question and then lift the
flap
for a complete explanation. I think it's a great opportunity to teach
kids
to think about formulating thick questions (vs. thin) and it also makes
it
more interesting for the viewer.
How about a travel brochure to lure visitors to the planet? Good luck
with your project.
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