Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.

• Lesson Assessment and Answer Key
• Reading: "Galileo"
• ELA Activity: My Very Educated Mother
• Activity: Your Age & Weight on Other Worlds
• Research Projects: Combine science and creative writing with Travel Poster & To Live on Another Planet
• Video: A 7-minute video about building a scale model of the solar system in the Nevada desert.
• Distance Learning Resource: Use chalk to make a model of the solar system outside.

ELA Activity: My Very Educated Mother

This sentence will help you remember the planets in order, starting closest to the sun: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos. Just think of a planet that starts with the first letter of each word: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and so on. Have students create and illustrate with their own sentences to help them remember.

Extra Activity: Age & Weight on Other Worlds

Have your students use online calculators to figure out their age on other planets and their weight on other planets.

Project: Travel Poster

Let each student choose a favorite planet and create a travel poster extolling its virtues as a vacation spot, using fun facts about planets. Two other useful sources of information include PlanetsFor Kids.org and NinePlanets.org.

Project: To Live on Another Planet

Have students write about the challenges of living on another planet. Prompt them to describe what the landscape on this planet looks like. What would the weather be like there? How long is a day? How long is the year? What would they need to survive on this planet?

Make a Model of the Solar System

Make a map of the solar system -- using chalk on the sidewalk. You’ll need 90 feet of sidewalk to get all the way to Neptune!

• Draw a line to mark your starting point. That’s the surface of the Sun. Label it SUN. You’ll make a circle and label each planet, starting with the inner planets, the ones closest to the Sun.
• Take one step to Mercury and mark your place.
• Take one more step to Venus.
• One more step and you’re at Earth. Home sweet home!
• Take one more step and a baby step, and you’re at Mars. Now it’s time to go to the outer planets.
• Take ten steps to Jupiter.
• Take 15 steps to Saturn.
• Take 30 steps to Uranus.
• Finally, take 30 steps to Neptune. You are a long way from home now!