5th Grade Solar System Project Pathfinder Shoshana Gordon Ginsburg

Solar System Project Students will make a poster with facts about the earth and the solar system. The poster must: Include a drawing of the solar system, with the sun, planets, asteroid belt, and at least one moon other than Earth’s moon, all labeled Define and explain what planets have in common that makes them different from the other objects in the solar system At least three facts about non-Earth planets The back of the poster should contain citations for all sources used

DC Standards Students will be introduced to Space Science: Students should have an appreciation for our solar system and the concept that there are other similar and dissimilar systems in space. Students will be introduced to Earth Science: Students should relate to the earth as a planet in our solar system. 5.5.1. Describe the Earth as part of a system called the solar system, which includes the sun (a star), planets, comets, asteroids, and many moons. 5.5.2. Recognize that the Earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system.

Standards for the 21st Century Learner 1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make the real-world connection for using this process in own life. 1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry. 1.4.2 Use interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process. 2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful. 2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning. 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess.

What Is This? This is a pathfinder. It will guide you through library resources about the solar system so you can find information for your poster. Library resources include: Books Databases Websites Videos Don’t forget that Pluto was declared a dwarf planet in 2006 – this means that older resources may be out of date!

Books Here are some books that might be good resources for your project. Look through the shelves at the library for more! Relevant Dewey numbers for this project include: Astronomy 520 Planets 523.4 Solar System 523.2 “Planets, Stars, and Galaxies: A Visual Encyclopedia of Our Universe” by David Aguilar “Sun, Moon, and Stars: A Cosmic Guide” by Emily Sohn and Adam Harter “The Solar System” by Howard Trammel

Databases The library has access to databases, which are computerized collections of reference material. Recommended databases for this project are Exploring Nature, Science Power, and the Scholastic New Book of Popular Science.

In Exploring Nature, go to “Level One” and look for the information about space, which is listed in the category “Planet Earth”. This database has some introductory information about the planets.

Open this database. What area to you think will have the most information for this project? Read or listen to any sections you think will be relevant. Some of the sections I found particularly useful were Outer Space, Stars and Galaxies, The Solar System, and The Sun and The Planets.

New Book of Popular Science In addition to the main encyclopedia entries, this database has news articles and science projects. Feel free to explore this database if you want more information about your project.

Websites The Internet Public Library - http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/ This site can be used in two ways – either you can do a search using your own keywords, or you can look through their lists of resources. If you go to “Math & Science”, then “Air & Space” and finally “Astronomy” you can find some cool websites that might be helpful and interesting! Yahoo! Kids Directory - http://kids.yahoo.com/directory/Science-and-Nature Here is another place with useful lists of resources, mostly listed in the category “Astronomy & Space”.

Websites BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/ This British site has great information and photographs about space. Sadly however, most of the video clips will not work in the US. Nine Planets - http://nineplanets.org/ As an guide to the solar system, this site has a lot of useful information. There is a special section just for kids, but feel free to look around the regular site, as well. There are lots of images and sometimes even video clips. Views of the Solar System - http://www.solarviews.com/eng/ This site has great images and movies of objects in space. While the content might be a little difficult, I totally recommend looking at the images created and digitized here.

Images Looking for images to make your drawing better? Welcome to the Planets has official photos from NASA that can be downloaded for your use. Remember to cite! With photos, it can be hard to find enough information so write down what you can. NASA. Jupiter Full Disk. Welcome to the Planets. Accessed 24 April, 2011. http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/images/full/jupiter/jupiter.jpg.

Videos Discovery Education is a great place to find educational videos. Here is one about the planets that I found. There are lots of interesting movies on this subject that you might want to watch, such as “Journey to the Edge of the Universe” from National Geographic or IMAX movies like “Hubble” or “Space Station”. They can be purchased online. A Closer Look at Space: The Planets. 100% Educational Videos, 2004. Video. 22 April 2011. <http://www.discoveryeducation.com>.

Keywords for Further Searching Want to do more searching on your own or explore more areas of the sites discussed here? Here are some suggested search terms for this project: Solar System Space Star Sun Galaxy Planet (and the names of specific planets) Moon Astronomy

Citations Make sure you keep track of where your information came from! Noodletools is one resource you can use to help with citing. Some of these resources have information on them about how to properly cite them. It is fine to copy their preferred citation formats, if provided.