TEACHER’S GUIDE
LESSON 36: WHAT IS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM?
Video summary: Anna goes into space and gets lost.
Functional purpose: Talk about space, planets and stars; getting lost
Grammar: There is/There are; Review: Comparatives & Superlatives; Ordinal Numbers
Question: What is in our solar system?
Answers: There are eight planets in our solar system. And there is one sun.
Other questions and answers: Which planet is closest to the sun? Mercury. Which planet is 3rd from
the sun? Earth. Which planet is farthest from the sun? Neptune.
Unique words and parts of speech:
Adjective Noun Noun, Adverb, Verb
Adjective
farthest asteroids west explore
forward comets orbiting
poor Earth rises
solar Jupiter rotate
Mars sets
Mercury share
Moon
Neptune
nothing
Pluto
Saturn
system
Uranus
Venus
PREPARE TO WATCH
Get students’ attention and connect to students’ experiences
This can be done in the native language or English.
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
• Draw a model of the solar system on the board, but do not label the planets. Ask students to try
to guess what the drawing represents. Alternatively, show an image of the solar system from a
large book, poster, or image on a screen. Ask students what they know about it.
• Ask, “What is in our solar system? Have you ever seen a planet in the sky at night?”
• Ask, “Do you like to look at the stars? Would you like to go into space? Why or why not?”
• Ask, “What would you like to do in space?”
• Write responses on the board and say, “Let’s see what we learn in this lesson about our solar
system.”
Guess: What will happen?
• Show this image of Anna in a spaceship.
• Ask, “What do you think Anna and Daisy are doing in this picture?”
• Take some student ideas and write them on the board to refer to later.
WATCH AND REVIEW THE VIDEO
Check understanding with specific questions (add your own as necessary)
• How many planets are in our solar system?
• Which planet is third from the Sun? Which planet is closest to the Sun?
• Point to the guesses you wrote on the board earlier. Say, “Here are your guesses. Did you learn
about what Anna and Daisy are doing? Where did they go?” (They are exploring the solar
system. They went to Neptune; they got close to the Sun.)
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
• Say, “Even if you didn’t guess the same thing, guessing can help you listen carefully to
English. It can help you get the point of what people are saying or doing. Try it other times you
read or listen to English.”
Talk more about the video
• Ask students what they liked, what made them laugh or what parts they want to see again.
• Say, “Earth has a moon. What about other planets? What does Anna say about moons?” (There
are many moons in our solar system.)
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
ACTIVITIES
1. Spacewalk
Set up/materials
• Introduce new words needed for this activity:
o atmosphere - a mass of gases that surround a planet or star
o exosphere - the outermost portion of a planet's atmosphere,
o Gases that form planets and their atmospheres
§ ammonia
§ helium
§ hydrogen
§ methane
§ oxygen
o (space) probe - a device that is used to obtain information from outer space and send
it back to Earth
o spacecraft - a vehicle that is used for travel in outer space
• Cut out and separate each of the images of planets at the end of this lesson.
o Place them in different locations around the classroom.
• Make enough copies so each group of students has one copy of the Planet Data Card.
o Depending on how many groups you plan to form, distribute one or two of the
matching Planet Data Cards to the appropriate area of each planet.
How to
• Divide students into small groups; at least eight groups if you want to have each planet
represented. Assign planets or use the numbered heads method: have students count to 8. All
students whose number is “one” are in Group 1, “two” are in Group 2, and so on.
• Pass out a Spacewalk Activity Sheet to each group.
• Each group then chooses a planet from the cards displayed around the classroom. Have only
one group at a time choose. For example, Group 1 may choose Earth; next, Group 2 may
choose Mars, and so on. Each group should write the name of their planet on the Spacewalk
Activity Sheet.
• Have students choose a “Mission” name for their group. For example, “Mission to Neptune” or
“Space Explorers.” They should write the name of their “Mission” on the Spacewalk Activity
Sheet.
• Explain that in this activity, students will have a “Spacewalk” by imagining travel through the
solar system to their chosen planet. They will learn about the planet from their planet data card,
and write a story about their travel using the Spacewalk Activity Sheet.
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
• Each group will present their story to the whole class. Say, “Remember that each person in the
group needs to speak when you present your story to the class. For example, one person can tell
about the trip to the planet, another can tell about the atmosphere, and so on.”
• Give students a time limit for the activity. When the time is up, ask each group to present their
story as a group for the rest of the class.
Variation
• Have students research more about one planet of their choice for a detailed report.
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
2. Read and Write
Set up/materials
• Ask students to think about all the things they learned to say about the solar system in the
lesson.
• Give students a copy of the Read and Write activity sheet.
How to
• Have students trace the words. The sentences are:
o There is only one star in our solar system – the sun!
o Earth is the third planet from the sun.
o A solar system is a sun with objects orbiting around it.
o Neptune is the farthest from the sun.
• Divide students into pairs and see how many more sentences they can form about the solar
system.
• Ask pairs to read their sentences out loud.
Variations
• Have students write questions that can be answered with the statements in the activity sheet.
o How many stars are in our solar system? What is it called?
o How many planets are closer to the sun than the Earth is?
o What is a solar system?
o Which planet is farthest from the sun?
• Students can copy completed sentences into their notebook.
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
3. Listen and Speak – Visit Venus
Set up/materials
• Ask, “Which planet would you like to visit?”
• Say, “In this lesson, we will make a radio or social media advertisement for a planet.”
• Pair the students. Give students copies of the Listen and Speak activity sheet.
How to
• Give student instructions on completing the activity sheet:
o First, they should choose a planet. This can be a different planet from the one they
worked with for the spacewalk activity.
o Next, they should write a short talk (to be sent to radio or used in social media)
telling people why they should visit the planet.
• Assign each group another group to pair with. Each group should deliver their talk to try to
convince the other group to visit the planet.
• Each pair should ask the other pair, “Will you visit our planet? Why or why not?" and report on
their answers.
Variations
• Have students research more facts about the planet they choose before they write their short
talk. They can use the Planet Data Cards from the Spacewalk activity in this lesson plan.
• Students may create a graphic, such as a travel poster, to accompany their talk on the planet.
• Teachers can find more information about planets and spacecraft exploring them at
[Link]
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
LEARN MORE
Review: comparative and superlative; questions with which
Set up
• Write the adjectives large, small, far, near, cold, hot, and beautiful on the board.
• Show or draw an image of the solar system.
How to
• Review comparative and superlative—write large, larger, __ ___-est on the board. Ask
students how to fill in the blanks (the biggest).
• Tell each student to write a comparative and superlative sentence about planets for each of the
seven adjectives on the board. (For example, Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.)
So, each student will write 14 sentences in total.
• Have students form pairs. Each student reads sentences to his or her partner. Partners can help
each other make sure their sentences are correctly written.
• Have students share their answers with the whole class orally; students can also write their
sentences on the board.
• If necessary, review the rule for adjectives with two or more syllables (except for those that end
in the letter y) by looking at sentences with the adjective beautiful: more beautiful, the most
beautiful.
• Next, ask the class, “Which planet is the largest?” Write the answer on the board: Jupiter is the
largest planet.
• Show students that for each sentence they wrote, they can also form a question about it using
the word which. Then, have students write questions with which for each of the 14 sentences
they wrote.
• Have students form new pairs. Each student asks questions about the planets using their
sentences with which, and the partner must answer using a complete sentence. For example:
Which planet is larger, Mars or Earth?
Earth is larger than Mars.
Variations
• Have pairs join one other pair. Each pair can quiz the other pair by asking 14 questions using
which. Each correctly answered question is worth one point. After they have finished, have
each group report how many questions they answered correctly (the maximum would be 28
points).
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
• Have pairs or groups create a quiz for the entire class based on their questions using which.
• Students can use the Planet Data Cards given at the end of this Lesson 36 Teacher’s Guide to
write more questions about the planets.
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
CHECK UNDERSTANDING
1. Quiz
Give students the printed quiz at the end of this lesson guide, have them use the online quiz, or
simply write the questions on the board. If you want to test only their listening skills, say the
questions, but don’t write them.
Questions:
1. There is only one _____ in our solar system.
2. The sun sets in the _____.
3. The sun is a _____ at the center of our solar system.
4. All the planets _____ around the sun.
Answer key:
1. sun
2. west
3. star
4. orbit
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
Planet Data Cards (Source: [Link]
Mercury Venus
Structure and Surface Structure and Surface
• Mercury is the smallest • Venus is the hottest planet in
planet in our solar system. our solar system.
• Mercury is a terrestrial • Venus is a terrestrial planet. It
planet. It is small and rocky. is small and rocky.
• Mercury has a thin • Venus has a thick
exosphere. atmosphere. It traps heat and makes Venus
• Mercury’s surface can be as hot as 800 very hot.
degrees F during the daytime and as cold as - • Venus has an active surface, including
300 degrees F during the nighttime. (But volcanoes!
Mercury is not the hottest planet in the solar • Venus spins the opposite direction of Earth and
system. The hottest planet is Venus.) most other planets.
• Mercury’s poles have water-ice.
Time on Venus
Time on Mercury • A day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days.
• A day on Mercury lasts 59 Earth days. • A year on Venus lasts 225 Earth days.
• A year on Mercury lasts 88 Earth days.
Venus's Neighbors
Mercury’s Neighbors • Venus does not have any moons.
• Mercury does not have any moons. • Venus is the second planet from the Sun. That
• Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. means Mercury and Earth are Venus's
• Venus is Mercury’s neighboring planet. neighboring planets.
Quick History Quick History
• Mercury has been known since ancient times • Venus has been known since ancient times
because it can be seen without advanced because it can be seen easily without a
telescopes. telescope.
• Because it is so close to the Sun, Mercury is • Venus has been visited by several spacecraft:
hard to study from Earth. No people have ever Mariner 2, Mariner 5, Mariner 10, Pioneer
gone to Mercury, but two robotic spacecraft Venus 1, Pioneer Venus 2, and an orbiter
have visited. The spacecraft were called called Magellan.
Mariner 10 and MESSENGER.
• MESSENGER mapped Mercury by taking
pictures of the planet's surface, including some
areas that had not been seen before. It also
collected information about what the surface
and insides of Mercury are made of.
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
Earth Mars
Structure and Surface Structure and Surface
• Earth is a terrestrial planet. It is • Mars is a terrestrial planet. It
small and rocky. is small and rocky.
• Earth's atmosphere is the right • Mars has a thin atmosphere.
thickness to keep the planet warm • Mars has an active
so living things like us can be there. It’s the atmosphere, but the surface of the planet is not
only planet in our solar system we know of that active. Its volcanoes are dead.
supports life. It is mostly nitrogen, and it has
plenty of oxygen for us to breathe. Time on Mars
• One day on Mars lasts 24.6 hours. It is just a
Time on Earth little longer than a day on Earth.
• A day on Earth lasts a little under 24 hours. • One year on Mars is 687 Earth days. It is
• One year on Earth lasts 365.25 days. That almost twice as long as one year on Earth.
0.25 extra means every four years we need to
add one day to our calendar. We call it a leap Mars’ Neighbors
day (in a leap year). • Mars has two moons. Their names are Phobos
and Deimos.
Earth’s Neighbors • Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. That
• Earth has just one Moon. It is the only planet to means Earth and Jupiter are Mars’ neighboring
have just one moon. planets.
• Earth has lots of spacecraft watching it. There
is still a lot we can learn about our home Quick History
planet. • Mars has been known since ancient times
• Earth is the third planet from the Sun in our because it can be seen without advanced
solar system. That means Venus and Mars are telescopes.
Earth’s neighboring planets. • There was even a flying helicopter on Mars.
Seriously! The Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity,
Quick History successfully tested powered, controlled flight on
• We have known about our planet since ancient another world for the first time. It hitched a ride
times, of course. But we didn’t know our place to Mars on the Perseverance rover and worked
in the solar system for a long time. with the rover to explore Mars. Ingenuity was
designed as a tech demo expected to fly no
more than five times over 30 days. It ended its
mission in early 2024 having completed 72
flights in just under three years. Thanks
Ingenuity!
• Several missions have orbited, landed on, or
roved around on Mars: InSight, MAVEN, Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter, and many more!
Mars is the only planet we have sent rovers to.
They drive around Mars, taking pictures and
measurements.
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
Jupiter Saturn
Structure and Surface Structure and Surface
• Jupiter is the biggest planet • Saturn is a gas giant
in our solar system. It is like Jupiter. It is made
actually more than twice as mostly of hydrogen
massive than the other and helium.
planets of our solar system combined. • Saturn has a thick atmosphere.
• Jupiter is a gas giant. It is made mostly of • Saturn has a lovely set of seven main rings with
hydrogen and helium. spaces between them.
• Jupiter has a very thick atmosphere.
• Jupiter has rings, but they’re very hard to see. Time on Saturn
• The giant planet's Great Red Spot is a • One day on Saturn goes by in just 10.7 hours.
centuries-old storm bigger than Earth. • One year on Saturn is the same as 29 Earth
years.
Time on Jupiter
• One day on Jupiter goes by in just 10 hours. Saturn's Neighbors
• One year on Jupiter is the same as 11.8 Earth • As of June 8, 2023, Saturn has 146 moons.
years. • Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. That
means Jupiter and Uranus are Saturn’s
Jupiter's Neighbors neighboring planets.
• Jupiter has 95 officially recognized moons.
• Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. That Quick History
means Mars and Saturn are Jupiter’s • Saturn has been known since ancient times
neighboring planets. because it can be seen without advanced
telescopes.
Quick History • Four robotic spacecraft have visited Saturn,
• Jupiter has been known since ancient times including Pioneer 11, Cassini, and Voyager 1
because it can easily be seen with just our and 2.
eyes. No special equipment is needed.
• Jupiter has been visited or passed by several
spacecraft, orbiters and probes, such as
Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, Cassini,
New Horizons, and Juno.
• Jupiter has auroras, just like Earth! Not only
are the auroras huge in size, they are also
hundreds of times more energetic than auroras
on Earth. And, unlike those on Earth, they
never cease.
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Teacher’s Guide Lesson 36: What Is in Our Solar System?
Neptune Uranus
Structure and Surface Structure and Surface
• Neptune is encircled by six • Uranus is surrounded by a
rings. set of 13 rings.
• Neptune, like Uranus, is an • Uranus is an ice giant
ice giant. It’s similar to a gas (instead of a gas giant). It is
giant. It is made of a thick soup of water, mostly made of flowing icy
ammonia, and methane flowing over a solid materials above a solid core.
core about the size of Earth. • Uranus has a thick atmosphere made
• Neptune has a thick, windy atmosphere. of methane, hydrogen, and helium.
• Uranus is the only planet that spins on
Time on Neptune its side.
• One day on Neptune goes by in 16 hours. • Uranus spins the opposite direction as
• Neptune has such a long journey around the Earth and most other planets.
Sun it takes 165 Earth years to go around
once. That’s a long year! Time on Uranus
• One day on Uranus lasts a little over
Neptune's Neighbors 17 hours (17 hours and 14 minutes, to
• Neptune has 16 moons. be exact).
• Neptune is the eighth and most distant planet • One year on Uranus is the same as 84
from the Sun. That means Uranus is Neptune’s years on Earth. That’s a long time to
only neighboring planet. wait for a birthday cake.
Quick History Uranus' Neighbors
• Neptune was discovered in 1846 by Urbain Le • Uranus has 28 known moons.
Verrier, John Couch Adams, and Johann • Uranus is the seventh planet from the
Galle. Sun. That means Saturn and Neptune
• Only Voyager 2 has visited Neptune. are Uranus’ neighboring planets.
Quick History
• Uranus was discovered in 1781 by
William Herschel in Great Britain.
• Uranus has only been visited by
Voyager 2.
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