Solar+System,+Space+(Elementary)

Subject: Solar System/Space Grade: 3rd grade Jill Pritzl

I will use the tradebooks and websites below with my third grade class during the solar system unit in science. Since I am new to this grade and district, I do not yet know what traditionally has been the culminating activity for the unit. I am assuming it will be either a report or project on an aspect of the solar system. With that in mind I chose resources that cover a variety of topics.

In the classroom, I would use these books to do read alouds on certain planets. Nearly all the books are kid friendly, but there are a few that may be more difficult for some students to read. These books I would use post-its to mark specific pages for students to explore. I would keep all the books out for the entire unit providing opportunities and guided lessons for students to independently select books to read. Ideally, each student would have some type of a graphic organizer to guide their research. I would require them to find information about specific topics. I included books that have a variety of reading levels and have interesting pictures and other visuals. The websites are all very kid-friendly and include great information as well as some fun games.

For the culminating activity (either a report or project), students would be required to further explore and research a topic of their choice such as Jupiter or the Milky Way galaxy. They would need to include research from at least one website and at least two books that were provided. I would also have them create a list of five interesting facts about space. They could find the facts in any of the books or websites.

Having a multitude of resources available to students would be very engaging and provide opportunities for higher-level thinking and exploration. Below is the list of tradebooks and websites that would enhance this lesson.

Becklake, S. (2002). //All about space.// New York. Scholastic. This book is an easy-to-read encyclopedia of all things space, including space travel, astronomy, and the universe. Lexile: 860
 * Nonfiction Books about the Solar System**

Berger, M. & Berger, G. (1998). //Do stars have points?//. Mexico: Scholastic. This book is set up in a question and answer format which makes it easy to read for students. Some questions include, “How big is the Milky Way galaxy” and “Why don’t we feel Earth moving?” Lexile: 700

Bredeson, C. (2003). //Living on a space shuttle.// Canada:Children’s Press. This books gives brief insights into everyday life for an astronaunt. Lexile: 440

Bredeson, C. (2003). //The solar system.// Canada: Children’s Press. This book introduces readers to various objects in the solar system such as planets, asteroids, and meteors. This book as simple text and colorful pictures for students to be independent in reading. Lexile: 490

Castaldo, N. (2008). //Leap into space.// Nashville, TN: Willamson Books. This book has loads of space information. The book uses an almost-cartoon-like feel to provide interesting space information. There are also fun, interactive activities on most pages. Grade Level: 3 - 6

Cole, J. (1990). The magic school bus: Lost in the solar system. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. Ms. Frizzle and her class embark on a journey through the solar system that is fun, exciting and full of lots of new knowledge about space. Lexile: 480

Florian, D. (2007). //Comets, stars, the moon, and mars.// Orlando, FL: Harcourt Books. This book features poems and interesting paintings specifically about space and planets. There is a poem about each planet. Grade Level: K-5

Leedy, L. (2006). //Postcards from Pluto: a tour of our solar system.// Holiday House. This book is setup almost similar to the Magic School Bus series. Six students take off on a guided tour throughout the solar system. Throughout the book, various facts are included on each page about the solar system in the form of speech bubbles. Grade Level: 3.9

Mansfield Branley, F. (1998). //The planets in our solar system.// New York:HarperCollins. This is a great picture book that goes over the basic aspects of our solar system, explaining about the different planets. There are fun, colorful pictures. Lexile: 480

Salas, L. (2008). //And then there were eight: poems about space.// Makato, MN: Capstone Press. This collection of poems teaches students about planets in a different format than what they usually see. Grade Level: K-2

Thimmesh, C. (2006). //Team moon: how 400,000 people landed Apollo 11 on the moon.// New York:Houghton Mifflin. This book tells the true story about the brave astronauts involved in landing on the moon. Included are real photographs from the mission. There is a lot of text in this book, so it would best be used as a read aloud or for more advanced readers. Lexile: 1060


 * Websites about the Solar System**

//American Museum of Natural History// [] This website includes activities, pictures, writing prompts and games about outer space. There are also some neat links to actual planetariums.

//Kid’s Astronomy// [] This website uses a question and answer form to provide information about the planets. Students navigate the site by clicking on the planet they're interested in.

//NASA for Kids: Solar System Exploration// [] This is a very interactive, video game-like website. There are great pieces of information about the planets and solar system with wonderful visuals and charts. There is a neat aspect of "Homework Help" and some games.

//Planets for Kids// [] This is a very kid-friendly website that includes a few links to Youtube videos with songs, along with appropriate level informational text.

//Starchild// [] This website has a good overview of basic solar system information. It has two reading level options (level 1 and 2) and kid-friendly graphics.