Description
What our Planets: Earth lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Planets: Earth is a high-interest reading comprehension lesson plan. As such, students will practice various close reading and comprehension skills. In addition, they will learn about our beautiful planet in our solar system. This lesson is for students in 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the yellow box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand. The activity requires a number of supplies, including CDs, foam balls, and paperclips. You may want to cut the foam balls in half ahead of time.
Teacher Notes
The teacher notes page provides an extra paragraph of information to help guide the lesson and remind you what to focus on. It explains that you can teach this lesson in a whole-class setting or as an independent, small-group activity. The blank lines on this page are available for you to write out thoughts and ideas you have as you prepare the lesson.
PLANETS: EARTH LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Introduction to Earth
The Planets: Earth lesson plan contains three content pages. Earth is the third planet from the sun and the only one we know to support life. It got its name from the Old English word eorðe, which means ground or soil. This name reflects how meaningful the land is to life on Earth. It is unique in many ways, mainly because it has liquid water, an atmosphere, and various ecosystems supporting millions of species.
The earth is about 12,742 kilometers (7,918 miles) in diameter, making it the fifth largest planet in our solar system. Its shape is an oblate spheroid, which means it is a little like a ball slightly squished at the top and bottom. This happens because Earth spins on its axis, causing the middle to bulge out. The planet’s surface is about 70% water; the rest is land. The land comprises continents and islands that are home to many diverse forms of plants and animals.
Because of its oceans, Earth’s color from space is primarily blue. It also has green and brown areas where land is visible due to forests, deserts, and mountains. The white areas, such as the polar regions, are covered by ice. Earth is different from other planets because it has so many colors from the various environments and ecosystems that live on the planet.
Atmosphere and Geological Features
If someone from a faraway planet were looking at Earth, they would be impressed by its atmosphere, which includes the gases that protect life. The atmosphere also helps regulate temperature, making the planet a comfortable place to live. The air contains oxygen, which animals need to breathe, and carbon dioxide, which plants use to make food through photosynthesis. These processes are vital for life to thrive.
Earth is also the only planet known to sustain life. This planet is home to billions of living things, from tiny microscopic creatures to insects to giant whales and everything in between. It has different biomes, including forests, oceans, deserts, and grasslands, where various plants and animals have adapted to live. The planet also supports many tiny organisms that are invisible to the naked eye.
The earth’s surface changes constantly. Over time, natural processes such as erosion, volcanoes, and earthquakes shape the land. Earth is the only planet in our solar system with plate tectonics, where large pieces of the planet’s crust move around. Mountains rise, valleys form, and coastlines erode from the forces of nature. This is part of what makes Earth such a dynamic and ever-changing place. It also has weather systems that bring rain, snow, wind, and sunshine to different parts of the world at different times, making each area special.
Moon and Ecosystems
One of the most interesting things about Earth is its rotation. The planet spins on its axis, an imaginary line from the North to the South Pole. This rotation causes day and night. One full rotation takes about 24 hours. Earth’s orbit around the sun is another essential feature. It takes about 365 days to complete one orbit, which marks one year.
The moon, Earth’s only natural satellite, is also an essential part of life on this planet. It affects the earth’s tides and helps stabilize the planet’s climate. Without the moon, Earth would not be the same. It’s also the brightest object in the sky at night. Humans have been fascinated by the moon for thousands of years. And to be perfectly clear, the moon is not, in fact, made out of cheese.
The earth’s ecosystems interconnect as well. Plants, animals, and microorganisms all depend on each other to survive. For example, plants give off oxygen, which animals breathe, and animals produce carbon dioxide, which plants need. The planet’s food web shows how energy flows from one living thing to another, starting with plants and moving up to herbivores, carnivores, and decomposers. It’s a delicate balance that keeps life on Earth running smoothly.
If you were studying Earth from another planet, you would see a planet full of life, with ecosystems that work together to create harmony. The diversity of life and how everything connects make this planet a special place. It is a giant, living puzzle, where every piece—from the deepest oceans to the tallest mountains—fits together to support life. Earth is indeed a planet of wonder, full of opportunities to learn and explore.
PLANETS: EARTH LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Planets: Earth lesson plan includes two worksheets: an activity worksheet and a practice worksheet. Each one will help students solidify their grasp of the material they learned throughout the lesson. You can refer to the classroom procedure guidelines to know when to hand out each worksheet.
PLANET EARTH TOURS ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
For the activity, students will create an exciting and persuasive travel video that will make aliens want to visit our planet. The goal is for them to be creative and showcase everything that makes the planet the best one in the solar system. The worksheet outlines the steps in four parts.
PLANETS: EARTH REVIEW PRACTICE WORKSHEET
The practice worksheet lists 10 questions based on the content. These questions all relate to the content pages, so students will need to refer to them often for the answers. In addition, each question provides which reading tool the question corresponds to, such as text feature, vocabulary, or comprehension.
Worksheet Answer Keys
At the end of the lesson plan document is an answer key for the practice worksheet. The correct answers are all in red to make it easier for you to compare them with students’ responses. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
