Planet Heroes Solar System Unit Study By Tara Bertic
Planets Unit Study Preschool/Kindergarten Objective: To teach preschoolers & kindergartners the names of the nine planets, their order from the sun, what letters they start with, and their colors, as well as one characteristic of each planet. Beforehand: 1. Dilute white paint in a small spray bottle with water. Let the child randomly spray over a 10ft. long, 2 ft. wide piece of black bulletin board paper to create the appearance of space dust particles. After it is dry, let the child color the sun and cut it out and paste it to the left of the paper. The child can also stick some silver star stickers randomly on the paper. Hang this somewhere visible in the house so the child can begin to create their solar system on it. Pieces of Our Solar System Wall 2. Make a planet mobile. a. Cut a large circle from foam board. Use the mobile pattern to punch holes in the top of the foam board to represent where each planet is in correlation to the sun. Remember to punch a hole out for the sun as well. b. Use wire cutters to cut the bottom of a wire coat hanger in half. Take each half and then insert them into either side of the foam board so that the foam board is suspended from the bottom of the hanger. Find a place to hang your mobile so that it can be seen everyday as more planets are added. c. Cut out circles from construction paper to match the colors of each of the planets. Use a black permanent marker to write the
planets names on the back of each circle. Punch a hole in the top of each circle and then put the planets aside to add one at a time to the mobile. d. Attach a sun sticker to the yellow construction paper circle and attach that to the planet mobile where the sun should go. Our Finished Mobile NOTE: I just used sewing thread to attach the planets to the mobile. You could use fishing line if you wanted to. Just use tape to attach the line, as it is hard to tie. 3. Take a letter-size file folder and open it up. Now fold in each side to the center fold and crease. This will be the planets lap book. a. Have the child color the planets cover sheet for their planets lap book and then glue it to the front of the book, cutting it down the center to fit and so that the flaps on the lap book will still open. 4. Using construction paper the color of each planet, make circleshaped planet books that open from bottom to top (with the fold at the top).
Front of Our Lap Book Inside of Our Lap Book with Individual Planet Books 5. Make a Great Big Book of Planets book for the child. a. Take a spiral notebook and write s Great Big Book of Planets on the cover. b. On the first page inside, write Mercury in gray marker because Mercury is gray. Underneath the word and in pen, write very small, paste Zip here. He is the Planet Hero associated with Mercury. c. Turn the page. On the left side of the spread and at the top, write the word Mercury in pen and using dashed lines so that the child can trace the word. d. Under that and in pen, write very small stick Mercury sticker here. e. Under that, write, Mercury is and then draw a square. The child will color this square gray when he completes this page for Mercury. f. On the right side of the spread and at the top, write, Mercury is number one 1 from the sun. Make the word and number out of dashed lines so that the child can trace them. g. Under that, write, Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Underneath and in pen write very small paste sun here. h. You will then turn the page and repeat this same process for each of the remaining eight planets, using their colors, characteristics, and positions from the sun.
Front Cover Inside Cover and Planet Page 1 Planet 1: Mercury Planet Pages 2 & 3 1. Have the child color Mercury, cut it out and paste it next to the sun on the bulletin board paper. Have the child color the letter M for Mercury and Planet Hero Zip. Cut them out and put them by Mercury on the paper. Also let them cut out and glue the number one to the paper because Mercury is the first planet next to the sun. 2. Have the child paste his Mercury sticker to the gray construction paper circle. Attach a string to the planet and then attach it to the planet mobile. 3. Cut out and let the child glue the Mercury picture to the center of the gray circle book for the planets lap book. Inside the book, have them glue the picture of the sun (because Mercury is the closest to the sun) and also the picture of Zip. Then they can
glue the whole planet book into their planets lap book. Write the number 1 on the top outside cover of their planet book, above the Planet Hero. 4. In their solar system book: a. Have the child put their Mercury sticker on the page. b. Have them trace the word Mercury. c. Let them scribble with a gray crayon to show the planet s color. d. Have them trace the number and word 1 to show the planet s order in distance to the sun. e. Have them glue the picture of the sun to the page to show that Mercury is the closest to the sun. f. Have them glue Zip on the page. 5. Have the child copy you as you recite the planets names in order from the sun. Put it to a memorable tune if that helps. Planet 2: Venus 6. Have the child color Venus and cut it out and paste it next to Mercury on the bulletin board paper. Have the child color the letter V for Venus and Planet Hero Dazzle. Cut them out and put them by Venus on the paper. Also let them cut out and glue the number two to the paper because Venus is the second planet next to the sun. 7. Have the child paste his Venus sticker to the yellow construction paper circle. Attach a string to the planet and then attach it to the planet mobile. 8. Cut out and let the child glue the Venus picture to the center of the yellow circle book for the planets lap book. Inside the book, have them glue the picture of the sunglasses (because Venus is the brightest planet) and also the picture of Dazzle. Then they can glue the whole planet book into their planets lap book. Write the number 2 on the top outside cover of their planet book, above the Planet Hero. 9. In their solar system book: a. Have the child put their Venus sticker on the page. b. Have them trace the word Venus.
c. Let them scribble with a yellow crayon to show the planet s color. d. Have them trace the number and word 2 to show the planet s order in distance to the sun. e. Have them glue the picture of the sunglasses to the page to show that Venus is the brightest planet. f. Have them glue Dazzle on the page. 10. Have the child copy you as you recite the planets names in order from the sun. Put it to a memorable tune if that helps. Planet 3: Earth 11. Have the child color Earth and cut it out and paste it next to Venus on the bulletin board paper. Have the child color the letter E for Earth and Planet Hero Ace. Cut them out and put them by Earth on the paper. Also let them cut out and glue the number three to the paper because Earth is the third planet next to the sun. 12. Have the child paste his Earth sticker to the blue construction paper circle. Attach a string to the planet and then attach it to the planet mobile. 13. Cut out and let the child glue the Earth picture to the center of the blue circle book for the planets lap book. Inside the book, have them glue the picture of him or her self (because Earth is where they live) and also the picture of Ace. Then they can glue the whole planet book into their planets lap book. Write the number 3 on the top outside cover of their planet book, above the Planet Hero. 14. In their solar system book: a. Have the child put their Earth sticker on the page. b. Have them trace the word Earth. c. Let them scribble with a blue crayon to show the planet s color. d. Have them trace the number and word 3 to show the planet s order in distance to the sun. e. Have them glue the picture of him or her self to the page to show that Earth is where he or she lives. f. Have them glue Ace on the page.
15. Have the child copy you as you recite the planets names in order from the sun. Put it to a memorable tune if that helps. Planet 4: Mars 16. Have the child color Mars and cut it out and paste it next to Earth on the bulletin board paper. Have the child color the letter M for Mars and Planet Hero Digger. Cut them out and put them by Mars on the paper. Also let them cut out and glue the number four to the paper because Mars is the fourth planet next to the sun. 17. Have the child paste his Mars sticker to the red construction paper circle. Attach a string to the planet and then attach it to the planet mobile. 18. Cut out and let the child glue the Mars picture to the center of the red circle book for the planets lap book. Inside the book, have them glue the picture of the volcano (because the largest volcano is on Mars) and also the picture of Digger. Then they can glue the whole planet book into their planets lap book. Write the number 4 on the top outside cover of their planet book, above the Planet Hero. 19. In their solar system book: a. Have the child put their Mars sticker on the page. b. Have them trace the word Mars. c. Let them scribble with a red crayon to show the planet s color. d. Have them trace the number and word 4 to show the planet s order in distance to the sun. e. Have them glue the picture of the volcano to the page to show that Mars has the largest volcano on it. f. Have them glue Digger on the page. 20. Give the child some Mars Mud to play with. 21. Make a volcano: a. Build Play Doh up around a small water bottle. b. Fill the bottle most of the way with WARM water and a bit of red food coloring. c. Add 6 drops of liquid dish soap to the bottle next. d. Add 2 tbsp. Of baking soda to the liquid. e. Slowly pour vinegar into the bottle and watch it explode!
22. Have the child copy you as you recite the planets names in order from the sun. Put it to a memorable tune if that helps. Planet 5: Jupiter 23. Have the child color Jupiter and cut it out and paste it next to Mars on the bulletin board paper. Have the child color the letter J for Jupiter and Planet Hero Gustus. Cut them out and put them by Jupiter on the paper. Also let them cut out and glue the number five to the paper because Jupiter is the fifth planet next to the sun. 24. Have the child paste his Jupiter sticker to the orange construction paper circle. Attach a string to the planet and then attach it to the planet mobile. 25. Cut out and let the child glue the Jupiter picture to the center of the orange circle book for the planets lap book. Inside the book, have them glue the picture of the elephant (because Jupiter is the largest planet) and also the picture of Gustus. Then they can glue the whole planet book into their planets lap book. Write the number 5 on the top outside cover of their planet book, above the Planet Hero. 26. In their solar system book: a. Have the child put their Jupiter sticker on the page. b. Have them trace the word Jupiter. c. Let them scribble with an orange crayon to show the planet s color. d. Have them trace the number and word 5 to show the planet s order in distance to the sun. e. Have them glue the picture of the elephant to the page to show that Jupiter is the largest planet. f. Have them glue Gustus on the page. 27. Have the child copy you as you recite the planets names in order from the sun. Put it to a memorable tune if that helps. Planet 6: Saturn
28. Have the child color Saturn and cut it out and paste it next to Jupiter on the bulletin board paper. Have the child color the letter S for Saturn and Planet Hero Rings. Cut them out and put them by Saturn on the paper. Also let them cut out and glue the number six to the paper because Saturn is the sixth planet next to the sun. 29. Have the child paste his Saturn sticker to the yellow construction paper circle. Attach a string to the planet and then attach it to the planet mobile. 30. Cut out and let the child glue the Saturn picture to the center of the yellow circle book for the planets lap book. Inside the book, have them glue the picture of the balloons (because Saturn is the lightest planet) and also the picture of Rings. Then they can glue the whole planet book into their planets lap book. Write the number 6 on the top outside cover of their planet book, above the Planet Hero. 31. In their solar system book: a. Have the child put their Saturn sticker on the page. b. Have them trace the word Saturn. c. Let them scribble with a yellow crayon to show the planet s color. d. Have them trace the number and word 6 to show the planet s order in distance to the sun. e. Have them glue the picture of the balloons to the page to show that Saturn is the lightest planet. f. Have them glue Rings on the page. 32. Have the child copy you as you recite the planets names in order from the sun. Put it to a memorable tune if that helps. Planet 7: Uranus 33. Have the child color Uranus and cut it out and paste it next to Jupiter on the bulletin board paper. Have the child color the letter U for Uranus and Planet Hero Yuri. Cut them out and put them by Uranus on the paper. Also let them cut out and glue the number seven to the paper because Uranus is the seventh planet next to the sun.
34. Have the child paste his Uranus sticker to the blue construction paper circle. Attach a string to the planet and then attach it to the planet mobile. 35. Cut out and let the child glue the Uranus picture to the center of the blue circle book for the planets lap book. Inside the book, have them glue the picture of the person sleeping on their side (because Uranus rotates on its side) and also the picture of Yuri. Then they can glue the whole planet book into their planets lap book. Write the number 7 on the top outside cover of their planet book, above the Planet Hero. 36. In their solar system book: a. Have the child put their Uranus sticker on the page. b. Have them trace the word Uranus. c. Let them scribble with a blue crayon to show the planet s color. d. Have them trace the number and word 7 to show the planet s order in distance to the sun. e. Have them glue the picture of the person sleeping on their side to the page to show that Uranus rotates on its side. f. Have them glue Yuri on the page. 37. Have the child copy you as you recite the planets names in order from the sun. Put it to a memorable tune if that helps. Planet 8: Neptune 38. Have the child color Neptune and cut it out and paste it next to Uranus on the bulletin board paper. Have the child color the letter N for Neptune and Planet Hero Tune. Cut them out and put them by Neptune on the paper. Also let them cut out and glue the number eight to the paper because Neptune is the eighth planet next to the sun. 39. Have the child paste his Neptune sticker to the blue construction paper circle. Attach a string to the planet and then attach it to the planet mobile. 40. Cut out and let the child glue the Neptune picture to the center of the blue circle book for the planets lap book. Inside the book, have them glue the picture of the turtle (because Neptune is the slowest planet) and also the picture of Tune. Then they can glue
the whole planet book into their planets lap book. Write the number 8 on the top outside cover of their planet book, above the Planet Hero. 41. In their solar system book: a. Have the child put their Neptune sticker on the page. b. Have them trace the word Neptune. c. Let them scribble with a blue crayon to show the planet s color. d. Have them trace the number and word 8 to show the planet s order in distance to the sun. e. Have them glue the picture of the turtle to the page to show that Neptune is the slowest planet. f. Have them glue Tune on the page. 42. Have the child copy you as you recite the planets names in order from the sun. Put it to a memorable tune if that helps. Planet 9: Pluto (which technically is considered a dwarf planet now) 43. Have the child color Pluto and cut it out and paste it next to Neptune on the bulletin board paper. Have the child color the letter P for Pluto and Planet Hero Shiver. Cut them out and put them by Pluto on the paper. Also let them cut out and glue the number nine to the paper because Pluto is the ninth planet next to the sun. 44. Have the child paste his Pluto sticker to the brown construction paper circle. Attach a string to the planet and then attach it to the planet mobile. 45. Cut out and let the child glue the Pluto picture to the center of the brown circle book for the planets lap book. Inside the book, have them glue the picture of the ant (because Pluto is the smallest planet) and also the picture of Shiver. Then they can glue the whole planet book into their planets lap book. Write the number 9 on the top outside cover of their planet book, above the Planet Hero. 46. In their solar system book: a. Have the child put their Pluto sticker on the page. b. Have them trace the word Pluto.
c. Let them scribble with a brown crayon to show the planet s color. d. Have them trace the number and word 9 to show the planet s order in distance to the sun. e. Have them glue the picture of the ant to the page to show that Pluto is the smallest planet. f. Have them glue Shiver on the page. 47. Have the child copy you as you recite the planets names in order from the sun. Put it to a memorable tune if that helps. NOTES: After we put each new planet, hero, letter, and number on our solar system paper on the wall, I would go back to the first planet we did and we would review each planet s name, letter, number, and characteristic. We would go all the way to the new planet we just completed. The review was great and it helped him to remember from day to day what he d learned about each planet. Make a rhyme about the planet if you want to so that your child will remember something about it. For example, Mercury is number one and it s closest to the sun. Earth is number three and it s home to me. For Venus, I squinted and wore my sunglasses a lot that day and asked my son why I had to do that. He would say, Because Venus is so bright. Be creative!! Also, you do not have to use the characteristics I did about each planet if you know others that you think your child would remember easier. Saturn has rings and Neptune has water, for instance. Take as long as you want to complete this unit study. We spent two days on each planet. Planet Heroes has a great website where your child can play games and meet the heroes. At the time this was written, you could also request their first DVD free. Visit http://www.fisherprice.com/fp.aspx?st=10&e=planetheroeslanding for more information. Afterwards:
48. Watch The Magic School Bus Gets Lost in Space DVD. 49. Let the child spray diluted white paint in a small spray bottle on a large piece of black construction paper. They can randomly stick silver star stickers on once the paper is dry as well. Cut out and let the child glue the solar system pictures on the paper. Then give them torn pieces of tin foil to paste onto their rocket ship. Let them glue the flag and NASA symbols on the ship. Also give them a picture of themselves to glue on the ship as the ship s pilot. Cut out the rocket then and glue it to the top corner of their solar system picture so that it looks like the ship is soaring through space. Our Solar System Collage
The following are the planet numbers needed for the solar system wall. marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
The following are the pictures needed to make the outer space collage. marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
The following are the planets to color for the solar system wall. The Sun
Mercury marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
Venus marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
Earth marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
Mars marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
Jupiter Saturn
Uranus marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
Neptune marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
Pluto marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
This is the cover for the planets lap book. marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
These are the pictures to use for the fronts of the mini planet lap books that go into the big lap book. marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
This is what to use as a model when deciding where to put your holes in your foam board for the planets mobile. marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
These are the Planet Heroes for the solar system wall. marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
The following are the planet properties for the Great Big Book of Planets and the mini planet lap books. Don t forget you will need a picture of your child for Earth. Mercury Venus Volcano Saturn Jupiter Uranus Neptune Pluto
The following are the pictures of the Planet Heroes for the Great Big Book of Planets and the mini planet lap books. marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
The following are the planet letters for the solar system wall. marleen machiels (order #274356) 8
Planets Unit Study Preschool Needed The following items are things you will need in addition to what I have provided in this unit study. 1. 5 ft. black bulletin board paper 2. Play Doh 3. Small water bottle 4. Liquid dish soap 5. Baking soda 6. Vinegar 7. White paint 8. Small spray bottle 9. Planet stickers (2 sets) 10. Silver star stickers 11. Construction paper 12. File folder (for lap book) 13. Tin foil 14. Glue 15. Scissors 16. Picture of child 17. Foam board 18. String 19. Wire hanger (& wire cutters) 20. Spiral-bound notebook 21. Crayons 22. Pen