Today's Classroom Activities :

Planets

Poor ol' Pluto
Science/Math Read the new planet definition sheet from the International Astronomical Union at en.wikipedia.org. Discuss the changes, then ask your students to conduct a poll among their peers and parents. Record the results on a graph. How many people think Pluto should still be considered a planet? How many people agree with the new classification?

Play planetary trivia. Research the planets and write short questions about them on the front of index cards. Write the answers on the back. Then challenge your students to a planetary quiz.

Planets in Proportion
The following lesson looks at the distance and relative size of the rest of the planets with respect to Earth and the Sun. The activity will give students an appreciation of the vastness of their universe and the minuteness of their part in it. Students will discover scales for both the solar bodies' relative sizes and their distances from the Sun.

Plot the Planets
Students identify and explain natural cycles and patterns in the solar system and write short reports about the solar system. Students will also plot the order of the planets in a colorful diagram.

Solar System Trading Cards
The purpose of this lesson is for students to acquire information about objects in the solar system while collecting solar system trading cards through interactive computer use.

Planets in a Bottle
The student will measure the viability of yeast samples and to explore environmental conditions which affect the health of yeast microbes.