Planets Project: Notes for Teachers and Parents

1. At a glance

   Grades

   Written for First Grade. Works for Second Grade, and for Kindergarten with a lot of grown-up help.

   Time

   About four sessions: research, starting the page, typing, and pictures.

   You need

   A computer or Chromebook with internet, printed research guides and pencils, and a color printer for the finished pages.

   Students will

   Find facts on a website, write them down, type them into a page, add pictures, share a file, and publish a page in a real book.

2. Where this fits

   This project is one part of a larger solar system unit in the classroom. The science happens in the unit; this project gives students a reason to practice technology skills they will use for life: finding information online, taking notes, typing, adding pictures, naming and sharing files, and publishing for real readers.

   Each student, or each pair, researches one planet. With a class of twenty or more, several students will share a planet, and the book ends up with a few pages for each one.

3. Using the research guide and the planet page together

   The research guide and the planet page are made to match. Every box on the planet page is an answer from the guide, so students gather all their facts first, then build the page from their notes.

   • Print the research guide and let students write their answers with a pencil. Young students are not fast typists yet, and writing first keeps the research and the typing as two separate, easier jobs.
   • On the Planets for Kids site, the Quick Facts box near the top of each planet page has every answer the guide asks for, except the interesting fact.
   • Later, students open the planet page and type their answers from the guide. The guide becomes their plan.
   • Order from the sun, distance, a year, a day and an interesting fact each have their own box. The number of moons is on the guide and makes a great interesting fact.

4. Google Slides or PowerPoint

   • The PowerPoint version has prompts that disappear when students click a box.
   • Google Slides cannot show disappearing prompts, so the Google version uses starter words instead. Students click at the end of the words and type, so the finished sentence reads naturally. They replace the words Planet Name with their planet.
   • In both versions, each picture box is a placeholder. In Google Slides, students right-click it and choose Replace image; in PowerPoint, they click the picture icon. The new picture keeps the size and spot of the box.

5. Sharing the pages with you

   In many schools only teachers can print in color, so have students share their page with you right after they open their copy, before they type anything.

   • Google Classroom: the easiest way. Make a copy of the planet page template for yourself, attach it to an assignment, and choose Make a copy for each student. Every student gets their own page, already shared with you and named with their name.
   • Without Google Classroom: students press Make a copy, rename the file (for example, Mars - Maya), then click Share and type your email address.
   • PowerPoint: have students save to a shared class folder, or collect the files the way your school usually does.

6. Printing and binding the class book

   • Print the pages in color. The planet page is a standard slide, so it fills a sheet of paper in landscape.
   • Order the pages by planet, from Mercury to Neptune.
   • Add a cover with the class name and a title, such as Our Book of the Planets, and laminate it.
   • Bind the book with a comb binder, rings, or a sturdy stapled spine.
   • Make two copies: one for the classroom library, and one for the computer lab or school library.

   Put the book outside the classroom door or in the class library. Students love reading their own book, and they read it again and again!

7. Pictures

   • NASA planet pictures are free to use. NASA Space Place and NASA Science have many to choose from.
   • Choose pictures with your students, or give them a short list to pick from, since a web image search can turn up things you would not choose.
   • Teach students to give credit, for example Picture: NASA, in small type under the picture.

8. At home

   • One child can make a whole book: one page for each planet, over a few weeks.
   • Print the pages at home or at a library, then staple or ring them together with a cover your child decorates.
   • Let your child read their book to family members. Reading their own writing out loud builds confidence.

9. Resources

   • Planets for Kids (opens in a new tab)Every planet page starts with a Quick Facts box.
   • NASA Space Place: Our Solar System (opens in a new tab)Kid-friendly articles, games and pictures.
   • NASA Science: Planets (opens in a new tab)Photos and facts for grown-ups and older students.

Grown-ups: how did this activity go? Send us feedback