The first lesson will require some student handouts informing them what they will be expected to learn. The Solar System will comprise the first lesson. From the first hand out, the students will see in numerical form the sizes and distances of the Solar System. This will not mean too much until they start forming the Sun and planets from papier-mache.
Inform the class that they will be creating the Solar System so that they can get an idea of the sizes of the planets compared to each other. Remind the students what scale is and that it is necessary to reduce the sizes of everything so that they may fit in one room. Start with the convenient scale of one centimeter equaling 3,500 kilometers. Give the assignment of reducing all sizes and distances with this scale. Depending on the math comprehension of the students it may be necessary to give this as a cooperative group task with each group dealing with only one planet and it’s distance from the Sun. Also, for ease, the numbers can be reduced to the nearest thousand. Just for suspense, save the s ize of the Sun for last. Check their answers against the Reference Chart at the end of this unit.
Once the class has estimated the appropriate sizes, they can start constructing the planetary models. They will need the following:
Materials
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4, 18 inch balloons
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1 lb. oil-based clay in red, yellow, green, blue, white
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newspaper
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175 square feet of cardboard
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papier-mache mix
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tempera paint in a variety of colors, extra yellow
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colored markers
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24 inches of 1/8 inch smooth steel rod
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roll of duct tape
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roll of wide masking tape
Tools
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metric rulers for students
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20 foot (7 meter) tape measure
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assorted paint brushes
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razor knife