Our Solar System

3
rd
Grade
EDU 470
Valeria Balderrama


Earth Science
Content Standards

4. Objects in the sky in a regular patterns. A basics for
understanding this concept.

d.Students know that Earth is one of several planets that
orbit the Sun and that the Moon orbits the Earth.
What is the Solar System?
The solar system is made up of the Sun,
Planets, and other objects that orbit around it.

The Planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune
Total of 8 Planets

The Sun is a star. A star is a hot, glowing
ball of gases. The sun is only a medium
sized star.

Two different type of Planets
Inner Planets: Are all small and made up of
solid, rock like material. They are also warmer
than other planets because they are closer to the
Sun.

Outer Planets: These Planets are farthest
from the Sun
The Inner Planets
Mercury is the planet closet to the Sun. The surface of
Mercury is a lot like the Moon. It is rocky and full of holes
The surface of Venus is very different from Earth. It is
covered with thick clouds that trap heat. Venus is hottest
planet in the solar system.
Earth is our home. It is the only planet known to produce
oxygen and to have liquid water and living things.
Mars is known as the Red Planet because its the reddish
brown soil. Mars has polar ice caps that contain frozen water.
The four planets farthest from the Sun are Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune. These are the Outer Planets.
Jupiter is the largest planet. The Great Red Spot has been
whirling around for at least 300 years.
Saturn is known for its thousands of beautiful rings. They
are made up of different sized bits of ice and rock that orbit
the planet.
Uranus is called the sideways planet because it rotates on
its side
Neptune is more than two billion miles from Earth. It has a
Great Dark Spot similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot.
The solar system also has dwarf planets.
One of the dwarf planets is Pluto. Pluto was
once the ninth planet.

What else is in our solar
system?
Asteroids, comets, and Meteors
also orbit the Sun.
Asteroids are chunk s of rock or metal. Thousands orbit in
the asteroid belt between the inner and outer planets
Comets are mostly ice mixed with bits of rocks and dust.
Comets have long, narrow orbits.

Most meteorites are small
A meteor that hits Earth is called meteorite. A huge
meteorite crashed on Earth thousands of years ago.

In 1996 Comet Hyakutake passed earth
Comprehension Questions
How many planets are there?

Which Planets are the Inner Planets?

Which Planets are the Outer Planets?