This hands-on manipulative is designed to help student learn the position of the planets in the solar system as well as what they look like. Students must also distinguish between the four Gas Giant plants and the four Terrestrial planets. This manipulative can be played as a game (instruction provided below) or simply as a teaching tool to help student visually understand our Solar System. Although this activity is designed for elementary classrooms, it can be used at higher grades as well. The addition of planet characteristics/attributes to the card set would make it an ideal middle or high school activity. I did not include those characteristics cards because the grade level you teach would distinguish which characteristics you would want to include.
This activity can easily be made into a interactive notebooking activity. In this case each student should cut the solar system board and glue it in their notebooks. Each student is also given a set of cards that they cut up. This will be used and then stored in an envelope that is glued in their science notebooks. They can continually revisit and solar system manipulative to practice identifying and labeling the planets.

© Marianne Dobrovolny - www.science-lessons.org



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