We are well into our science unit on space. The students have been enjoying reading books about the planets, learning new space vocabulary, and chants related to space facts.
The two words we have been working on lately are orbit, the path of an object around another, and astronomer, a person who studies stars, planets, moons, asteroids, comets and all other heavenly bodies.
As we learn about the planets in our solar system we have discussed how Pluto is now considered a "dwarf planet", so we have had to adjust some of our songs and chants to reflect eight planets instead of nine. We have also discussed how it is important to learn about Pluto even if it isn't a planet since it is an object in our solar system.
Here is the text of one of our chants - ask your child to read/chant it to you:
Planets Here, Planets There
Planets here, planets there
Nine (eight) planets everywhere!
Close planet - speeding (Mercury)
Bright planet - steaming (Venus)
Watery planet - living (Earth)
Still more planets don't you know!
Red planet - rusting (Mars)
Stormy planet - swirling (Jupiter)
Ringed planet - spinning (Saturn)
There are more planets yet to go!
Green planet - tilting (Uranus)
Blue planet - icing (Neptune)
Tiny planet - freezing (Pluto)
Planets in our Solar System
Planets in the Milky Way
Planets in the Galaxy
Planets in the Universe
Planets here, planets there,
Nine (eight) planets everywhere!
Planets! Planets! Planets!
