Inner Planets

The Planets

Closest to the Sun

Astronomy

unit 7 - lesson 3

Today I will…
K- I will know the characteristics of the inner planets in our
solar system.
U- I will understand how to identify the details that support
the main idea.
B- I will be able to read an informational text about the inner
planets and make connections between main ideas in
paragraphs.

Unit-level Essential

Question:

what celestial objects make up

our solar system?

Lessons 1 – 5 Guiding Question:

what are the features of the eight

planets in our solar system?

M

Very
Educated
Mother

J

U
S

N

y

ust
erved

s

oodles

review

How many
planets are
in our solar

system?

Name the eight
planets in order

from the sun

What other

celestial bodies
can be found in
our solar system
besides the sun
and its planets?

What is the

atmosphere of a
planet and how
does it affect the

planet?

frigid -
extremely cold

vocabulary

greenhouse - a building with a transparent
glass or plastic roof and walls made to
trap in heat from the sun and grow plants
all year round

NASA - an acronym for the
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration; an
organization in the United
States that directs space
travel and research

polar -related to the pole of a
planet or the area surrounding
it

naked eye - with just
your eyes, without the
use of instruments

vocabulary

probe - a tool used to explore something, such as
outer space

⋆ Chapter 3 – Planets

Closest to the Sun

reading time

Multiple Choice

In paragraph 1, what did people from Mesopotamia, Greeks, Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs used to study planets.

• magnifying glass

• naked eye

• glasses

• sunglasses

Photograph

Caption

Text Features

Multiple Choice

Based on the information in paragraph 1, what are the four planets closest to the sun?

• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

• Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn

• Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

• Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus

Photograph

Caption

Text Features

Photograph

Caption

Text Features

Fill in the Blanks

In paragraph 2, Venus is the

planet from the sun

and is closest to Earth.

Photograph

Caption

Text Features

Let’s find the Main Idea

for each paragraph

Page 20

Mars

rocks, rust

red

Mars

rocks, rust

red

probes landed took
photographs, dug
up rocks

Mars

rocks, rust

red

probes landed took
photographs, dug up
rocks

ice found; could mean
life now or long ago

Mars

probes landed took
photographs, dug up
rocks

rocks, rust

red

ice found; could mean life
now or long ago

The main idea is mars may appear to be red because
it is covered with rocks and rust. Probes have landed
on mars that have taken photographs and dug up
rocks under the surface. Also, probes have found ice
which shows that there might have been life there at
some point.

Exit Ticket

1. The four planets closest to the sun are _______,

______, _______, and ________.

2. The characteristics of Mars are

a. rocks, rust, and red
b. smooth, soft, and blue
c. dirty, ruff, and orange

M
V
E
M

J

U
S

N

ercury

ars

arth
enus

upiter
aturn

ranus

eptune

think – Write - Share

Which planet would you like

to learn more about and

why?