6 Engaging Formation of the Solar System Activities
Inside: Learn how to engage middle and high school students are they learn about the formation of the solar system. You’ll get ideas to engage and hook students, demos, and classroom activities students will love!
If you teach about the solar system’s formation, you probably know that finding age-appropriate activities can be a huge challenge!
Teaching the solar system’s formation (or nebular theory) can seem really intimidating to sixth-grade teachers!
That’s why I’ve put together these six activities to teach about solar system formation.
Activities to Teach Solar System Formation
Over the years, I’ve found some fun and engaging activities to help students learn about (and understand) the steps in the formation of the solar system.
Don’t forget to pin this for later!
1. Formation of the Solar System Presentation and Notes
I love to use visuals as I teach, so I like to use a quick presentation to talk about the important steps and big ideas in the formation of the solar system.
This is a good opportunity to discuss what actually happens as students record the information with notes. You can find my presentation in my Formation of the Solar System Complete Lesson & Activity.
2. Solar System Videos
Here is an easy-to-understand formation of the solar system video that I use with my sixth graders. It’s from NASA Space Place, and its website includes a free downloadable poster of the animation.
3. Solar System Flattening Demo
Students also often have a hard time grasping the concept that the shape of an object spinning really fast can flatten.
Spinning a water balloon on an electric drill really captures their attention and helps kids understand this difficult concept!
Wondering how to recreate this demo? I made a detailed tutorial explaining the setup in my Instagram story highlights under “Lab Fun.”
4. Solar System Formation Card Sort Activities
A card sort is a great activity to hook and engage students in the formation of the solar system and assess prior knowledge.
I like to use simple pictures for my students to observe and sort before they learn anything about the solar system’s formation.
After they have placed their cards in order, I have students write down their predicted order of the solar system’s formation so they can refer to it and make changes as the lesson continues.
Card sorts are also great formative assessments!
They can be easily differentiated by having students only sort the pictures or limit the choices to pictures and titles.
After students complete their solar system sort, they write a paragraph to explain how the solar system formed in their own words.
I like to use simple pictures for my students to observe and sort before they learn anything about the solar system’s formation.
After they have placed their cards in order, I have students take it a step further and write down their predicted order of the solar system’s formation so they can refer to it and make changes as the lesson continues.
You can find an easy-to-use card sort included in the formation of the solar system lesson.
5. Mazes and Color by Number Activities
My students are hooked on these interactive mazes and color-by-number activities!
They have so much fun completing the activities, they don’t even reaslize they’re learning!
I love them for extra practice because they are NO prep and are quick to assess (just follow the pattern to check answers).
Other ways I use these activities in the classroom are extra practice, quick assessment, exit tickets, stations, homework, and remediation activities.
6. Formation of the Solar System Escape Room
Want a no-prep resource that’s sure to boost their comprehension skills?
Student engagement and reading comprehension will soar in this solar system formation escape room activity!
NO-PREP ESCAPE ROOM FUN!
No prior knowledge needed – makes a great engagement or review activity!
In this interactive reading comprehension activity, students will read a passage about the formation of the solar system and work together to solve 5 puzzles about nebular theory.
Note: No prior knowledge is needed. All answers to the questions can be found in the two-page reading passage. This makes a great engagement activity or review!
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TEACHERS LIKE YOU SAID…..
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was a great resource to teach a difficult topic. The materials were easy to use and the directions were clear and concise. I was very happy with this product! -DAVID
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My students enjoyed it. Great idea for visual learners. Students used the pictures and captions to write their paragraphs about the solar system’s formation. Thank you! -FLORINA
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I used this with my 8th-grade class. It was helpful that there was a digital version for students who were placed in quarantine. I loved the simplicity of the formation of the solar system, and it has options on how to make a graphic organizer out of it! -ERICA
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Students love to see if they can complete the maze, all the while not realizing that they are reviewing as they go along. Great option as opposed to the traditional worksheet. Love that there are both print and digital options. -TALISSA
