The Earth and the Sun and other planets - worksheet Gr 3-4

• Can you remember what is the closest star to Earth?

If you said the Sun, you are correct - we have learned a lot about the Sun.  You can go back and do some revision on https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@anneke/steemiteducation-energy-and-energy-transfer-from-the-sun-worksheet-for-gr-3-4 and on

The Earth and the Sun

The Earth moves (rotates) around the sun.  This is the reason why we have seasons.  The seasons repeat every year in a cycle (it happens again and again).

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• Name the four seasons and also the difference between them, what you can see and smell during these different seasons

Earth takes 365 and a quater days to orbit around the sun (we call it one year.)

Earth is not attached to the sun by a string.  A force called gravity keeps the earth and all the other planets from spinning out of their lanes (thank goodness, otherwise we would have crashed into the sun or other planets.)

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• look at the picture - can you see that each planet stays in their own lane because of the gravity from the sun? These lanes are just imaginary lines- not real lines what you can see. 
• Read the names of the different planets in our Solar system. (Please note that Pluto is now seen as a dwarf planet)

We have 4 seasons on Earth - Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer.

Watch the video explaining why we have different seasons 

The Earth also spins (rotates) around its own axis - it takes the earth 24 hours to complete one rotation.  This is why we have day and night.

• What will you see in the sky at night?

We do not only see stars, but also planets.

Some of the bright things we see at night are not stars, but planets.

• Do you know the difference between a star and a planet?

Stars are balls of hot gas and they make their own light.  Planets do not make their own light (they reflect light from the Sun.)

Planets are far away from Earth, but stars are even further away.

• Name two differences between stars and planets.

Eight planets orbit the Sun

The names of the planets are

1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth
4. Mars
5. Jupiter
6. Saturn
7. Uranus
8. Neptune

Pluto used to be a planet but scientist have now decided it is too small, so will be called a dwarf planet. (For extra reading and general knowledge you can read more about Pluto on http://www.planetsforkids.org/why-is-pluto-no-longer-a-planet.html)

How are we going to remember the names of the planets?  We remember the rhyme My Very Eager Mom Just Served Us Nachos (the first letter of each word is the letter the name of the planet starts with.)

The planets move around the Sun in orbits (lanes) and the Sun is the centre of the universe.

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The sun and the planets are called the Solar system.

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• Listen to the song on planets and sing along 

• For fun you can build your own solar system by using clay or recycled material (or any medium of your choice - what about decorating some cookies?) - name the different planets and make sure you paint them the correct colours.