5th - Clay Planets

Every fifth grade student deserves a pat on the back for their tremendous engagement and effort in this week's science lab lesson. I set them loose on a group task and they showed themselves quite equal to the challenge. Their classroom teachers and I were all very impressed.

In third grade, we shrink the sun down to the size of a ping pong ball and map out the distance between the planets. The solar system runs from the back fence of the school almost to the eating area. I do the calculations for the students and they handle measuring between planets and presenting facts about each planet.

This 5th grade lesson was along the same theme but more involved for the students. Each group measured 100 grams of clay to represent the mass the sun, 8 planets and our moon. As a table, they decided the relative mass of each planet and formed a sphere to represent it. They recorded the mass and provided their data on the earth, moon and sun for comparison with the rest of the class.

Of the 32 groups, there wasn't a duplication in results but that isn't to say there wasn't a TON of good thinking. Students actively discussed the relative size of Mercury to the sun and Jupiter to the earth. They debated, compromised, tried, adjusted and found consensus amongst their group. In terms of results, I wasn't looking for the perfect answer. Moreover, I wanted to see rationale thinking supported by existing knowledge. Simply put, is your moon much smaller than your earth? Is your sun much larger than your moon?

At the end of our lesson came the "Aha" moment. Ask you student, if the solar system were represented by 100 grams, about how much would make up each celestial body (sun, planets, moon, etc).

I hope they continue to do themselves proud and can tell you the surprising answer.

Science Rules!