Motions of the Solar System

Grades 3-5: Live Q&A with Astronomy Experts

Overview

After watching a recording of our Motions of the Solar System planetarium show at a time that fits your schedule, join us for a Q&A livestream where astronomy experts from the Morrison planetarium answer questions submitted in advance by students around the country.

In Motions of the Solar System, your students become virtual space explorers who examine what causes the predictable motions in the sky as observed from Earth. Then, they jet off to other objects in our solar system and try to apply their new understanding of Earth's cycles in order to discover some surprising patterns that other planets have.

How does it work?

This program is a live event on YouTube that lasts approximately 30 minutes. During the program, astronomy experts from the Morrison planetarium will answer a selection of student questions submitted ahead of time. Teachers will have access to the recording of the Motions in the Solar System planetarium show via Edpuzzle before the live Q&A session and may submit 3 questions per class/group.

The form to submit questions is now closed.

This program offering also works for classes who meet asynchronously because the link for the recording will be shared and can be watched following the live broadcast.

Live Q&A Schedule

This program is designed for grades 3-5, but all are welcome. Select the date that works best for your student(s):

  • Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 10 am PT

Registration is now closed, but don't fret! We'll post the recording here within 48 hours of the live event.

Extension activities for students

Teachers can find optional extension activities that are designed to be self-directed by the students or used as class group work, and may be built upon by the teacher if they desire.

NGSS connections

This unit supports the following standards:

Disciplinary Core Ideas, Grade 5

  • ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System: The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of Earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. These include day and night; daily changes in the length and direction of shadows; and different positions of the sun, moon, and stars at different times of the day, month, and year. (5-ESS1-2)

Crosscutting Concepts, Grades 3 -5

  • Patterns: Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort, classify, communicate and analyze simple rates of change for natural phenomena. (5-ESS1-2)

  • Scale, Proportion, and Quantity: Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large. (5-ESS1-1)

Science and Engineering Practices, Grades 3 -5

  • Analyzing and Interpreting Data: Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns and/or relationships in the natural and designed world(s) in order to answer scientific questions and solve problems.

  • Developing and Using Models: Use models to describe and/or predict phenomena.

Notes about the program

The planetarium show will touch on the following topics:

  • predictable patterns and motions on Earth, including:

    • moon (and Earth) phases

    • yearly cycles of constellations as viewed from Earth

    • planet tilt

  • close-up views of some of our solar system's planets

    • the scientific variation in "days" and "year" motions

    • atmospheric models

  • View of a planetary system around another star

Connection & technology information

A week before the session, registered parties will receive an email containing the unique YouTube destination for the live program.

There are several ways to tune in:

  1. Screenshare the YouTube Livestream to your class in your virtual classroom (e.g. Zoom or Google Meet). We highly recommend testing this out in advance, perhaps by streaming the Live Penguin Cam. If your device can see the program, you should also be able to screenshare Academy livestreams to your students.

  2. Give the link to students to watch in a browser on their own device.

  3. Sorry! The Academy cannot control your district’s security settings.

  • If your students’ district devices cannot access YouTube Live or YouTube videos, check if they can access the embedded Recordings on this website. Our Distance Learning programs are designed so that students can tune in asynchronously, too, by watching the recordings and participating in interactive aspects such as Mentimeter polls and Padlet student submissions.

  • If your students cannot access the Students tab above, you must contact your IT department to whitelist this website.

If you have questions or need us to resend the email (check your junk folder first!), please contact us at distancelearning@calacademy.org. We recommend adding that email address to your contacts to help ensure our messages are accepted by your district's email domain.

Distance Learning is open to all K-8 students wherever they are set-up to engage in remote learning—be that in a classroom, at home, in a learning pod, or at a community learning hub. Interested in other livestreams for your class this year? Visit the Distance Learning website.