Solar System Teaching Resources
Rocket your students into your next space lesson with solar system projects and diagrams, activities designed around the planets and moon phases, and hundreds more teaching resources created by primary teachers for your classroom!
Aligned with Australian science standards, each solar system-focused teacher resource has undergone the Teach Starter teacher team's thorough review process to ensure it's ready to use in your classroom.
This collection of curriculum-aligned teaching resources makes teaching about the planets, sun, moon, and the rest of the galaxy easy with editable templates that can be easily adapted to differentiate instruction for your individual students.
New to this part of the science curriculum or just looking for fresh ideas to inspire kids about space? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is the Solar System? A Kid-Friendly Definition
To start you off, our teacher team has created a definition you can use in the classroom to introduce the solar system to your students.
The solar system is made up of a single star with planets orbiting around it.
The solar system that we call home has the sun at the center — yes, the sun is a star! — and it includes planet Earth, plus other planets, moons, asteroids, comets and other outer space objects.
The sun, which is seen at left, is the only star in our solar system.
Solar System vs. Galaxy — What's the Difference?
If a solar system is made up of the sun and the planets, what's a galaxy?
The easiest way to explain the difference between these two is to tell your class that a galaxy is a gigantic group of solar systems, all gathered together.
Kids can think of the galaxy as a big, extended family of solar systems.
Earth is located in the Milky Way galaxy, which includes a huge number of different solar systems — more than 3000!
How Many Planets Are in Our Solar System?
The solar system that we call home as residents of Earth is made up of eight planets — Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — plus one dwarf planet, Pluto!
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What Causes the Seasons to Change? – Teaching Presentation
Explore what causes the seasons to change and learn about solstices and equinoxes with this teaching presentation.
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Night and Day Word Wall
A set of vocabulary words related to night and day.
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Snapshots of the Moon – Moon Tracking Booklet
Obverse the moon over the course of the month and chart observations with this moon phases mini-book.
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Moon Phases – Vocabulary Cards
Reinforce science vocabulary with a set of 15 vocabulary cards covering the different phases of the moon and related terms.
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Moon Phases Tic-Tac-Toe (Small Group)
Identify and remember the different phases of the moon with this small group tic-tac-toe game.
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The Daytime Sky - Worksheet
Explores features of the daytime sky with this one-page worksheet.
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Sun, Earth and Moon Teaching Resource Pack
A collection of teaching resources including posters, worksheets and experiments to use when teaching your class about the interplay of the sun, Earth and moon.
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Our Place in Space - Unit Plan
This Earth and Space Sciences unit explores the concept that Earth is part of a system of planets orbiting around a star (the sun).
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The Solar System Begins
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Diagram of the Solar System
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Sisters of the Solar System - The Jovian Planets
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Interpreting the Night Sky
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A Star, Some Planets and More!
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The Scale of the Solar System
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Sisters of the Solar System - The Terrestrial Planets
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Earth - Third Rock From Sun
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The Sun - Solar System Central
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20 Fun Facts About Mars to Get Kids Excited About Your Space Lessons
Add these fun facts about Mars to your lesson plans — plus see our teacher team's favourite ways to use them in classroom activities.