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Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone could give me a good example of how to teach the solar system.  I feel like the typical Styrofoam balls idea has been around since I was a kid.  If it comes down to it I will get creative with them but would love to see if someone else has come up with a different approach that has gone over well with the kids.  Thanks so much! 

Hello Morgan, I found two articles that I hope can help! The first describes an activity in which you utilize the hallway in your school to demonstrate the actual distance between planets: http://common.nsta.org/resource/default.aspx?id=10.2505%2f4%2fss09_032_08_56 The second consists of quite a few ideas, including a five-week plan and some technology integration, that you can use some or all of (depending on your specific needs): http://common.nsta.org/resource/default.aspx?id=10.2505%2f4%2fss17_040_07_65 Both of these are labeled for Middle School, since I was not sure of your grade level, but hopefully you can adapt these to your age group if needed! -Megan

Greetings!

I agree with you many times the same lesson is done when teaching about the solar system and it can be boring to teach after some time. I did some research and found the following links that may be useful to you. They include different type of household and affordable materials you can use teach about the solar system by simply using balloons, buttons, syrofoam, and a mat just to name a few.

http://hative.com/solar-system-project-ideas-for-kids/

This website has many different ideas and resources you could use.

https://www.woojr.com/solar-system-projects-for-kids/



Enjoy!