Author(s): AJ Davey and Reagan Lawrence

Can You Code a Solar System Presentation?

In this coding activity, students will explore the planets of our solar system by coding an interactive presentation that they can share with their peers. The students will demonstrate their understanding of the planets by selecting two different planets within the solar system and sharing information about each. The students will be given a starter code to help guide them through the process of coding their chosen planets to “speak” and present facts. This code will also show the students how they can allow another user to interact with their code by asking questions and having the user type in an answer. Moreover, within the starter code, examples are given of two different planets – Mercury and Earth.

This lesson is flexible, it can serve as a fun and engaging introduction to the planets before being given a formal lesson in class, or as a reinforcing activity after students have already learned about the planets.

If they have not learned about the planets yet, here is a great link to get students started: https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/. This website will provide the students with the necessary factual information to include within their code.

To differentiate the lesson the teacher can alter the amount of planets the student has to research or alter the amount of characteristics the students have to include.

Will students learn to code?

Yes, students will learn how to use the code to input information about the different types of planets. By doing so the students will be engaging in hands-on learning about the Scratch Program. The students will also learn and further develop their problem-solving skills working through and debugging their code if it does not work.

Will students coding help them learn?

Yes, students will use the program to learn about or reinforce their knowledge about the different planets within the solar system. Students can also learn more about additional planets by interacting with other students. Through coding, students are encouraged to collaborate with others to broaden their knowledge on the planets.

Lesson introduction – Solar Systems:

To begin the lesson, the students will watch a brief video introducing them to the different planets within the solar system.

Video that the students will watch: Solar System 101 | National Geographic

After watching the video, some potential follow up questions that the teacher can ask include:

• What was something that stood out or surprised you about the solar system after watching the video?
• Why do you think it’s important to study the planets within our solar system?
• Which planet would you consider the most “mysterious”, and what would you like to learn more about it
• This question provides a nice transition into the activity

How to work on it:

Students will choose two different planets from our solar system and through coding display interesting facts within the Scratch Program. The student will learn how to upload an image of the planet as a sprite to visually enhance their work, and get the planet to “speak” to share information about the planet.

Information that students need to include within their description of the planet:

• Average distance from the Sun (AU)
• Orbit Period (year)
• Rotational Period (day)
• Number of Moons
• Number of Rings
• Main gases in atmosphere
• Range of Surface Temperatures

Students should also include 2 more fun facts about the planets that they choose to include in their code.

The consolidation portion:

To wrap up the activity, students will share their code with another student in the class to get feedback and to see what another student has done with the starter code. This allows the students the opportunity to learn / deepen their understanding about the other planets, while also learning more about the coding program.

Further resource information:

Grade(s): Grade 9 De Streamed Science (Strand E. Earth & Space Sciences)

Main Subject: Science (Grade 9)

• E2.4 describe major components of the solar system and the universe and compare their characteristics
• E2.5 quantify distances in the solar system and the universe by applying an understanding of relative distances and sizes and using appropriate units of measure

Other integrated subjects: Coding , Math (AU calculations)

Tags: Grade 9 Science Strand E. Earth & Space Science, Math, Coding