Texas TEKS 3.9.B
The Standard
identify the order of the planets in Earth's solar system in relation to the Sun.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students name the eight planets and arrange them from the Sun outward. They also reverse the sequence and identify which planets come before and after a given planet.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student correctly writes Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune in sequence. Given Mars, for example, the student names Earth as the previous planet and Jupiter as the next.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may include Pluto as a ninth planet or place Earth first. They may also arrange planets by size, confuse planets with moons, or switch Uranus and Neptune.
How to Assess It
- Give students eight shuffled planet names. Ask them to number the planets from closest to farthest from the Sun, then circle Earth's two neighbors.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs eight labeled planet cards and a paper Sun, then have them build the sequence across a table.
Ask students to write a memory sentence whose first letters match the planet sequence, then explain it to a partner.
Play Planet Lineup by handing eight students planet cards and timing the class as they arrange the students correctly.
Use a printed NASA solar system diagram to plan which planets a spacecraft would pass while traveling from Earth to Neptune.
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Printable 3.9.B Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 3.9.B, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- 3.9
Earth and space. The student knows there are recognizable objects and patterns in Earth's solar system. The student is expected to:
- 3.9.A
construct models and explain the orbits of the Sun, Earth, and Moon in relation to each other; and
- 4.9
Earth and space. The student recognizes patterns among the Sun, Earth, and Moon system and their effects. The student is expected to:
- 6.9
Earth and space. The student models the cyclical movements of the Sun, Earth, and Moon and describes their effects. The student is expected to:
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