Solar System Teaching Resources

Rocket your students into your next space lesson with printable solar system worksheets and diagrams, outer space word walls, activities designed around the planets, and hundreds more teaching resources created by elementary teachers for 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 Google Slide templates that can be easily adapted to differentiate instruction for your individual students. Aligned to Next Gen science standards, each resource has undergone the Teach Starter teacher team review process to ensure it's ready to use in your classroom.

New to this part of the science curriculum or just looking for fresh ideas to inspire kids about space? Read on for tips from our teacher team!

How Do You Teach Space to Elementary Students?

It's a complicated question, we realize, and every teacher will have their own answer based on both personal teaching philosophy and the state standards their students need to meet. But space has fascinated kids (and grown-ups) for centuries, at least as far back as the days of Galileo inventing the telescope in the 1600s. And while more and more kids want to grow up to be a social media influencer, there are still plenty of students who are listing "astronaut" as a future career aspiration — a fact that we can't help but attribute at least in part to teachers and their inspiring lessons on space!

kid's paper astronaut model is set up on an aluminum foil planet with a black background to simulate space

So how do you write your space lesson plans? It might help to start with the themes and topics that kids typically learn throughout elementary school, no matter where you teach:

The Solar System: Your students will get to know the eight planets of our solar system and the names of each, plus their order from the sun and their characteristics.
The Sun: Students should be learning that the sun is a star as well as learning how it creates light and heat and how it affects the Earth.
The Moon: Kids will learn about the moon's phases plus its role in the ocean's tides and its relationship to the Earth.
Stars and Galaxies: The classification of stars and the constellations they form are on tap at this level. Kids may also learn about galaxies and the universe.
Space Exploration: Taking off with the astronauts of NASA, elementary learners should be exposed to lessons about the history of space exploration, the first moon landing, and the various space missions.
Space Travel: Related to the concept of exploration, this is a good time to talk about the challenges of space travel, such as zero gravity, and the importance of spacesuits and other equipment.
Space Technology: What's going on in that wide space outside of the Earth's atmosphere? It's time to teach about space technology, including satellites, telescopes, and the International Space Station.