Kyla Steinkraus - Giant Gas Planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

Use glossary words in a sentence. atmosphere
gravity
orbits
planet
rotates
solar system Before reading a book, it is important to set the stage for your child or student by using pre-reading strategies. This will help them develop their vocabulary, increase their reading comprehension, and make connections across the curriculum.

	Read the title and look at the cover. Lets make predictions about what this book will be about.
	Take a picture walk by talking about the pictures/photographs in the book. Implant the vocabulary as you take the picture walk. Be sure to talk about the text features such as headings, Table of Contents, glossary, bolded words, captions, charts/diagrams, or Index.
	Have students read the first page of text with you then have students read the remaining text.
	Strategy Talk use to assist students while reading. - Get your mouth ready - Look at the picture - Thinkdoes it make sense - Thinkdoes it look right - Thinkdoes it sound right - Chunk it by looking for a part you know
	Read it again.

After reading the book, work on the following questions with your child or students in order to check their level of reading comprehension and content mastery.

	Name the four gas planets. (Summarize)
	If the gas planets are made up of liquid and gas, how can they keep their round shape? (Asking questions)
	Which planet has 63 moons and is the largest planet in the solar system? (Summarize)
	Which two planets are sister planets? (Summarize)

There are four gas planets in our solar system.

	Name the four gas planets. (Summarize)
	If the gas planets are made up of liquid and gas, how can they keep their round shape? (Asking questions)
	Which planet has 63 moons and is the largest planet in the solar system? (Summarize)
	Which two planets are sister planets? (Summarize)

There are four gas planets in our solar system.

Choose one of the planets and create a trading card for it. Be sure to include basic information such as size, color, and climate. On the back of the card add interesting facts about the planet you chose. Share your card with your classmates.

What are all those lights twinkling above us at night? Most are stars, but a few of them are planets. A planet is a round body in space that orbits, or circles, the Sun.

A planet also rotates, or spins, on its axis. An axis is an imaginary line through the center of the planet. SUN Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Nearly all of the planets rotate in a counterclockwise direction. SUN There are eight planets in our solar system. The four planets farthest from the Sun are the gas giants. They are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

These planets are not actually solid, but are made up of liquid and clouds of swirling gas. Gravity pulls the gas and liquid into a planet shape. SunJupiterGas planets have many moons as well as rings that circle around them. Some planets, especially Saturn, have very noticeable rings.NeptuneUranusSaturn

Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system. It is so big that all the other planets could fit inside it. Jupiter is a superhero! Jupiter helps Earth by protecting it from space objects that would hit it. Jupiter is a superhero! Jupiter helps Earth by protecting it from space objects that would hit it.

Because of its large size and strong gravitational pull, comets and asteroids are pulled toward Jupiter and away from Earth. Thousands of space objects strike Jupiter every year. Jupiter is composed of 90 percent hydrogen and 9.99 percent helium, with a few other trace elements thrown in for fun. It would be difficult to walk on Jupiter, since it has no solid surface at all! It is mostly made of gusting, swirling gasses that create massive, hurricane-like storms. The Great Red SpotOne of Jupiters storms is so large that it can be seen from Earth. The Great Red Spot is a storm that began more than 300 years ago.

Saturn is made mostly of light hydrogen gas. Some of the ice chunks that form Saturns rings are as tiny as dust particles. Some of the ice chunks that form Saturns rings are as tiny as dust particles.

Some are as big as houses.

Uranus is tipped on its side. It rotates sideways, like a giant Ferris wheel. Its many rings and moons circle from top to bottom. Because Uranus moves slowly and has a long way to travel, it takes 84 Earth years for Uranus to travel one time around the Sun. Uranus is mostly made of a slushy mixture of half-frozen water, ammonia, and methane. The methane gas scatters blue light, making Uranus appear blue.

Uranus and its sister planet, Neptune, are very similar. Neptune also appears very blue because of the methane gas in its