Monday: Read the passage. Put a star
beside important details, underline new
vocabulary words, and put question
marks beside anything that confuses
you.
Tuesday: Draw a T-Chart on your paper
labeled Facts from the Story and My
Thoughts. Re-read the story and write at
least three statements on each side of
your T-Chart.
Wednesday: Re-read the passage. Write
a main idea statement for each
paragraph. Use the main idea statements
to summarize the passage.
Thursday: Answer the questions about
the text. Use evidence from the text to
support your thinking.
Inner Planets vs. Outer Planets
by Dana Tuffelmire
Did you know one day on Venus takes 243 days on Earth? Earth is just
one of eight planets orbiting the sun, and they each have unique characteristics.
The closest planet to the sun is Mercury, followed by Venus, Earth, and Mars. These
planets are called the inner planets, or the Terrestrial planets. The planets further from
the sun are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are known as the outer planets,
or the Gas Giants. The inner and outer planets are different in many ways including
size, landscape, moons and how long it takes them to travel around the sun.
Size
The inner planets are small when compared to the outer planets. Earth is
the largest inner planet, at about 8,000 miles around. The largest outer planet is
Jupiter. It measures almost 90,000 miles around. That’s a difference of 82,000 miles.
That means about 11 earths could fit inside one Jupiter!
Landscape
The outer planets are called “Gas Giants” because they are made up
of gases, like hydrogen and helium. It would be impossible to stand on any of the
outer planets. The inner planets are made of solid elements like iron and nickel. The
terrain on the inner planets is rocky, like the mountain ranges you see on Earth or the
images you see of the moon.
Moons
You know that Earth has one moon because you see it rise and fall
night after night. Did you know that Jupiter has 63 moons? All of the outer planets
have numerous moons, ranging from 60 moons orbiting Saturn to 13 around
Neptune. The inner planets are different. Mercury and Venus don’t have a moon and
Mars has two.
Orbit
A planet’s orbit is how long it takes for it to move around the sun one
time. Earth’s orbit is 365 days, or one year. The planets that are closer to the sun
have faster orbits. Mercury and Venus, the closest planets to the sun, have orbits less
than 100 days. The outer planets, however, take much longer to go around the sun
once because they have a greater distance to travel. Neptune, the furthest outer
planet, takes over 164 years to orbit the sun.
©Jennifer Findley
Record your written responses under the correct day.
Monday:
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Tuesday:
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Wednesday:
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1. Determine the meaning of the word terrain as used in paragraph 3.
Use evidence from the text to support your thinking.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
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2. Determine the sentence from paragraph 1 that best illustrates the
main idea of the entire passage. Use evidence from the text to
support your thinking.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
3. According to the text, what is the connection between a planet’s
orbit and how close the planet is to the sun? Use evidence from the
text to support your thinking.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
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4. Determine the overall text structure of the passage.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
©Jennifer Findley
UNIT 6: A TIME AND A PLACE
Root Word
chron
temp
loc
Meaning
Origin
time
time
place
Greek
Latin
Latin
chronological
(adj) - arranged in the order of time that the events occurred or took place
History and social studies textbooks are organized in chronological order.
chronically
(adv) - to occur in a habitual, repeated, or long-standing manner
I loved visiting my grandpa, but unfortunately he chronically smoked and I
felt like I could never get a breath of fresh air.
chronicle
(n) - a description of events in the order that they happened
I read a soldier’s chronicle about his experiences fighting in the Civil War.
chronograph
(n) - a device (like a stopwatch) that is used for measuring and recording
time in a very exact way
They used a chronograph to record the runners’ times to 1/100 of a second.
temporary
(adj) - occurring for a limited amount of time; not permanent
Even though I knew the pain was temporary and would eventually go
away, I dreaded going to the dentist for my root canal.
contemporary
(adj) - happening or beginning now or in recent times
My dad does not like to listen to contemporary music of today.
location
(n) - a place or position
We want to find a location for the party that is easy for everyone to get to.
local
(adj) - relating to or occurring in a particular area, city, or town; located or
living nearby
The vegetables at the farmers’ market are very fresh since the come from
local growers and are not shipped from across the country.
allocate
(v) - to divide and give out (something) for a special reason or to particular
people, companies, or groups
Our teacher will allocate one set of colored pencils to each table group.
dislocate
(v) - to force someone or something to move from a place or position
He was afraid he might dislocate his shoulder if he continued with the
wrestling match.
© M. Tallman 2013
Get to the Root of It! ~ Book 1