Planets Worksheet: Free Copy for You!
Get instant access to the free solar system worksheets below! Learn about interesting facts, the order of the planets, and more! These printable worksheets are suitable for 4th grade students, but you can also show the pictures and discuss them with younger students. Below, I share one of our educational activities about the solar system that has been very effective and fun in our homeschooling!
In case you missed it, this website includes many free educational materials for young students, whether they are homeschoolers or not. Feel welcome to search through the FREE printables on my website here.
Space Exploration
The free printable solar system worksheets are made by my ten-year-old son. He put the material together, designed it, and created some questions for you too! Therefore, I think your child will love them! This is a great way for kids to learn about rocky planets, minor planets, and our own planet Earth too!
By completing the planets worksheets, the child will need to read the text, or, with a parent’s help, they can have a close reading together in order to understand the solar system reading comprehension passages. For older children, this could be a great independent activity. You could make it a deeper study by having them reading books from the library or searching for answers on the internet.
When I proofread the worksheets, I used Wikipedia and NASA Science as a support. I want to make a confession, though. I personally did not know much about the solar system. Therefore, this was a great opportunity for me as well to learn alongside my child.
A homeschooling environment is just like this—all of us are constantly learning and growing. We do not have to stress about it, though; just enjoy the journey as we increase our knowledge and experience life together as a family. I genuinely hope that you and your children will have a lot of fun while working with the solar system worksheets PDF!
What’s Included in the FREE Planet Worksheets:
- Pictures of the eight planets in the solar system
- Fun solar system facts
- Comprehension questions
Feel free to share this fun solar system project with friends and family to increase their knowledge of physical science! Since the worksheets are free, you will have access to unlimited printing and can freely share them with others.
Ten fun facts about the planets of our solar system:
- Biggest Planet: Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system.
- The Sun is a Star: The Sun is actually a giant star. It’s the reason we have light and heat on Earth.
- Rings Around Saturn: Saturn is famous for its beautiful rings made of ice and rock. They make Saturn look really cool in a telescope!
- Earth’s Twin: Venus is often called Earth’s twin because it’s almost the same size as Earth, but it’s way too hot for humans to live there.
- Red Planet: Mars is known as the Red Planet because of its reddish color, which comes from iron oxide (rust) on its surface.
- Windiest Planet: Neptune has the strongest winds in the solar system, reaching speeds of over 1,200 miles per hour (2,000 kilometers per hour)!
- Dwarf Planet Pluto: Pluto used to be the ninth planet, but now it’s called a dwarf planet. It’s still super interesting and has five moons of its own.
- The Moon’s Craters: Our Moon has many craters from meteoroids hitting it. There’s no wind or water to erode them.
- Mercury’s Temperatures: Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, has extreme temperatures. It can be extremely hot during the day and freezing cold at night.
- Uranus Spins Sideways: Unlike other planets, Uranus rotates on its side. This means it rolls around the Sun like a barrel!
Solar System Activities for Kids: Using Flash Cards
Using flash cards is a great way to learn. For parents, it’s nice to have something tangible to show and give each child, something they can hold in their hands. A couple of years ago, I bought a set of solar system flash cards that we used for a while. I printed them out, laminated them, and cut them into hand-sized pieces, with each planet on each flash card and facts about each planet written on them. Because they were laminated, the cards had better durability and did not easily get damaged with use. When my son had a look at them, he studied them and put them in the right order, which was fun.
Kids love to hold things in their hands and have something to look at. This is especially a great way of teaching if you have children of different ages to teach at the same time. For example, the little toddler would love to hold one of these cards. It’s the same with the solar system worksheets below. Even though the worksheet PDFs are not designed for kindergarten students, you can easily laminate them and have the children write or color on them with a marker, which then, might function a bit like kindergarten worksheets. That way, the worksheets will also have a longer shelf life, and you won’t have to worry when the toddler wants to join your little study about terrestrial planets.
When you study the planets together, don’t forget to mention Neil Armstrong and his accomplishments or discuss the phases of the moon. As I mentioned before, there is a lot to learn when we talk about space and planets! Who knows, you might have a little astronomer in front of you! He or she may study this in high school and throughout their entire life!
For Further Study: Bible Verses on Planets
The comprehension worksheet below will give you a few details about the planets in our solar system, but I cannot talk about space without including the Creator Himself. Space is so vast that we cannot comprehend it, even if we studied it our entire lives. Therefore, a simple way to learn what the Bible has to say, is to read it.
I have chosen a few Bible verses that will increase our knowledge of outer space! Space is big; it is huge! When we look into space and gaze, we will feel humbled before God, our Father. He is our Creator, and it is amazing that He wants to be our personal friend too, as it says in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
Genesis 1:16
Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.
Psalms 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Psalms 147:4
He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.
Isaiah 40:26
Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.
Psalms 104:19
He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down.
Psalms 33:6
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
Psalms 74:16
The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun.
Nehemiah 9:6
You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.
Psalms 89:11
The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
I Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all.
Psalms 147:4
He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.
Final words
The giant planets out there, with their vibrant colors, are truly amazing, and there is so much to explore and learn. The main idea behind these studies is for you and your children to enjoy learning about the planets. My hope is that these free worksheets will be a blessing to your family!
“The same creative energy that brought the world into existence is still exerted in upholding the universe and continuing the operations of nature. The hand of God guides the planets in their orderly march through the heavens. It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth continues her motion round the sun, and produces her bounties. The word of God controls the elements. He covers the heavens with clouds, and prepares rain for the earth. He makes the valley fruitful, and “grass to grow upon the mountains.” It is through his power that vegetation flourishes; that the leaves appear, and the flowers bloom” – Special Testimonies on Education, p. 58.2 (Ellen Gould White).
