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Teaching tools > Pictures & facts > Overview: Jovian Planets
(300K; Acrobat Reader required)
This is a collection of four Hubble Space Telescope images of the gas giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The text outlines some of the remarkable attributes that set these planets apart from the smaller, rocky, terrestrial planets and includes a discussion of the densities and atmospheric conditions on the planets.
Teachers can use Lithograph: Jovian Planets as:
• An engagement tool in an inquiry-based lesson. Have students study the image side of the lithograph. Ask them to write down three to five questions they have about the image. When the students are finished, their questions can be used in a variety of ways:
• Ask students to find the answers to their questions by reading the back of the lithograph and/or the related materials listed below.
• Have students exchange papers so that each student has someone else's questions. Then have them find the answers to the other students' questions by reading the back of the lithograph and/or the related materials listed below.
• Gather the questions into a list by asking students to volunteer to read their questions while you or another student records them on the board or overhead. Ask students to raise their hands if they had the same or a similar question. Count the number of hands raised and record this number next to the question. Once all the student questions have been added to the list, have students search for the answers to their questions in the text on the back of the lithograph. When they complete that task, ask them to decide if each of their questions was answered completely, answered partially, or not answered at all. Go through the original list and place an "A" in front of the questions that were answered completely, a "P" for those that were partially answered, and an "N" for those that were not answered at all. Determine if the most commonly asked questions were also completely answered. Encourage students to do further research to find answers to the unanswered questions.
• A content reading tool. Have students read the back of the lithograph and then write a quiz for the class.
• A component in a compare/contrast activity. Have students compare the features/structure of the terrestrial planets to those of the gas giant planets depicted in this lithograph and discussed in the text. Use the Mars lithograph, found in the related resources listed below, as an example of a terrestrial planet. A T-chart (for older students) or Venn diagram (for younger students) would be a good organizational tool to use for this activity. Examples of Graphic Organizers are included in the related resources below.
Lithograph: Mars
See the Graphic Organizers section on "Teaching tools" page for examples.
See the Solar system section on "Teaching tools" page.
Teaching tools > Pictures & facts > Overview: Jovian Planets