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6th Grade Celestial Bodies Research Guide
6th Grade Celestial Bodies Research Guide
Use this guide for your planet study to find trustworthy, easy-to-read sources about your celestial body (a planet, moon, dwarf planet, star, asteroid, or comet) for your infographic.
How to use this guide
How to use this guide
Build background. Start with an easy site like NASA Space Place to learn the basics.
Go deeper. Use a library database or NASA Science to find exact facts and numbers.
Check a book. Find at least one print or ebook source from the library.
Take notes in your own words. Write facts, not full sentences copied from the source.
Save your sources as you go. Copy the citation each time you use a source.
Find images you are allowed to use. See the image section below.
Facts to look for: size, distance from the Sun, what it is made of, temperature, length of a day and year, moons or rings, missions that studied it, and one surprising fact.
Search tips
Search tips
Short keywords find better results than full questions.
Instead of typing… Try…
How hot is it on Venus? Venus temperature
What is Saturn made of? Saturn composition
How many moons does Jupiter have? Jupiter moons
What spacecraft went to Pluto? Pluto New Horizons
If you...
Find too many results: Add a word (Mars atmosphere)
Find too few results: Use a broader word: dwarf planet instead of Haumea.
Have trouble finding the right word: atmosphere, surface, orbit, gravity, rings, moons, mission, discovery.
Remember: Numbers change. Moon counts and other facts get updated, so check the date on your source and use the newest one.
Start here: free websites
Start here: free websites
These sites are free, reliable, and written for students. Start at the top of the list and move down as you need more detail.
NASA Space Place
NASA Space Place
Background basics, short videos; also in Spanish
NASA Solar System
NASA Solar System
Fact pages for every planet, moon, and dwarf planet
NASA Eyes on the Solar System
NASA Eyes on the Solar System
Seeing orbits, size, and spacecraft in 3D
ESA Kids
ESA Kids
European Space Agency missions and space facts
National Geo
National Geo
Short, engaging articles
Library databases
Library databases
Databases are online libraries that our school pays for. The information has been checked by experts, and most have a button that writes your citation for you.
Database tip
• Search the name of your celestial body only, like Europa or Mars moons. Skip full questions.
• Click the headphones or "Listen" button to hear the article read aloud (use your headphones!).
• Use the Cite button and copy the citation into your notes right away.
Britannica School (Middle)
Gale In Context
Eplora
WorldBook Student
Books in the Library
Books in the Library
Space books are in the nonfiction section under these numbers:
520 Space: Solar Systems & Astronomy
520 Space general
521 Solar system & planets
522 Comets, asteroids, meteors, dwarf planets, Pluto
523 Stars & galaxies
524 The Universe & cosmology
525 The Moon, eclipses & tides
526 The Sun
527 Telescopes & technology
528 Astronomy history
530 Space Exploration
530 Space exploration general
531 Space missions & history
532 Astronauts & space travel
533 Rockets & spacecraft technology
534 Mars & future exploration
535 Space agencies: NASA , ESA, etc.
Images for your infographic
Images for your infographic
Use images you are allowed to use, and give credit for every one.
NASA Image Library
NASA Image Library
Real photos of planets, moons, and spacecraft; most are free to use
NASA Photojournal
NASA Photojournal
ESA Images
ESA Images
Image rules
Don't grab random images from a Google search. Many belong to someone else.
Write the image credit right below the picture on your infographic, like Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
If a picture is an artist's drawing and not a real photo, say so.
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