Dreams Toward the Stars: A View of the Solar System From Earth was written as a thematic unit for students from first through fifth grades, and with some slight modifications, it can be offered to students through high school. It is an overview study of the planets in our Solar System, our Sun and two constellations, the Big Dipper and the Crux, the Southern Cross. Lesson plans have been included to teach students about astronomers from ancient to modern times, and about the discoveries that astronomers have made, and so willingly share with us, how the North Star and the Southern Star were used for navigation, and what NASA and the space industry is doing on a daily basis to add to our education about our Solar System.

I have integrated reading, writing (language arts), math, science, social studies, and art into this unit, so that it can be taught cross-curriculum.

(Developed for Cross Curriculum, grade 2; recommended for Cross Curriculum, grades 1-8)