Book Summary
Planets of My Solar System is a collection of poems that gives students information about the planets in our solar system in a fun, rhyming format. Detailed photographs support text.

Build Background
Read the title of the book. Ask students to share what they know about the solar system. Draw a diagram of the solar system on the board and include the names of planets. Discuss any known characteristics of each planet.

Discuss poetry's rhymes and rhythms. Explain that rhyming poetry follows a beat based on syllables and includes words that rhyme. Write the word Sun on board. Invite students to identify words that rhyme with Sun. Write these words on the board. Remind students that not all ending sounds of rhyming words are spelled the same. For example, Sun and one rhyme but have ending sounds that are spelled differently.

Preview the Poem
Show students the front and back covers of the book. Discuss the photographs. Turn to the title page. Discuss the photograph and the information on the page (title of book, author's name). Ask students to explain what this poem might be about based on the photographs and what they already know about the solar system and the planets within it. Explain to students that thinking about what they already know about the topic will help them understand and enjoy the poem.

During Reading
Have students listen as you read the poems. Tell them you will pause at the end of each page and give them time to write down one of the pairs of rhyming words for each page. Read the book expressively and emphasize the words that rhyme in each pair of sentences. Then reread the book with students.

Use think-aloud strategies to remind students to use what they already know to help make sense of the poems. React to parts of the poems with facial expressions and gestures.

Allow students to stop and ask questions during reading, especially if they do not understand something. Invite students to share how they connected to prior knowledge while reading or listening to the poems.

After Reading
Reader Response
Ask students what they thought of the poems. Have volunteers describe their favorite part of a poem and something they learned about the solar system. Ask a student to summarize the main idea of the poems and have others give details to support the main idea.

Comprehension
Ask specific questions that allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the poems.

• Why is Earth the only planet with seasons?
• Do you think there is life on other planets? Why or why not?
• Which planet seems the most fascinating to you? Why?