I would teach about the planets in my class, I would start by introducing the concept of the solar system and the planets that orbit the sun, I would pay close attention to the vocabulary here and make sure to highlight the new vocabulary and make sure that there is an understanding of new words such as orbit, solar etc.
I would introduce the planet song to my pupils I would encourage them to listen and follow with the lyrics. Next I would use visual aids such as posters and powerpoints of the solar system to help the pupils visualise the order of the planets in relation to the sun. I would play games and play the Planet Game all the while asking the pupils about which names they remember. I would use the planet song to encourage the pupils to remember the names of the planets, I like to do this sort of activity in small groups, then larger groups, all together and individually. I would use mnemonics to help the pupils to memorize the planets, I would keep the mnemonics simple so I would use something like this “My Very Eager Mother Just Sent Us Nuts.
Following on from the lesson I would conduct an assessment to see the effects of the lesson and to gauge the learning that has taken place, also to inform me on my next steps in relation to this topic.