Solar Layer Riddles

This engaging science worksheet helps students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 deepen their understanding of the Sun’s structure through reading comprehension, inferencing, and astronomy vocabulary practice. Using riddle-style clues, learners analyze descriptions related to nuclear fusion, energy transfer, light movement, and visible solar features to correctly identify each layer of the Sun.

Skills Reinforced

• Solar Structure Knowledge (Grades 4-6) – Identify and distinguish between the Sun’s layers, including the core, radiative zone, convective zone, photosphere, chromosphere, and corona
• Energy Production Concepts – Recognize how nuclear fusion and energy movement occur within different solar layers
• Reading Comprehension & Context Clues – Use descriptive hints and scientific language to infer correct answers
• Scientific Reasoning – Apply prior knowledge to connect functions, processes, and observable features of the Sun

Instructional Support

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with elementary and middle school space science standards
• Versatile Classroom Use – Works well as an introduction, review activity, science center task, or formative assessment
• Engaging Format – Riddle-style clues increase motivation and encourage thoughtful problem-solving
• Supports Diverse Learners – Combines short readings with clear objectives to aid comprehension and retention
• Low-Prep Printable – Ready to use in classrooms or homeschool science lessons

This solar layers riddle worksheet helps students strengthen knowledge of the Sun’s composition, energy processes, and scientific terminology while practicing inference and close reading skills. By blending astronomy content with reading comprehension and critical thinking, it supports deeper science literacy. Whether used in a classroom setting or for homeschool instruction, this activity offers an interactive and effective way to reinforce understanding of how the Sun works.

This worksheet is part of our The Sun collection.