Begin your bulletin board by covering it entirely in black paper. Cut a sun out of yellow construction paper and place it in the top right corner of your bulletin board. Then, draw nine semicircular orbit lines around the sun. Provide each student with a scientist's journal (a small notebook) and set up research stations around the classroom. These can include computers, encyclopedias and books about the solar system.
Fifth grade is a time when students are developing their abilities to conduct in-school research. Divide students into nine groups -- one for each of the eight planets and one more for Pluto. The size of each group will depend on the size of the class. Have the groups rotate among the different research stations to gather information on each planet, such as atmosphere, temperature, distance from the sun, and speed of orbit. One informative site to share with students is NASA's Solar System Exploration Kids. Students should write their observations in their scientist's journals.
Hand out crayons, markers, glitter, index cards and circular templates of each planet. Students can color the planet they were assigned based on the information written down in their journals. On their index cards, they should write three facts they have learned about the planet. When students are finished with this activity, have each group send one student to the bulletin board to glue its assigned planet in place.
Once the bulletin board is complete, students can present their research about each planet to the class. Each student should write about a planet he did not originally research. Students can get creative here, but they should include at least three facts about the planet they're discussing. You can also do a game show type activity where students have to match scientific facts with the planets they describe.