Mars Lesson Plans

Students discover the location of the various land rovers on Mars. After watching a video, they discuss the reasons why scientists are interested in possibility of life on Mars. Using the internet, they research the possible careers they are interested in and discuss them with the class.

Learners discover the basic features of the Mars landscape. They compare the landscapes of Mars and Earth and create mobiles showcasing some of the features of the Martian landscape.

This lesson has students compare Earth and Mars to find similarities between the two planets using given websites. They collect and download pictures of geological features of both planets from print and non-print sources. Descriptions of the geological features are written and pairs of pictures are posted side-by-side for comparison.

In this lesson students study Mars and other plants in the night sky. In a planetarium setting using Digitarium planetarium system, students identify the Big Dipper and Polaris. They explore the major differences between the planets and the stars. Characteristics of Mars is discussed.

In this lesson students examine core samples from Mars and discover what they can use it to tell the history of Mars.  In this core sample lesson students create and analyze their own core samples then eat them at the end.

Students describe the design and construction of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs). They imagine that they can visit Mars and what would they want to find out about the planet. The review the solar system and discuss distances between planets, especially between Mars and Earth.

Students describe the environmental conditions in Mars. In this space science lesson, students draw a Martian critter based on a fictional story read to them. They identify the special features an organism must have to survive in Mars.

In this lesson students simulate the search for water in Mars using simple apparatus. In this space science lesson, students explain how soil temperature affects the cooling of probes. They graph the data collected from the simulation.

Students work in groups to analyze temperature and pressure graphs from the first 30 days of the Pathfinder mission and discuss whether liquid water could have existed under these conditions. They then look at images of Mars. Pupils interpret the landforms and compare a river-cut valley on Mars with Earth's Grand Canyon, they identify water as the agen that shaped the surface.

In this lesson students assess whether there is liquid water on Mars by analyzing images and data.  In this planetary lesson students analyze temperature and pressure graphs and hypothesize about how water could have flowed on Mars.