Curated OER
Suited for Space
A fantastic lesson on survival in outer space should excite your learners! Pupils explore the challenges that living, working, and surviving in space elicit. They focus on the spacesuit itself; how it protects astronauts, and enables...
Curated OER
What's Out There? Space Shuttle Exploration and Simulation
Students simulate life in space aboard the space shuttle. In this space exploration lesson, students work in small groups to model life aboard the space shuttle. Each student is given a job, conducts Internet research on space, and...
Curated OER
Earth from Space Maps
Students use photo images from space to create a large map of the United States or the world, find where they live and label other places they know. They are exposed to a Web resource that allows them to view photo images of Earth taken...
NASA
Space Station Research Explorer
Take a trip into outer space from the safety of your classroom. A great addition to the digital library of any science teacher, this reference offers a behind-the-scenes look at the research going at the International Space Station.
New York City Department of Education
Grade 3 Literacy in Science: Animal Adaptations
Third graders research and study animal adaptations and then use their findings to write narratives that include scientific criterion. This lesson is all about literacy and science! The lesson is completely designed for addressing Common...
Curated OER
Destination Outer Space
Young scholars investigate space travel. In this space travel lesson students examine space exploration history, engineers and scientists involved in space exploration, and Newton's third law of motion. Young scholars make rockets.
NASA
The Science of the Sun
There's more to that glowing ball of light in sky than most children realize. From the overall structure of the solar system, to the changing of the seasons, these hands-on lessons open the eyes of young scientists to the important role...
Curated OER
Astronauts Build Space Station Addition
Students read a story called Astronauts Finish Building Space Station Addition and answer vocabulary and comprehension questions about it. In this space station lesson plan, students respond to literature by answering questions,...
Curated OER
Science Discovery Lesson: Air is All Around Us
Students explore the concept that air is everywhere. They assess that it can't be seen, but is all around us. Each student becomes aware that air takes up space and listen to the book, "Air is All Around You," by Franklin M. Branley.
Baylor College
Challenge: Microgravity
What a festive way to examine what happens to the heart in different gravitational situations! Small groups place a water-filled balloon in different locations (on a table top, in a tub of water, and held in a vertical position), drawing...
NASA
Space-Based Astronomy on the Internet
Young scientists compile everything they have learned into a report in the fifth and final lesson in a unit on the visible light spectrum. Access to photos from observatories, telescopes, and satellites allows learners to compare and...
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl Matilda Lesson Plans
Fifty eye-catching pages contain six lessons about Roald Dahl's novel, Matilda. Each lesson has a theme and covers a different subject—literacy, social-emotional learning, science, and geography. Scholars analyze characters, examine...
Curated OER
Solar Arrays for the Space Station
Students explore the challenges that are faced when transporting materials into space. They review the various forms of energy, including solar arrays, that are used on the International Space Station and how generating this energy calls...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Space Travel Guide
Looking to take a trip? Why not go to space? Here, scholars take on the role as travel agent to create a guide to their favorite planet including travel tips and sightseeing recommendations.
Space Awareness
Investigating the Atmosphere - Air Takes Up Space
How do you know there is air? Can you see it, smell it, feel it? To begin the investigation, learners watch a video and discuss what they know about air and the atmosphere. Then, they participate in five different hands-on, inquiry-based...
Curated OER
Get a Leg Up
Traveling through space is an amazing experience, but it definitely takes a toll on the body. After reading an article and watching a brief video, learners perform an experiment that simulates the effects of zero gravity on the human body.
Curated OER
Food for Spaceflight
When astronauts get hungry in outer space, they can't just call and have a pizza delivered. In order to gain an appreciation for the challenges associated with space travel, young learners are given the task of selecting, testing, and...
Curated OER
Designing a Crew Exploration Vehicle
Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design activity. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and an assortment...
Curated OER
Deep Convective Clouds
Students observe clouds. In this deep convective clouds lesson, students analyze cloud data recorded over one month and draw conclusions based on results. Students predict "Thunderstorm Season" and prepare to defend their decision using...
Curated OER
Outer Space Circus
Learners investigate the concept of other planets and conduct research using a variety of resources. They focus upon a planet and its gravitation, surface, and atmospheric conditions. The lesson plan contains specific steps for the...
Curated OER
Polar Scientists: Polar Science
Research skills are extremely important and they can be linked to any subject. Get your class thinking about scientists that study the polar region, what they do, and how they get funded to continue their research. Each child uses a...
Curated OER
Gingerbread Spacecraft
Students explore the different parts of the Cassini spacecraft. In this space science lesson plan, students create a model of the spacecraft using food products. They compare and contrast their model with the real one and evaluate its...
Curated OER
Space: Our Star, the Sun, and Its Friends, the Planets
Students examine the solar system. In this space lesson, students identify the order of the planets and their relative size to the sun. Students create a scale model of our solar system using a variety of household objects.
Messenger Education
Mission: Possible—How Can We Plan an Exploration of Another World?
An astronaut's spacesuit weighs 280 pounds and takes 45 minutes to put on — that's a serious suit! The second activity of a three-part series allows pupils to see all that goes into space exploration. Through simulations, groups analyze...