PBS
Breaking it Down
After challenging themselves to correctly choose the form of erosion and length of time required for a given landform to develop, earth science class members model mechanical and chemical weathering with various lab demonstrations over...
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Planetary Mobile
Students receive pre-cut templates of cardboard with appropriate diameters of each planet and the sun. They use multi-colored construction paper, scissors, yarn, and other art supplies to create their own models of planets. When students...
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Astronomy
Students complete a unit of lessons on our solar system, its stars, and astronomers. They record information in a space journal, design constellations, define key vocabulary, observe the phases of the moon, and create a group planet...
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Astronomy
Students brainstorm about what they know about the solar system. They study a planetary fact sheet and create a Venn Diagram with the information. They work in groups to examine the names of the planets and information regarding each of...
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Earth Moon Scaling
A wonderful lesson incorporating math and physics skills along with specific details about the planetary bodies. The cross-curricular approach makes for a valid activity to challenge multiple ages and abilities. Your class could work in...
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An Explorative Journey Through the Solar System
Students explore space science by creating a planetary model in class. In this solar system activity, students identify the many planets and moons that make up the solar system and decide on one entity in which to research. Students...
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Classroom Planetarium
Learners work in groups to create the planets of the solar system. In this planets lesson plan, students create a hanging solar system taking into account the size, shape and position of the planets. Learners discuss the gravity on...
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Out of This World (Science)
Young scholars participate in various hands-on activities to visually demonstrate the positions of the planets from the sun. Then they draw a pictorial representation of the order of planets from the sun.
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Understanding Distance in Space
Pupils discover the vocabulary used for distances in space and review measurement units and instruments before creating a scale model of the planets. They determine how to calculate the relative distances between the planets using a...
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Introduction to the Planets
Students become familiar with the members of the solar system and planetary order. They identify differences and characteristics of individual planets. Finally students visualize the great size of the solar system and make the image more...
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Scavenger Hunt: Who am I?
In this space science worksheet, learners use the sites listed on the Solar System and Planets page of the Kid Zone to locate the names of the people credited with each discovery. They identify and name 26 different scientists who made...
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The Earth, Sun Mood and Stars Unit (Planets too!)
Fifth graders prepare five activities to do then show their energy saving skills. In this investigative lesson students create five projects then participate in an energy saving demonstration.
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Scale Model of the Earth
Students work together to create a model of the Earth. They label and identify each layer and describing its properties. They discover how engineers use models to test different concepts.
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What's This Solar System All About?
Sixth graders complete a unit of lessons on the solar system. In small groups, they participate in a Webquest, watch movies, complete graphic organizers, and answer questions, create a model of the planets, and develop a Powerpoint...
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The Magic School Bus Lost in Space
Students identify the planets by making two models of the Solar System. They create a model that shows the order of the planets and a model that shows the planets sizes as compared to one another. They may write about the planet they...
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Introduction to Constellations
Students examine constellations. In this astronomy instructional activity, students study various constellations and identify five major constellations. They will construct a model of one of the constellations.
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Celestial Motions
Ninth graders complete a unit of lessons on the history of our knowledge of celestial objects. They conduct Internet research, plot the motion of a planet, construct a model of the sun's apparent motions, and create diagrams of the solar...
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Paper Mache Solar System
Students make a model of the solar system. In this solar system instructional activity, students make paper mache models of the planets to hand in the classroom, measure the distance to each planet scaled with footsteps, and model the...
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an Explorative Journey Through the Solar System
Students, in groups, research a planet from our solar system. They create Styrofoam models of the planets and place the planets on a correct distance scale from the sun.
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The Solar System
Students research the characteristics of planets in our solar system. In this space science activity, students create a solar system model with each planet arranged according to their distance from the sun. They solve problems using the...
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Orbital Bliss
Most young mathematicians are aware that the planets don’t orbit the sun in a circle but rather as an ellipse, but have never studied this interesting feature. This resource looks at the planetary orbits in more detail and helps learners...
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Target Earth
Space scientists use water displacement to determine the mass of a cubic centimeter mini meteorite, and then use it as a small-scale representative of an asteroid. They figure out the orbital velocity of an asteroid. Then they use a...
NASA
Earth and Space—Climate and Seasons
Why does Earth have so many seasons? Learn about the importance and changes of our planet's climate with a series of learning activities, which focus on connecting seasons to past experiences, making scientific observations, and...
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Earth
Fourth graders engage in a study of the solar system. The teacher constructs an outside model of it. They walk through it making constructive observations. Students conduct a class discussion about the solar system and planets. They...