Curated OER
Reading to Learn
Students complete story maps in this lesson. Students read "The Magic School Bus", and get into groups to choose their story element. Each group shares their information with the class. They then complete a story map for a book read...
Curated OER
Earth, Moon, Mars Balloons
Students demonstrate size and orbits of Earth, Moon, and Mars. In this space science lesson plan, students will use balloons to show how the size and distance between the planets and satellite compare.
Curated OER
Universal Proportions: Earth and Moon
Young scholars create scale models of Earth, the Moon, and the distances within the universe. Working in groups, they construct their models of Earth and the Moon on a scale of 50:1 and calculate how far apart to place their models. ...
Curated OER
Comets and Meteors
Learners construct a model of a comet nucleus using dry ice. They add other materials and describe the features. They complete related exercises on an Internet Web site.
Curated OER
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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Earth to Saturn, Earth to Saturn!
Learners compare and contrast the characteristics of Earth and Saturn. They practice writing analogies using those characteristics. They complete a worksheet to end the instructional activity.
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Earth Turns? Prove It!
Students construct a pendulum using a washer and thin fishing line. In this earth science lesson plan, students simulate Earth's rotation using the pendulum bob and swivel chair. They explain how this activity proves that the Earth is...
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Enslaved and Running
Students use runaway slave advertisements to discover how the language varies from the 18th to 21st century. Using primary source documents, they research the brutality of slavery and the desire of those in slavery to be free. They...
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How Far Away is SOHO?
Students create a scale model of the Earth and the sun that demonstrates where the SOHO satellite is in relation to the Earth.
University of Colorado
Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
In the 19th activity of 22, learners determine if distance from a light source affects photosynthesis. Participants capture oxygen in straws and find that the amount of water the gas displaces is proportional to the rate of photosynthesis.
University of Colorado
Astro-Chronology
Class members play a version of the game Chronology to determine when certain scientific events occurred in history. Teams play until someone has 5-10 events in the correct order.
University of Colorado
Spacecraft Speed
Space shuttles traveled around Earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour, way faster than trains, planes, or automobiles travel! In the 13th installment of 22, groups graph different speeds to show how quickly spacecraft move through...
Curated OER
Wow, Saturn Is Much Bigger Than Earth!
Students compare and contrast the sizes of Earth and Saturn. They create scale illustrations of each planet and label them. They share their models with the class.
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Rotating Rings of Ice
Students work together to develop a model of Saturn and its rings. They identify what types of materials make up the rings and how they revolve around Saturn. They write a short paragraph describing the rings.
University of Connecticut
Building Your Own Biosphere
On September 26, 1991, four women and four men entered the scientific experiment, Biosphere 2; the doors were sealed for two years in order to study the interactions of a biosphere. In the activity, scholars explore biospheres by...
Curated OER
A New Slant On The Seasons
Students identify how the tilt and position of the Earth causes the seasons. After a discussion of the seasons and when they begin. Using themselves as the objects in the universe, they role play how the rotational movement of the...
Journey Through the Universe
Is There Anyone Out There?
What is an alien's favorite game? All-star baseball! Scholars start defining living and non-living. Then, they conduct experiments to research if life exists, keeping in mind that life could be in many forms, not just human.
Curated OER
A Relatively Far Out Idea: Estimating
Students investigate methods of estimating through cooperative group activities, hands-on activities, the use of tables and graphs and an interactive video.
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Earth's Revolution and Rotation
Eighth graders investigate the regular motions of the sun, Earth and the moon and explain how these are related to days, years, seasons, eclipses, tides and moon cycles. They participate in an exercise where they explore the...
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Out of This World (Science)
Students 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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SIZING UP SOL
Ninth graders produce a projected, pinhole image of the sun and from measurement of the image and projection distance, calculate the actual size of the sun. They estimate the sun's apparent brightness from different planet.
Curated OER
How to Celebrate Digital Learning Day
Leverage technology to boost student engagement and achievement.
Curated OER
Sundials and Shadows - What Can They Teach Us About Seasons?
Students collect and analyze data relating to seasonal changes. They view a video, research web sites and build a sundial to collect their data.