Space Awareness
Meet Our Neighbors: Sun
The sun isn't just a ball of yellow! Young scientists learn about the features of the sun using a hands-on modeling activity. They build models of the sun using common household items to represent sunspots, solar prominence, and the...
Curated OER
Doin' The Moonwalk
If you are looking for an outstanding instructional activity on the Moon for your budding astronomers, look no further! This outstanding plan is full of wonderful, meaningful activities for your charges to engage in. Pupils will discover...
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The Sun and Moon
Students understand basic concepts about Earth, the Sun and the Moon,
such as relative movement and the phases of the moon. Through discussion, looking at pictures, listening to Native American stories, observing, and building models,...
Space Awareness
Know Your Planets
Does your class know their planets? Implement an activity that has them describing the solar system, identifying properties of the planets, and placing them in order from their distance from the sun.
Curated OER
Moons
Students practice rote counting to 20. After a lecture about the planets and the moons that surround them, they identify the number of moons surrounding various planets. Students compare and contrast the quantity of moons surrounding...
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Finding Out About the Stars and Planets
Students complete a web-based activity to study the planets and solar system. Students complete a number of activities including a slide show that depict the true facts about planets.
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See the Stars
Students explore the nighttime sky. In this space science lesson plan, students read the book Maria's Comet and and investigate the sky using their naked eyes. Students compare the view of their naked eyes to the view of a telescope.
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Let's Think About Day and Night
Students explore day and night and the relationships between the Earth, the sun and the moon. They discuss the ways in which the sun and moon help us. They watch a short video that helps illustrate these concepts.
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Up in the Sky
First graders associate events and objects with day or night. They create a word bank and use is as a reference to create sentences about the sun. They conduct sun-themed experiments and art projects.
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Sky 2: Shadows
Pupils explore space science by participating in a shadow experiment. In this sky observation lesson, students identify how the sun creates different sized shadows by moving across the horizon. Pupils utilize yard sticks, markers,...
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Sky 3: Modeling Shadows
Students will construct models to demonstrate their understanding of shadows. Many questions and suggestions for variants on the activities are presented to allow you to tailor this lesson to your particular needs. It is best to make the...
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Exploring the Sky: Reading Maria's Comet
Discover the science behind astronomy. After reading the book Maria's Comet, which is about a young woman who breaks new ground by becoming a female astronomer, young learners practice reading comprehension with worksheet questions about...
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Friendship Mobiles
Students discuss how the sun, wind, clouds and other elements of nature can be their friends. They create mobile demonstrating this.
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Trees!
Students are introduced to the parts of trees through discussion and participation in learning centers with hands on activities that focus on each part.
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The Sky and the Dichotomous Key
Students use a dichotomous key to distinguish between different types of clouds
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Asteroids
Students examine the different types of asteroids and how they enter the atmosphere. For this space lesson students use mashed potatoes to create an asteroid they can eat.