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Activity
Novelinks

Zach’s Lie: Guided Imagery

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Close your eyes and picture a time where you decided to tell the truth to someone. What were you wearing? How did you feel? Such prompts begin a guided imagery activity for Zach's Lie. Directions for creating an environment conducive to...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Seasons Worksheet #2

For Students 6th - 9th
A tilted Earth is shown in relation to the rays of light from the sun. Earth science superstars determine latitude, month, and time of day. They compare number of daylight hours for different points on Earth. The five multiple choice...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Warming the Earth

For Teachers 1st
First graders investigate how the sun warms the Earth and examine the rotation of the Earth and the sun. They create an illustration of the sun, examine a solar system model, and listen to the book "The Sun: Our Nearest Star." They also...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cooler In The Shadows

For Teachers K - 1st
Students investigate the concepts of shadows and how they are projected with objects different positions in relation to the sun. They conduct an experiment by observing objects in different positions. Then students record the observations.
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Solstice and Equinox Season Model

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
How can December 21 be the shortest day of the year when all days are 24 hours long? Pupils see how to build a model showing the differences between winter and summer solstices and equinoxes. Using this model, classes can then discuss...
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Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Pythagorean Theorem to Determine Distance: Tree Shadows

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
Why is that shadow getting longer? Determine the changes in the length of a shadow as the sun changes position in the sky. Individuals use an interactive to calculate the length of a shadow at different times during the day via the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Orientation of the Earth in Space

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students hypothesize the location of the sun in the sky at diferent times of day and at different latitudes. They perform several experiments to provide evidence for their hypothesis. Experiments including observing the sun's position at...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sun Path: Interactive On-line Mac or PC

For Teachers Higher Ed
Pupils use SunPath in the yearly mode to investigate seasonal changes in sunrise, sunset, length of day and sun altitude at their own latitude. Sun Path JAVA applet uses equations for a spherical Earth to calculate the sunrise and sunset...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heavens Above

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pupils study the stars and their positions.  In this astronomy lesson students see how scientists can predict the positions of the stars and can tell how they would have appeared in the past. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sundials

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students investigate the different types of sundials and their history.  In this shadows and time of day lesson plan students build their own sundials. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Individual Horizontal Sundial 2: Cloud/Rain Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students create a sundial to measure local apparent time as it relates to the position of the sun in the sky. In this sundial lesson, students cut and glue gnomon to a sheet of thin cardboard.  Students then set the sundial in an...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Light and Shadows

For Students 3rd - 4th
For this earth science worksheet, students examine 6 pictures that show the sun in relation to a tree. They also see a clock and the time. They look at the position of the sun and draw the shadow of the tree in the proper position.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar System

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders create planet mobiles in order to reinforce concepts such as planet size, position in relation to the sun, and planet names.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Worksheet 34

For Students 11th - Higher Ed
In this math worksheet, students find the plane perpendicular to the path (t2, t, cos 2πt) at time t = 1/4. Then they determine the location in which the object is moving the fastest.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In a Giants Garden

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students explore the effect of the earths rotation and its relationship to the suns position and the effect that the longer and shorter amount of daylight has on a pumpkin plant which they have planted.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Knowing North: Understanding the Relationship Between Time and The Sun

For Teachers 3rd - 9th
Students determine how to find North using a watch and their shadow. In this finding North lesson, students go outside on a sunny day and work with their shadow and a wrist watch to find out which direction that North is. They examine...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Solar Eclipse Book: The Sun and Moon During a Solar Eclipse

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students make book covers displaying the Sun during a solar eclipse and a labeled illustration of the Sun.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sun Shadow Cycles

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use diagrams to review how the Earth rotates around the sun. In groups, they use the same diagrams to explain how the sun shadows are produced and how they differ between seasons. They describe the Earth's rotation and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creative Position Word Center Activity

For Teachers K
Students use positional words to describe the location of objects and demonstrate the ability to follow multi-step oral directions. Seasonal shapes are decorated in relation to the directions and positions stated by the positional word.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Telling Time: Hours

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students participate in a discussion about the different types of timepieces and the energy sources necessary to run them. They observe the numbers on a clock and review the hands and what they mean and make individual clocks using a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Web of Life

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students construct a food web to learn how living things in an ecosystem are interconnected. In this food web simulation lesson, students will be assigned an animal and the teacher will represent the sun. Students and teacher discuss...
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Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Kinesthetic Astronomy: Mars Opposition Dance

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Your class will watch as one child orbits the sun as Earth, while another orbits as Mars. If the timing is right, they will see the repetitive dance between the two planets and discover how often they are opposite from each other. For...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Taking the Measure of the Universe

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Four fabulous activities immerse amateur astronomers into measuring objects that we cannot handle. The experiences are applied to NASA's Space Interferometry Mission, which will take measurements of planets around stars other than our...
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Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Kinesthetic Astronomy: Birthday Stars

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Space explorers take a virtual trip around the sun right within your classroom! They stand in a circle facing away from the "sun" (a lamp) in the center of the room. As they move according to your instructions, they view different...