Students explore geography by completing a navigation activity in class. In this satellite positioning lesson, students define terms such as orbit, satellite, GPS and triangulation. Students view diagrams of the Earth's orbit and...

Students describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.

Students investigate the properties of force and gravity and their effects on everyday life. In groups, they test various balls by bouncing them on different surfaces and observe the properties. In another activity, they test marbles and...

Students explore the challenges of living in space by designing a facility that can provide everything required to support humans and can protect them from the harsh environment of space.

Students construct models of early gas balloons and gliders. In this balloon and glider lesson, students create models of early gas balloons and gliders, discover how the forces of lift and drag effect aircraft in flight, and put on...

In a nose-cone to nose-cone competition, which rocket will prevail? Teams form rocket companies to design and build a rocket while competing against other teams in an economic challenge. The team that comes up with the best benefit/cost...

Build learning by breaking atoms! Young scientists study the way energy changes with a hands-on activity. As they roll steel marbles down a ramp, learners test the hypothesis that kinetic energy does not go away with friction...

Young scholars observe the sky and weather to gather data. They conduct experiments to answer questions about the sky and weather phenomena. They measure, analyze and present data. They create sky windows by gluing sky colored paint...

In this living in space reading worksheet, students read a passage about life on the International Space Station written by a former astronaut. Students then answer 6 multiple choice questions.

Third graders draw what they believe is in space on a dry erase board. In groups, they are given a beaker half filled with water and they add a teaspoon of oil, observing the different layers that form. To end the instructional...

Students list ways to reduce, reuse and recycle, and produce an acrostic poem reflecting their understanding about Earth Day. They also use the Internet to integrate technology into learning.

Students monitor the weather, clouds, and sky. In this weather lesson, students create a sky and cloud window to focus their sky observations. They write observations in a notebook and include the date, time, cloud cover, types of...

Students gain an understanding of the methods used to explore the earth's surface. Students create a time line leading to the first satellite image of the Earth that includes the various methods utilized to observe the earth's surface.

Students explore the planet Earth, outer space, and Earth's axis. They demonstrate reading comprehension skills, including literal meaning, inference and critical analysis.

Students sample goodies from an unseen ocean floor and try to accurately describe their composition. This simulation helps students explain the limitations of sampling and the problem of obtaining representative samples of sea floor...

Third graders explore place value to the ten thousands place. This incredibly thorough, 24-page lesson has learners construct, order, and compare numbers to 9,999. This three-day lesson includes reteaching and extension activities...

Young scientists investigate the water cycle through a lettuce seed experiment. For this experiment, learners plant lettuce seeds inside of a ziplock bag in order to create a small greenhouse. They observe condensation and precipitation,...

Go star-gazing with young learners! They study the history, origins, and patterns of constellations in an activity that explores the starry night sky.

  Students consider the life span of dams, and what would happen if a dam falls apart.  In this environmental impact lesson plan, students discuss what the purposes of dams are, how they could be damaged.     

Learning about the moon has never tasted delicious! Using the popular Oreo cookie as a model, young scientists carve out the cream filling to represent the different phases of the moon.

Students compare the journey of Lewis and Clark with the space flight of Apollo 11. Students sequence events using a timeline. Students write a persuasive essay trying to persuade the people of the US to support space exploration.

Third graders examine the relationship between the Earth and the Sun. They define key vocabulary terms, and in small groups conduct Internet research, exploring a variety of websites. Students answer comprehension questions, and...

Students study robotic spacecrafts that have provided detailed information about the inner and outer planets. In this exploring the planets lesson plan, students use posters and diagrams to study the various robotic spacecraft sent to...

Learners study three different muscle types and investigate the affect of space travel on astronauts' muscles. They examine how exercise has a positive affect on muscle both on Earth and in space while looking at engineers' roles in...