Students investigate the different phases of the moon.  In this lunar cycle lesson, students create models of the sun, earth and moon and investigate why we observe the moon the way we do.  Students observe a PowerPoint...

Students engage in a lesson that reinforces rockets as a vehicle that helps us explore outside the Earth's atmosphere by using the principles of Newton's third law of motion. Also, the principles that engineers deal with when building a...

Students explore the challenges astronauts face while eating in outer space. In small groups, they design and construct an original model device to assist astronauts eat in a microgravity environment.

Young scholars explore space science by conducting an illustration activity. In this lunar instructional activity, students discuss what the moon is and the role it plays for our environment on Earth. Young scholars view images of the...

Students research a biome.  In this biomes of the Earth lesson, students discuss what they already know about ecology and view pictures of different biomes.  Students work in groups to research a different biome.  Students...

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 observe and report that the moon can be seen sometimes at night and sometimes during the day. They describe how changes to a model can help predict how the real thing can be altered. Students explain the essential fact of the...

Third graders view a classroom simulation that demonstrates how the Earth's rotation creates day and night.

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 discover that the Earth rotates on its axis in a cyclical fashion. They examine how this rotation results in day and night.

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

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...

Students learn information about the planets Mercury, Venus, and Earth by playing a trivia game.

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.

In this moon shadows learning exercise, 3rd graders follow the directions to set up a demonstration about the sun, the earth and the moon.

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.

Use a variety of whole fruits to represent the different planets in the solar system to introduce scale sizes to your math or space science class. They follow suit by creating a non-scaled model of the solar system using specific-colored...

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 react to statements about the moon, then read a news article about NASA's plans to build a permanent base on the moon. In this space science and current events instructional activity, the teacher introduces the article with a...

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...