Students develop a timeline of all the major events involved in the formation of the Earth and the emergence of humans. In groups, they focus on a specific topic by watching a PBS program and taking notes. After the video, they list...

NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This activity is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the settlement of...

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 lesson, they identify...

Third graders develop questions they have about the solar system. After being read a book, they view and discuss different constellations in the sky. In groups, they are given a piece of butcher paper and glow in the dark crayons in...

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.

Students investigate the Earth and the Moon. They select activities from a menu of options including viewing videos, drawing magnetic fields and plate tectonics, creating vocabulary flashcards, observing the phases of the moon over a...

Students study the physical properties of the Moon.  In this life on the moon lesson students describe the ways life on the Moon would be different than on Earth. 

Students create a model of the phases of the Moon by giving students pictures of the phases of the Moon, a picture of the Earth, and a picture of the Sun. They then take a picture, and stand in correct place to make the phases of the...

Students compare and contrast the characteristics of Earth and Saturn. They practice writing analogies using those characteristics. They complete a worksheet to end the lesson.

Students investigate craters and marea. In this crater and marea lesson, students conduct an experiment to create craters. Students participate in a dance activity.

Students study what regolith is and how it contrasts with weathering on Earth.  In this weathering instructional activity students divide into groups, hypothesize and confirm their guesses. 

Fifth graders practice interpreting line graphs of the Hudson River water levels to assess the tides and tidal cycles in the estuary. They explore how weather can affect water levels and tides and observe that high tides and low tides...

Students collect data and describe how and why the high and low tides change from day to day.  In exploring tides lesson students study tides by taking notes, recording data and analyzing their findings. 

Students engage in a fun, creative way to discover how the Earth moves. This lesson helps students explain why there is day and night. It can also create curiosity to further study the solar system and eclipses!

Sixth graders conduct an experiment to understand the Big Bang Theory.  In this Big Bang Theory lesson, 6th graders will observe a balloon with confetti popping to emulate and analyze information related tot he Big Bang theory....

Students identify the different biogeochemical cycles on Earth. In this biology lesson, students observe microbes under a microscope. They compare and contrast respiration and photosynthesis.

Young scholars discover soil characteristics and how it is formed on Earth and the Moon by examining local samples to a lunar simulant. They replicate the effects of wind erosion by scraping dry bread with sandpaper. Students use rocks...

Students explore physics by completing measurement problems in class. In this speed of light lesson plan, students discuss the importance of knowing the speed of light and how it affects many aspects of human life on Earth. Students...

Students participate in activities in which they find the Big Dipper and locate the North Star in the night sky, examine the relationship between the angle to Polaris and latitude, and determine latitude by using an astrolabe.

Third graders read books and participate in class discussions about the motion of the stars and planets and moons in relation to the Earth. In small groups, 3rd graders act out these movements to music.

Learners compare the properties of rocks and relate these properties to their use. They perform a virtual experiment to describe and group rocks on the basis of their characteristics.

Students compare two objects at different distances. They explore the concept that distance affects how we perceive the size of objects.

Students compare and contrast the process of regolith formations. In groups, students define regolith and discover how regolith is formed on the Earth and on the Moon. They participate in experimental activities to simulate regolith.

Students consider the scale of the Milky Way Galaxy. In this Milky Way instructional activity, students hypothesize the length of time necessary to cross the Milky Way.