A three-week unit designed to be completed in an elementary level, dual-language immersion classroom, this resource includes several lessons intended to introduce young learners to the solar system, the Earth and how the Earth compares...

Eighth graders are introduced to concepts related to the Solar System. In groups, they participate in an experiment in which they must describe a ray of light and how it travels. They draw a diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum and...

Students walk marked paths as they simulate the orbit of the planets.  In this solar system instructional activity, students recognize the relationship between the sun and the planets.  Students visualize how the phases of the...

Eighth graders draw the paths of the planets in the solar system. In this astronomy instructional activity, 8th graders calculate speed of objects using distance and time information. They research about the work of scientists in the...

Students discover the planets and their location in the solar system. They complete a KWL chart on Saturn and discuss. They complete the lesson with a writing activity.

Fifth graders explore the solar system. In this solar system unit, 5th graders investigate numerous projects while rotating through learning centers. Students write about space and construct a space shuttle model. Students practice map...

Learners make models of the planets and use the models to show revolution of the planets around the sun. They explain the rotation of the planets after demonstrating with balloons.

Students in a special education classroom are introduced to how the universe and solar system was formed. Using the internet, they research the characteristics of Earth that support human life. In groups, they compare and contrast...

Students explain the reason for the changes in season. In this instructional activity examining the relationship between the Earth and the Sun, students use an applet to discover how the alignment of the Earth and the Sun cause the...

Students research the characteristics of planets in our solar system. For this space science lesson, students create a solar system model with each planet arranged according to their distance from the sun. They solve problems using the...

Students are introduced to the challenges involved in understanding the space travel distances and the time involved to do so through the use of an interactive fable. The modeling and comparisons deal with specific distances at different...

Students complete night-sky observations to understand how our knowledge of the sky has been enhanced by telescopes. Students complete a timeline worksheet giving the history of telescopes. Students then then make their own observations...

Students are introduced to the solar system and its place in the universe. They begin to grasp the idea of very large numbers by estimating and computing how long it take the class to make a million x's.

Fourth graders have a spatial awareness of the plants by orally discussing what they saw after they stepped out the model of the solar system. They recognize the similarities and differences between Earth and the other planets by being...

Fifth graders are introduced to the various planets, stars and moons in our solar system. Using photographs, they place the planets into the correct order from the sun. In groups, they research one planet, create a fact sheet and make...

It's getting hot in here! The first in a series of six lessons has learners model nuclear fusion with a simple lab investigation. Groups collect data and analyze results, comparing their models to the actual process along the way.

Why does it take Pluto 90,000 days to orbit the sun, but it only takes Mercury 88 days? An interactive lesson helps pupils find a connection between the speed of orbit and distance a planet is from the sun. The simulation allows for...

Don't desert a resource on the desert! Scholars work in groups to build on their ideas from the previous lesson to design a sustainable guest village in the Saguaro National Park. Each group produces a PowerPoint presentation to share...

Learners consider the scale of the Milky Way Galaxy. For this Milky Way lesson, students hypothesize the length of time necessary to cross the Milky Way.

Students study asteroids and how their size relates to a possible danger of one colliding with Earth.  In this asteroids lesson students see how big an asteroid has to be to cause destruction to Earth. 

Pupils study what passive solar design is for buildings and structures.  In this solar design lesson students identify passive solar design techniques.

Learners explore, experiment and study how the Earth orbits the Sun once a year and how the moon takes approximately 29 days to orbit the Earth. They access an online activity to examine the process of how the Sun is at the center of the...

Explore the sun in a lesson plan about space. The lesson spans ten weeks, with students performing activities to answer weekly questions about the Sun and Earth.

Students observe the brightness of stars and are introduced to the concept of apparent brightness as a measure of how much light hits a detector of a surface area during a given time. In this star lesson, students make connections...