Launch a lesson that's sure to capture middle schoolers' interest! Exploration enthusiasts examine the planets of our solar system using an activity from PBS's Space series. The resource includes images and information for each planet,...

There's more to that glowing ball of light in sky than most children realize. From the overall structure of the solar system, to the changing of the seasons, these hands-on lessons open the eyes of young scientists to...

How did the earth become the mass that it is now? Your young scientists explore this question through the concept of density. Their inquiries consider the impact of gravity on the formation of planets. The culminating activity of the...

Studying what you can't see can be challenging. Discover how scientists use indirect measurements to prove the existence of planets and estimate their sizes. The introduction explains the symbiotic movement of planets and stars during an...

Introduce your young meteorologists to black carbon produced by the burning of fossil fuels by showing the video, "Changing Planet: Black Carbon." Viewers discover that deposition of this carbon on polar ice impacts the absorption of...

A video about the impact of climate change on butterfly populations and a PowerPoint about butterfly and bird adaptations warm science learners up for the activity to follow. Using a variety of tools that reprsent unique styles of bird...

As an anticipatory set, young environmental technicians watch a video about how ocean temperatures seem to be changing along with the global climate. They perform a laboratory demonstration with the purpose of observing what happens to...

Provide young biologists with everything they need to excel in the study of lymphatics, the nervous system, hormones, cellular division, and more! Pupils utilize the workbook, complete with end-of-chapter assessment worksheets, to...

Scholars investigate an issue associated with food systems and design their own solutions. Working collaboratively, they follow each step in the design process to complete the 10th lesson of the 13-part Our Hungry Planet series.

Begin by showing a six-minute video, Changing Planet: Rising Sea Level as an anticipatory set. Pupils draw a topographic map of a potato continent. Finally, they will visit NOAA's sea levels online map and NASA's carbon dioxide...

What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them. 

A video and laboratory investigation are highlights to this instructional activity on acidification of ocean water due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using bromothymol blue (BTB) as an indicator, pupils analyze the amount of...

As a way to combine language arts and science, try this lesson on writing cloud poetry. Begin by showing a PowerPoint presentation and images of cloud types. Take meteorology masters outdoors to explore the sky using the provided "Cloud...

Another A+ lesson on the impact of climate change comes to you from the National Earth Science Teachers Association. For this installment, learners model the stratification of water in lakes due to temperature differences. The lab also...

The fascinating video "Changing Planet: Fresh Water in the Arctic," introduces your oceanographers to the world's gyres. They learn that melting sea ice is making the gyres larger, and that the changes could, in turn, contribute even...

Take your class on a journey through our solar system. Learners explore each planet, from Mercury to Pluto, and discuss various features that differentiate one from another. They complete activities related to the topics and discuss the...

Learners identify and sequence the major events that caused Earth to develop into a habitable planet. They view videos, conduct research, participate in discussions and work in groups to determine the likelihood of other habitable worlds.

Kepler decided to think outside the box and discovered that planets orbit in elliptical patterns. An engaging activity demonstrates the elliptical orbit pattern in relationship to the area of a planet to explain Kepler's Second Law....

Planetary atmospheres vary greatly from planet to planet. Explore these variations by experiencing the motion of the atmospheric molecules through an engaging simulation. Pupils discover that temperature and mass contribute to...

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...

Reading, writing, and rings! A instructional activity from NASA combines space science with authentic reading and writing tasks. Included in this instructional activity are pre-reading activities, four mini informational...

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...

Students, in teams, design and construct models of two planets, one hot and the other cold, using a variety of materials. They attempt to create the models out of substances that will actually show the greatest temperature differences...

Eighth graders draw the paths of the planets in the solar system. In this astronomy lesson, 8th graders calculate speed of objects using distance and time information. They research about the work of scientists in the 16th and 17th century.