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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar System Differentiation

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students explore the solar system.  In this solar system science lesson, students choose 3 out of 12 centers to visit, each of which contains an activity related to the planets. The station activities are designed to address multiple...
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Activity
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Star Date

Modeling the Night Sky

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Dramatize the stars and planets as they become a visual representation of the solar system in this activity. Young astronomers track and simulate various constellations as they orbit the Earth to learn the position and motion of objects...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Far Away Are the Planets?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students name nine planets in order, describe some notable characteristics of the planets, explain how distance from the sun may affect these characteristics, and create solar system models.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Solar System

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students study the planets of the solar system. Students observe a model of the solar system, and name each planet, in order. In pairs, students write acronyms to assist in remembering the plants in order and share them with their...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Know Your Planets

For Teachers K - 4th Standards
Does your class know their planets? Implement an activity that has them describing the solar system, identifying properties of the planets, and placing them in order from their distance from the sun.
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Worksheet
K12 Reader

Planets

For Students 2nd - 5th Standards
Readers are asked to identify the main ideas and supporting ideas in a passage about the eight planets in our solar system. 
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Living in the Milky Way

For Teachers 1st - 5th Standards
Get to know our galaxy with an astronomy-themed, hands-on activity. Scholars watch an informative video, answer questions, and construct a model of the Milky Way in order to examine its contents and the distance inside it.  
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planetary Orbits

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore space science by completing a solar system identification worksheet. In this planets lesson, students discuss the different planets in our star system and identify their traits. Students complete an orbital system...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's "In" There: A Study of the Inner Planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

For Teachers 1st
First graders identify and explore the four inner planets. In this planet science instructional activity, 1st graders watch a PowerPoint about the planets. Students read the book Our Solar System and discuss the inner planets. Students...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Development of a Model: Analyzing Elemental Abundance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do scientists identify which elements originate from meteorites? Scholars learn about a sample of material found in a remote location, analyzing the sample to determine if it might be from Earth or not. They study elements, isotopes,...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

History of the Universe

For Students 3rd - 5th
Your pupils may believe that you and their parents are the oldest things in the universe, but surprise! There are elements of the universe that are even older. Elementary scientists create a class timeline to demonstrate the expansive...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Distance in Space

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explore space science by measuring distances between planets. In this solar system instructional activity, 6th graders view a Bill Nye video and discover the conversion between the metric system and imperial measuring...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blast Off with Model Rockets

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students investigate science and math by building a rocket. In this geometry lesson, students build a rocket using paper towel tubes while investigating questions about launching a rocket. They discuss balance and unique structure as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scale Basketball

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars understand that a spreadsheet can be used to find the best scale to use in a model. They place the distances of the planets of the solar system to the Sun in one column of the spreadsheet. Students try different scales so...
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Lesson Plan
S2tem Centers SC

Seasons

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Winter, spring, summer, and fall—take the learning of the seasons beyond the elementary level to the middle school classroom. Curious learners begin by watching videos about the seasons and the rotation of planet Earth. Then, they...
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Worksheet
5
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K12 Reader

The Inner Planets

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Here's a reading exercise that uses an article about the inner planets to assess comprehension. After reading the article, kids respond to a series of questions using information from the text.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Circles to Spheres

For Teachers K - 3rd
Young scholars investigate circles and spheres. For this space shapes lesson, students compare and contrast two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. Young scholars investigate the relationship between plane and space shapes.
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Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Micro-GEEBITT Climate Activity

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
A truly hands-on and inquiry based learning activity bridges all the lessons in the series together. Beginning with a discussion on average global temperatures, young meteorologists use real-world data to analyze climate trends in order...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading to Learn

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students complete story maps in this lesson. Students read "The Magic School Bus", and get into groups to choose their story element. Each group shares their information with the class. They then complete a story map for a book read...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Summarize This!

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Learners explore how to summarize a reading passage. They read non-fiction books. Students use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the two animals they read about. They write a summary using the information in their Venn Diagram.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Expanding Children's Geographic and Economic Worlds

For Teachers K - 1st
Learners learn their addresses and gain a sense of connection between their neighborhood and the rest of the world and the universe.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Out of This World (Science)

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students participate in various hands-on activities to visually demonstrate the positions of the planets from the sun. Then they draw a pictorial representation of the order of planets from the sun.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Power of Compounding

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders examine the concept of compounding interest on invested money. They explore how much interest their money would earn through compounded interest. Students conclude that they should invest early and often.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classification of Clouds

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers view progressive slides of cloud formations and identify which type of cloud is shown as it forms. They estimate the cloud's height while viewing each image.