Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sunny Symbols

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
After listening to a series of stories about signs and symbols associated with the United States, pupils discuss the importance of the sun in Native American legends and as a representation of New Mexico. As part of this exploration,...
Interactive
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

The Solar Wind Tunnel

For Students 9th - 12th
The winds of change are blowing in our very own solar system!  But what makes some heavenly bodies more affected by solar winds than others?  Pupils discover the concept of magnetic forces at work in space in this...
Interactive
McGraw Hill

Gravity Variations Interactive

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
What would a baseball game look like on the moon? Probably a lot of home runs! A creative activity explores the motion of a projectile on the surface of different bodies in the solar system. Participants adjust the angle and...
Activity
Star Date

Shadow Play

For Teachers K - 5th
Three activities make up a solar system lesson that features the sun, its light, and the shadows it produces. Scholars step outside to discover the changes shadows make at different times of day, take part in a demonstration of...
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Modeling Eclipses with Size and Distance Scales

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Size within the solar system is a difficult thing for pupils to imagine. Using everyday objects, they build models to show the scale between the sun, moon, and Earth. They situate their props in proportional distances between the objects...
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

What Do You Know About Astronomy

For Students 6th - 12th
Develop an understanding of the universe. Learners answer 10 multiple choice questions about several topics in astronomy. Questions contain information about the age of the universe, gravitational attraction, galaxies, planets and comets...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Mars

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Students, working in small groups construct scale models of the planets and solar system. They examine images of Mars and discuss what might have caused the features. They record facts about their planetary research in their journals and...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Ellipse

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
This is a practical sheet with the instructions to draw a set of ellipses. After following the diagrams, there are ten questions to complete, with calculations expected for alternate orbits and comparisons related to actual planets in...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Lab Activity: Model of the Planets

For Students 7th - 10th
This worksheet leads the class through the calculations needed to construct circles to represent the planets of our Solar System. The actual values are provided, as are suggested calculations to create the scale diameters. The ten...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nine Planets

For Teachers 3rd
What are characteristics of a planet? With this plan, learners investigate the characteristics of the planets in our solar system. They gather research of the nine planets by using the Internet and other research tools. Then they create...
Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Designing a Spectroscopy Mission

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
In this mind-bending activity, young engineers explore this question of whether or not light actually bends. Using holographic diffraction gratings, groups design and build a spectrograph. The groups then move on research a problem...
Worksheet
Yummy Math

Curiosity Landed on Mars

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
Out of this world math and science are mixed together on a worksheet that would be a great enrichment activity classrooms that are studying our solar system. The information presented is best suited toward middle school math, and...
Activity
BW Walch

Kelper's Second Law: How Do Planets Move?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Kepler's second law of planetary motion, specifically, the law of equal areas, is demonstrated by your high schoolers. On the provided graph paper, they mark out the designated path of Earth at two different times of the year and then...
Unit Plan
NASA

Introduction to Astronomy

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Welcome to your new job as an astrophysicist, astrobiologist, engineer, or research scientist at NASA. Your job is to search for alien life in our solar system! Throughout a unit of activities, learners search the galaxy through...
Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

The Moons of Jupiter

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Can you name the three planets with rings in our solar system? Everyone knows Saturn, many know Uranus, but most people are surprised to learn that Jupiter also has a ring. The third in a series of six teaches pupils what is around...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Lesson One: The Earth, Background and Glossary

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
How much do you really know about our planet? Middle schoolers build up their prior knowledge about Earth, its placement in the solar system, its composition, and important geological vocabulary with an introductory earth science lesson.
Interactive
McGraw Hill

Kepler's Second Law Interactive

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
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....
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Scientific Notation: Light Years to Centaurus Constellation

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
Connect scientific notation to a real-life situation. Measuring distances in our solar system require large numbers. As pupils make conversions using these large numbers, they begin to see the necessity of scientific notation. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Models To Understand Our Home

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students investigate the concept of a model and how it is used to represent something that is real. They recognize how the model can be applied to other types of concepts like the solar system. Students create a scale drawing of a house...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering Our Planets

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders use a website to research the planets. They complete an activity sheet and discuss their planet facts. They demonstrate revolution and rotation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Constellations

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the major constellations. After reviewing the Earth's basic motions and their significance, students discuss the moon's orbit and revolutions. Using a Digitarium Alpha portable planetarium projector, they observe at...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth, Sun and Moon

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Young scholars 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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planetary Mobile

For Teachers K - 4th
Young scholars receive pre-cut templates of cardboard with appropriate diameters of each planet and the sun. They use multi-colored construction paper, scissors, yarn, and other art supplies to create their own models of planets. When...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sun Shadow Cycles

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use diagrams to review how the Earth rotates around the sun. In groups, they use the same diagrams to explain how the sun shadows are produced and how they differ between seasons. They describe the Earth's rotation and...

Other popular searches