Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Searching For Protoplanetary Disks

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students download NASA Hubble Space Telescope views of star-forming regions in nebulae and look for evidence of planetary systems forming beyond our own solar system. They hypothesize about mysterious objects in NASA HST images.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Distance in Space

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

Changing Faces: A Study of Solar and Planetary Rotation Rates

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students determine rotation rates of a variety of solar system objects using images and the Internet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In a Galaxy Far, Far, Far Away

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders compare distances between objects in the solar system. They investigate how light years are measured and when using them to measure how distances compare with one another. They write an essay exploring the possibility of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Space Travel Brochure

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students discover information about the planets and the solar system. They work together to research a specific planet. They develop a brochure for the planet and share with the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Warming the Earth

For Teachers 1st
First graders investigate how the sun warms the Earth and examine the rotation of the Earth and the sun. They create an illustration of the sun, examine a solar system model, and listen to the book "The Sun: Our Nearest Star." They also...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Day and Night

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders investigate the Earth's rotation and revolution and the moon's orbit around the Earth. They participate in a class discussion about how night and day occur, and take notes. Next, they watch a video about the solar system...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science That's Out of This World

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students use iChat AV and an iSight camera to "meet with" a space scientist to ask and answer questions, visit relevant websites, and broaden their understanding of the solar system and space. They videoconference with a sientist and...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Is There a Tenth Planet?

For Students 5th - 12th
In this planets learning exercise, learners read about how our solar system's planets were discovered and how scientist believe there might be a tenth planet. After reading, students complete 4 short answer questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Glowing Glimpses of Our Universe

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students will complete hands-on space activities. In this space science lesson, students will create a glow-in-the-dark model of the solar system, visit a planetarium, make star pictures, and paint constellations. Activities are meant to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lining up the planets

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students follow cue cards in order to order the planets in the correct order in the solar system. In this planets lesson plan, students work in groups to make a 2D model of the planets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unit 2 Sun & Stars

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students describe stellar objects using terms such as stars, planets, satellites, orbits and light. In this sun and stars unit, students research stellar objects through seven individual lessons discovering star characteristics, how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

MARS Dead or Alive

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students describe the design and construction of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs). They imagine that they can visit Mars and think about what they want to find out about the planet. The review the solar system and discuss distances...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pluto a Planet No More

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students help to create a list of planets in the solar system. They review the terms in the news section and complete the sentences given. They then read the article together and discuss.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Moon

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners explore the relationship between the earth, sun, and moon in our solar system. They create a moonrise/moonset chart, perform a dance that models the moon phases, and create a Styrofoam model of the moon's surface.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Big Are Earth, Sun, and Moon?

For Teachers 3rd
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 instructional...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Destination Mars

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers study Mars and what it would take to man a mission there.  In this solar system lesson students view a video and complete an art activity in groups. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Space Exploration to Find Habitable Planets

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students explore space science by reviewing scientific vocabulary terms. In this planet identification lesson, students identify the nine planets in our solar system and discuss which ones could potentially harbor life at some point....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science Trail

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners explore the solar system by conducting Earth science experiments. In this Sun instructional activity, students identify the different seasons on Earth and discuss their purpose and cause. Learners create a sundial and observe...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Exploring the Planets

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
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...
Activity
Big Kid Science

Eclipse Classroom Activities: Cultural Significance Project

For Teachers 1st - 12th Standards
What better way to celebrate eclipses than across cultures? Explore myths of solar and lunar eclipses from ancient cultures like the Chinese, Ancient Greek, Mesoamerican, Incan, Egyptian, Ancient Babylonian, and Middle Eastern. Learners...
Lesson Plan
Kentucky Educational Television

The Road to Proportional Reasoning

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Just how big would it really be? Young mathematicians determine if different toys are proportional and if their scale is accurate. They solve problems relating scale along with volume and surface area using manipulatives. The...
Activity
International Technology Education Association

Tidy Up Those Sloppy Force Fields!

For Teachers 7th - 12th
It is just magnetic. This resource presents the concept of Earth's and another planet's magnetic field and how spacecrafts detect them. Learners study a problem using magnetometers and participate in three experiments to come up with a...
Lesson Plan
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Illustrative Mathematics

Eratosthenes and the Circumference of the Earth

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The class gets to practice being a mathematician in ancient Greece, performing geometric application problems in the way of Eratosthenes. After following the steps of the great mathematicians, they then compare the (surprisingly...

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