Space Awareness
Seasons Around the World
Why does Earth experience summer, fall, winter, and spring? Using an informative demonstration, learners see how the angle of the sun on Earth and the rotation of Earth determine the seasons. Scholars work in pairs to learn that the...
Journey Through the Universe
How Far is Far?
The earth only revolves around one thing — and it's not any of your pupils. The lesson includes two activities dealing with the distance to the sun and the moon. First, scholars create a pin hole camera and use the rules of similar...
Curated OER
The Great Debate
Groups of learners investigate the persuasive genre of writing as they research and present on an issue. They research the Internet (possible websites are included) for a topic and locate information to present to the opposing team. In...
GoSoftWorks
GoSkyWatch Planetarium for iPad - The Astronomy Star Guide
Digital compass alignment enables navigation of the skies with true orientation at any time. Just point to the sky or "aim for the stars!" This application acts as a virtual telescope, allowing you to zoom in on any object that is...
Curated OER
The Sun Helps Things Grow
In this sunlight worksheet, 2nd graders focus on things that need energy from the sun in order to grow. Students color the 5 pictures that require the sun for survival.
Core Knowledge Foundation
A Time for All Seasons - Summer
The sun is shining and the birds are singing, what better time to teach young learners about the fun season of summer. In this week-long science series, children learn how the rotation and orbit of the earth influence the days and...
Space Awareness
Know Your Planets
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.
NASA
Photons in the Radiative Zone: Which Way Is Out? An A-Maz-ing Model
Can you move like a photon? Young scholars use a maze to reproduce the straight line motion of a photon. The second in a six-part series of lessons on the sun has learners measure angle of incidence and refraction to determine the path...
Space Awareness
How To Travel On Earth Without Getting Lost
Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Take a virtual trip with a geography lesson that uses longitude and latitude, the position of the sun, an astronomy app, and a classroom globe.
Curated OER
A Model of the Sun's interior
Young scholars create a three-dimensional model of the sun. In this solar system lesson, students design a scale model of the sun using plasticine.
Space Awareness
Making A Sundial
Can people really measure time just by using the sun? Scholars venture outside on a nice, sunny day to build sundials and learn how people measured time 600 years ago. The class builds two different sundials while gaining practice with...
NASA
Exploring Exoplanets with Kepler
Calculate the movement and properties of planets like professional astronomers! Scholars use Kepler's third law to find Mercury and Venus's distance from the sun. Using changes in brightness of distant stars and Kepler's third law,...
Curated OER
Beginning Critical Reading - The Sun
In these critical reading worksheets, students read the short story about the sun. Students then answer 3 critical reading questions about the passage.
Curated OER
Our Solar System
Students study the Earth and Solar System through a variety of activities. They compile a coloring book show the characteristics of the Sun and nine planets.
Space Awareness
Day and Night in the World
How do different parts of the world experience day and night? Introduce scholars to the concept of global citizenship while teaching about animal behavior with discussion of nocturnal and diurnal animals. Then, learners complete...
Curated OER
Skin Temperature
In this skin temperature instructional activity, students read about the temperature of the core and the skin of the human body. They answer four critical thinking questions about regulating body temperature.
Curated OER
Science Jeopardy - The Earth Sciences
The earth sciences are the focus for this Jeopardy-style review game. Categories include geology, space, scientific investigation, meteorology, and oceanography. Diagrams and pictures are involved with most of the questions, making this...
Curated OER
Parallel Structure Practice
Practice parallel structure with a multiple-choice exercise. Twenty questions challenge learners of all ages to correctly fill in blanks with phrases that are parallel in structure to what is already there. Tip: As noted, this worksheet...
NOAA
The Great, Glowing Orb What You Will Do: Make a Solar Heat Engine
How is solar energy able to move wind and water to control the climate? Scholars explore the concept of solar energy in the first of 10 activities in the Discover Your Changing World series. They follow instructions to build homemade...
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Analysis of the Tuck Everlasting and The Birchbark House Text Exemplars
Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...
Space Awareness
The Thermal Layers of Oceans
How much does the sun heat up a lake or ocean? Scholars use a cup and a strong lamp to investigate the heat transfer and thermal layers in the ocean to come up with the answer. They collect data and graph it in order to better understand...
NOAA
The Climate Team: Make a Solar Heat Engine
Learners investigate how solar energy is converted into heat in part two of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They build and test homemade solar cookers to boil water and cook rice. Pupils consider the impact of heat...
Curated OER
Connect the Spheres: Earth Systems Interactions
Is everything really connected? Take your class on a walk outside, where they will make observations and write them down on a worksheet. Once they are back in the classroom, learners will work to determine if and how things like birds,...
Curated OER
Modeling the Solar System
Young scholars build a scaled model of the solar system. In this space science lesson, students arrange them according to their distances from the sun. They analyze each planet's unique features such as density and relative gravity.