Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Voyage to Titan

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners go to the linked web page "The Nine Planets" to find facts about Titan. They list elements of the solar system and the five planets of the outer solar system. Students find their weight on each planet. Titan is selected from the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Astronomy Teamwork

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work together in groups to complete an astronomy project. In the classroom, they find real objects to represent various objects in the solar system. After going outside, they practice using a distance scale and use their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ellipses And Kepler's First Law

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explain that planets actually orbit the center of gravity of the solar system, and that distant planets may be detected by motions of their central star around the centers of gravity of their planetary systems.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Colonizing the Stars

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students compare and contrast the size, composition and surface features of the nine planets of our solar system with the possible sizes and compositions of extra -solar planets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mars Colonization Assignment #1

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders recognize the some day humans may wish to colonize Mars. They participate in an Internet adventure where they compare and contrast Earth to the other nine planets in the solar system.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Got Space?

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students explore our solar system of planets through research and activities. Using cooperative grouping and interaction, students gain an understanding of how the characteristics of the planets differ from one another.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Here Comes the Sun

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders watch a video on the solar system and examine the role of the sun. As a class, they complete a KWL chart and make different color temperature pockets to use during their experiment. In groups, they make predictions about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nature of Meteor Showers

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders describe, in general terms, the distribution of matter in space and identify evidence for, and describe characteristics of, bodies that make up the solar system. They then investigate predictions about the motion,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Extraterrestrial Communication: Can We Talk to Anybody Out There?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Learners examine the possibilities of communication with other living organisms within our solar system through research and hands on activities, as well as observing and analyzing teacher demonstrations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discover Magazine: Size and Scale

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers research measurements of the moon and Earth as well as the distance between the two in order to create scale models of the Earth-moon system. With a marble to be used as the moon, they must determine how large to make...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scientist Tracking Network

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Young scholars correlate surface radiation with mean surface temperature of several geographic regions. They observe how these parameters change with latitude and construct an understanding of the relationship of solar radiation to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Categorizing Celestial Objects

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students work together to develop a classification system for planets. They take a class vote and read an article about an astronomer's classification system. They write an essay on how scientists make decisions for the general public.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Leap of Space

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Young scholars explore how smaller systems exist within larger systems as they build a collage of their place in space! Invite the students to display their posters and talk about their systems and systems of systems.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Don't Marry the Mole!

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the power of solar energy. In groups, they create their own pizza box solar oven to discover the power of the sun and how it is a source for heat and light. To end the lesson, they use the internet to examine...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do Atmospheres Affet Planetary Temperatures?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students perform a literature search and use reputable research resources in order to find the surface temperature of different planets in our solar system. They speculate about the observed and unobserved factors. Then brainstorming is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth Systems Science

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students perform experiments designed to grow plants and bacteria in a controlled environment.  In this ecosystems instructional activity students investigate varying conditions for growing plants and bacteria. 
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Climate Zones

For Teachers 5th - 11th Standards
The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The instructional activity goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use...
Lesson Plan
PHET

CME Plotting

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young scientists build on their previous knowledge and apply it to coronal mass ejections. By plotting the path of two different coronal mass ejections, they develop an understanding of why most don't collide with Earth.
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Making A Sundial

For Teachers 1st - 5th
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...
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Oceans as a Heat Reservoir

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
Oceans absorb half of the carbon dioxide and 80 percent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Scholars learn how and why the oceans store heat more effectively than land and how they help mitigate global warming. Pupils...
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,...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Photons in the Radiative Zone: Which Way Is Out? An A-Maz-ing Model

For Students 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Water is a Heat Sink

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
One of the key objectives of Europe's Copernicus Earth program is to monitor the temperatures of the oceans and seas on Earth. Young scholars learn the effects of different heat capacities through two experiments. These experiments...
Lesson Plan
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Nemours KidsHealth

Vision

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
From the iris and retina to glasses and contact lenses, learners will be excited to see what activities are in store for them as they learn about the complex organ of the human eye.

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