National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
Mask of the Black God
Finally, an astronomy lesson for the high schooler! Explorers are able to read star maps for finding objects in the night sky by determining celestial coordinates. In particular, they locate the Pleiades and read about a Navajo legend...
Space Awareness
Make a Star Lantern
Go star-gazing with young learners! They study the history, origins, and patterns of constellations in an activity that explores the starry night sky.
Curated OER
Star Maps and iPads: Explore The World Above
Use these helpful stargazing tips and tools to enjoy the night sky this summer.
Curated OER
Lights in the Night Sky
Students read about and explore solar winds and spectacular auroras, specifically the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights.
Curated OER
Exploring Mars
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...
Curated OER
Observing the Sky
Students explore astronomy. In this astronomy activity, students discuss the history of the movement of celestial bodies and then communicate with other students regarding the movements that they observe in the sky nightly. Students...
Curated OER
Sky 2: Shadows
Students explore space science by participating in a shadow experiment. In this sky observation lesson plan, students identify how the sun creates different sized shadows by moving across the horizon. Students utilize yard sticks,...
Curated OER
Galaxy Hunter - A Cosmic Photo Safari
Space science stars journey through our night sky and take virtual photos of galaxies to investigate simple random samples. Higher math is used to analyze the data collected. Copy the evaluation/assessment questions onto a handout for...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Goldilocks and the Three Planets
Venus is the second brightest object in the night sky after the moon. Here is an interesting lesson that explores three planets — Venus, Earth, and Mars — specifically their surfaces and atmospheres. Through an analysis of their spectra,...
Curated OER
Small Angle Calculations
Students work with circles, angles and estimating angles in the night sky. In this circles and angles lesson, students practice measuring a degree using the circumference of a circle and apply the degree to determine a way to use their...
Curated OER
Zodiac Constellations
For this space science worksheet, students learn to identify the 12 constellations of the Zodiac. Students read the information and look at the detailed drawings of each constellation and when it is visible in the night sky.
Toll Middle School
Create Your Own Constellation Mini-Project
When looking up at the night sky, there are many familiar constellations that most people can identify. However, someone had to point those out and create the related mythology. Put your pupils in the place of the creators and invite...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Galileo: Revealing the Universe
To gain an understanding of the significance of Galileo Galilei's revolutionary ideas, class members watch the short video "Stargazing Before Galileo," and conduct a close reading of Galileo's Sidereal Messsenger. They then compare...
Curated OER
Have you seen the man on the moon?
Students study about the phases of the moon and create a picture of the night sky. They use Super print or Kid Pix to create the picture. Students also decide if the picture they have chosen is good for seeing moon and stars or not.
Curated OER
Using a Starfinder
In this starfinder worksheet, 5th graders construct a starfinder in order to determine which stars are in the night sky on a given date and time. Students use their starfinder to answer 9 questions about the stars and constellations,...
Curated OER
The Longitude and Latitude of the Night Sky: Declination & Right Ascension
In this longitude and latitude activity, students identify and write in the correct hours, minutes, and seconds for right ascension. Then they identify and write the correct + or - degree in the space for declination or latitude. There...
Marcia's Science Teaching Ideas
Observing the Moon Activity
In this moon worksheet, students observe the moon on three consecutive nights and draw their observations. They answer questions about the phases of the moon and its position in the night sky. They identify the position of the sun, earth...
Curated OER
Day And Night
In this short excerpt worksheet, students read and discuss what they can see at night, what they can see during the day and then answer three comprehension questions.
American Museum of Natural History
A Kid's Guide to Stargazing
Get kids interested in stargazing with a step-by-step guide. The guide begins with the do's and don'ts, what the defines a star, and introduces a journal. The page is linked to see stars if light pollution keeps stars away in your area.
Curated OER
Stars and The Modern Telescope
In this stars and the modern telescope worksheet, students use a photograph taken by the 2MASS telescope to calculate the number of bright stars and faint stars in the picture, the size of the picture, and the number of stars expected to...
Curated OER
Star Quest
Students review the concepts of the branch of science known as astronomy. They discuss stars and constellations and then view the night sky using a portable digital planetarium projector. They identify a variety of constellations using a...
Curated OER
Constellations
In this stars worksheet, students complete a word search by finding 48 words associated with the various constellations found in the night sky.
Curated OER
What Are Stars Like?
In this stars worksheet, students write in 1 main idea and 3 supporting details that describe stars. This worksheet is a graphic organizer.
Curated OER
Starlight, Star Bright
First graders read books and use the Internet to identify several constellations and stars in the night sky. They make star pictures and write a class report about the night sky including a title, complete sentences and a cited reference.