Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Selling the Stars

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students create a travel brochure, poster, and presentation to encourage others to visit a star. In this stellar characteristics lesson, students research a star type based on its life-cycle. They create a travel campaign to convince...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stardust Delivers Comet's Clues

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the NASA test center and comet facts through an interactive program. They examine the idea if comets are predictable. They finally analyze the materials that combine to make a comet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Taking Apart Owl Pellets

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students dissect an owl pellet. In this rodent and bone structure lesson, students work in groups to take apart an owl pellet. Students separate all the tiny bones from the fur and use the bones to reconstruct the rodent on a tag board....
Lesson Plan
NASA

Next Generation Spacecraft - Orion

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Emergine space engineers discover the area of complex geometric shapes. They find that, just as a spacecraft is composed of many smaller parts, so can polygons be broken into smaller shapes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Circles to Spheres

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students investigate circles and spheres. In this space shapes lesson, students compare and contrast two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. Students investigate the relationship between plane and space shapes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cloud Observations using GLOBE Protocols

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Learners observe which of ten types of clouds are visible and how much of the sky is cloud covered. They see that by observing clouds, we can get information about temperature, moisture, and wind conditions in different places in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Comparison of Land and Water Temperature

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine NASA satellite observations of surface temperature and investigate the seasonal changes of land and water temperature.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth's Energy Cycle: Albedo

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students complete all of the steps in the scientific inquiry process to study Earth's energy cycle; most specifically temperature and the effects of albedo (energy reflected back from Earth's surface) on temperature.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comets And Meteor Showers

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students fill in a diagram of a comet. They listen to a short lecture, view flash animation descriptions of comets and meteors and then use the presented information to complete a worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map Your House

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Learners are introduced to the concepts of maps as scale models of the whole. After a brief lecture on creating and using an accurate scale when drawing and reading a map. They create a scale drawing of the floorplan of their homes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coordination and Flexibility

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students practice controlling their motion and reflexes by participating in different motor skill activities.  In this physical education lesson plan, students utilize bean bags and hula hoops to help create flexibility and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plan a Mission to Recently Discovered Planet

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students plan a mission to a recently discovered planet. In this science lesson, students research spacecraft design, distances in space, long-term missions in space, and life-sustaining planets. Students work in groups to research an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Will There Be Ozone Tomorrow

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Pupils collect and analyze real time data. They make comparisons and determinations about the status of ozone in their local area and predict the Ozone level for the next day
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tree Friends

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students are introduced to tree structure and use. They identify their special tree using all senses except sight. Students identify six different internal parts within a cross section of tree trunk (bark, phloem, xylem, cambium,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Humidity and Air Saturation

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students experiment with air saturation. In this earth science instructional activity, students first complete an activity which teaches humidity. Then they use the scientific method to create their own experiments to test how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Specializing in Space

For Teachers 4th - 7th
In this literature book review activity, students read a nonfiction book about space or space exploration before choosing a topic to explore further. They choose from 7 activities such as designing a model, writing a letter, write about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rain Reasons

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners explore how climatic factors influence the growth of plants. They create an experiment to find how variations in water, light, and temperature affect plant growth and describe how precipitation and geography can affect the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rotating Rings of Ice

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students work together to develop a model of Saturn and its rings. They identify what types of materials make up the rings and how they revolve around Saturn. They write a short paragraph describing the rings.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Quality Monitoring

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students comprehend the four parameters of water quality. They perform tests for salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH and clarity or turbidity. Students comprehend why scientists and environmental managers monitor water uality and aquatic...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Land Use

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students examine ecosystems that covered Illinois 200 years ago, investigate some living and non-living components of ecosystems, identify components of prairie system, create food webs, and observe human effects on environment. Lessons...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Comparison of Land and Water Temperature

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners use the NASA website's Live Access Server to create a graph of surface temperature at two locations on earth. They analyze the data and then answer specific questions provided in this lesson. They also examine and compare the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Most Troublesome Exotic Invasive Plant Species Web Quest

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students participate in a Web Quest activity in which they identify common exotic invasive plant species of the Southern Appalachian Region. After identifying the top 10 exotic invasive species, they choose one to research in depth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TAKING APART OWL PELLETS

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students dissect and owl pellet and then reconstruct small rodents on a presentation board using a textbook picture as a guide.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Space Fact

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students visit web sites to gather information about space and space exploration.