Messenger Education
Exploring Exploring
The reason people first began trading was because of their desires for objects other societies possessed. In the activity, classes discuss why exploration has been a common thread in all societies and where these desires have taken...
Curated OER
Lifting Bodies: Designing Your Own Spacecraft
Students work cooperatively with classmates to design a wingless vehicle that can fly back to Earth from space, landing like an aircraft. Students plan and describe their models. Also, they will research facts about the lifting body...
Curated OER
Word Search #11: Flight
In this learning exercise, ESL learners locate words related to the word flight. This is a very basic word search and might be useful as extra credit.
Curated OER
Rocket Launch
High schoolers consider constraints which contribute to the design of a model rocket. They begin to analyze a model rocket's design and flight. They must be very specific in their thoughts and discussions.
Curated OER
Can an Astronaut on Mars Distinguish Earth from its Moon?
High schoolers explore the possibility of being on Mars and being able to identify the Earth. In this space lesson plan students complete a set of calculations to see if this is possible.
NASA
Resolving 2-Plane Traffic Conflicts by Changing Route—Problem Set B
Do pilots create appropriate spacing between aircraft by traveling a longer or shorter path? An interactive presents two airplanes that violate safety protocols. Pupils must determine how to change the path of one plane to create the...
Curated OER
Moon Mining
Go on a moon mining expedition from the safety of your classroom with this space exploration simulation. Using simple models of the moon's surface prepared ahead of time by the teacher, young scientists are challenged with locating and...
Curated OER
Flying Disk Golf
Students participate in flying disc golf. In this sports lesson plan, students use one hoop and a flying disk to land the disk in the hoop. Students play in partners.
Curated OER
Coins In Space! (Creative Writing)
Students practice creative writing. They write an imaginative story in which quarters escape from the space shuttle and ends up in the hands of an alien. Students brainstorm ideas, write a draft, revise, and edit their composition.
Curated OER
"ART ZOO 'Blacks in the Westward Movement', 'What Can You Do with a Portrait', and 'Of Beetles, Worms, and Leaves of Grass'"
Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black history,...
Curated OER
Nutrition in Space
Students discover the importance of a healthy diet during space travel and examine the physiological changes astronauts experience while in space. In groups, they develop questions to determine an astronaut's food intake and identify...
Curated OER
The Wrights' Flight: History Through Primary Sources
Students read primary source material about the Wrights' first flight such as a journal and a telegram. In this The Wrights' Flight lesson, students select the most reliable primary source and compare the pros and cons of using primary...
NASA
Resolving 3-Plane Traffic Conflicts by Changing Route—Problem Set C
Keep the planes from crashing. Pupils work with three airplanes and change their flight paths to keep them at a safe distance from each other. Individuals work through three problems in the third interactive in a set of six with...
NASA
Launch It
Launching a rocket with a balloon—that sounds crazy! The class brainstorms design characteristics of a rocket. Individuals build a balloon launcher and a rocket straw. Using the air stored in a balloon, the individuals launch their...
Curated OER
The Aspect Ratio of Wings
Junior engineers examine aspect ration in airplane wings. Using the length and width of two differetn wings, they calculate the aspect ratios and compare drag rankings. An engineering or space science class would benefit from this...
Curated OER
Reach for the Stars
Learners consider the significance of space exploration. In this space science lesson, students visit selected websites to discover information about astronomy, lunar missions, and space travel. Learners discuss the value of space...
International Technology Education Association
Launch a Frisbee into Orbit!
How fun it must be to play Frisbee in space! That is just what a NASA engineer gets to do, and you can learn how, too. Follow the instructions provided in this informational article to create your own satellite launcher. Afterward,...
NASA
Packing for a L-o-o-o-ng Trip to Mars
Pack just enough to fit. Crews determine what personal items to take with them on a trip to Mars. Each team must decide what to take with them on a two-and-a-half year trip to Mars and whether their items will fit within the allotted...
Curated OER
Mission to Mars: The Journey Begins
Learners take a trip through space. In this space science lesson, students travel on a simulated mission to a space station. Learners write a script and perform a play based on the pretend trip.
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Understanding Bernoulli's Principle
Fifth graders explain why we fly. For this space science lesson, 5th graders discuss Bernoulli's prinicple and its relation to flight.
Curated OER
One Two three Isaac Newton and Me
Ninth graders study Newton's Laws and apply these concepts to travel in space. In this space lesson plan students complete several lab activities.
Curated OER
How Things Fly
Students explain basic principles of aeronautics such as gravity and lift. In this How Things Fly lesson, students visit the interactive, hands-on How Things Fly gallery at the Smithsonian. Students perform three experiments that...
Curated OER
Guided Reading "In the Night Sky"
Pupils participate in a variety of reading exercises, such as choral reading and reading response journal, to reinforce concepts about space and nocturnal animals.
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Fighting Back!
Learners examine the roles of the immune system in keeping the body healthy. They see how engineers contribute to this process by creating antibiotics, and vaccinations. They discuss how an astronauts' immune system may be suppressed...