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Lunar Lollipops

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students simulate the phases of the moon using a lamp and styrofoam balls. In this lunar phases lesson, students stand around a lamp and act as Earth. They hold styrofoam balls and rotate to show the phases of the moon.
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The Last Total Solar Eclipse...Ever!

For Students 8th - 10th
In this total solar eclipse worksheet, students solve 7 problems about the angular size of the moon, the distance the sun and moon should be to match in diameter, the number of years it will take for the moon to be at a certain distance...
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Reasons for Seasons

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Young scholars model the tilt of the Earth as it orbits the Sun. They explain the meaning and characteristics of solstices and equinoxes. They explain that sunlight hits the Earth at different angles at different locations over the...
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Cut and Paste Moon Phases Activity

For Students 7th - 10th
For this phases of the moon worksheet, students are given pictures of the phases of the moon and they cut them out and paste them to a diagram with the names of the phases. They answer questions about the moon, the phases and the...
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An application of the Parallax Effect

For Students 9th - 12th
In this parallax effect worksheet, students observe 2 photographs taken of an active area of the sun by 2 STEREO satellites and 1 photograph taken of the same active area of the sun by the SOHO satellite. Students observe the shift in...
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Seeing Solar Storms in STEREO-II

For Students 11th - 12th
In this solar storms worksheet, students use a diagram given the location of two STEREO spacecraft satellites, a coronal mass ejection, the sun and the Earth to solve 2 problems about the coronal mass ejection. Students use segments,...
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Evaporation Introductory Lesson

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the concepts of evaporation and the water cycle. They describe the relationship between heat energy, evaporation and condensation of water on Earth and identify the sun as the source of energy that evaporates...
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Solar Storm Timeline

For Students 7th - 10th
For this solar storm timeline, learners read about a series of events that took place in space beginning with a solar flare. Students gather the information and create a time line of events mentioned. They determine the length of time it...
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Magnetic Energy

For Teachers 8th - 10th
In this magnetic energy worksheet, students are given the formula to calculate the magnetic energy of an object. They use the formula to solve for the magnetic energy of the Earth, a geotail, the Sun, and a solar prominence given their...
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The Science of Changing Seasons

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students explore basic principles of seasonal change, ponder the mechanisms that drive these changes, and perform experiments that show what causes the earth to heat differently during different seasons.
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Me and My Shadow

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students apply the process of scientific inquiries or technological design to explore the explanations of the daily patterns of the Earth's rotation. They record different shadow lengths showing the apparent movement of the sun through...
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Food Chain

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students discuss what makes plants grow and who eats the plants. They are asked where do we get all of our energy? Students are asked to draw and label a picture of the sun in the center of the yellow strip of paper. They are explained...
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Why is Summer Hot?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine how variations in temperature are due to the Sun and length of day.  For this solar lesson students complete a lab activity using thermometers and artificial sunlight to see how the earth is heated.
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Atmospheric Processes - Radiation

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students investigate how different surfaces absorb heat, and how the physical characteristics of a surface have a powerful effect on the way a surface absorbs and releases heat from the sun.
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The Plasmasphere

For Students 8th - 10th
In this plasmasphere worksheet, learners read about the dilute region of gases 10,000 kilometers above the Earth where atoms are ionized. Students use a photograph taken by the IMAGE EUV instrument to answer 3 questions about the...
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Light Travel Times

For Students 10th - 12th
In this travel time of light activity, students read about the NASA satellites and space probes that transmit radio signals at the speed of light across huge distances. Students solve 3 problems about data transmission from space to...
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Agriculture is a Cycle

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars explore cycles in nature. In this cross curriculum agriculture lesson, students define "cycle" and research weather and planting folklore. Young scholars make a bracelet in which individual colored beads represent the many...
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The Oscillation Period of Gaseous Spheres

For Students 9th - 12th
For this oscillation period worksheet, students read about how the force of gravity effects the oscillation of bodies. Students use two given formulas to identify the oscillation period of the sun, the Earth and a neutron star.
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What Makes Shadows? Observing and Drawing Shadows

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students make accurate drawings of a classmate's shadow. They note position of the sun in the sky. They identify a connection between the direction of the shadow and the location of the sun. They observe changes in shadows over time.
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Moon Phases

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders investigate the phases of the moon. For this moon phase lesson, 6th graders discover that the moon changes in a cycle as it orbits Earth. Students label pictures of moon phases and keep a moon phase journal. Students...
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SDO: Measuring the Speed of an Eruptive Prominence

For Students 9th - 12th
In this eruptive prominence worksheet, high schoolers read about a plasma ejection from the sun measured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Students solve 3 problems using the given diagrams of the ejection. They determine the scale of...
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Distances Between Stars

For Students 8th - 11th
In this distance between stars worksheet, learners use the 3-dimensional distance formula and Cartesian coordinates to find the distances of 10 given stars from the sun. They also determine which constellation each star belongs to and...
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The Climate Change Skeptic's Argument: Natural Solar Cycles or Human Activity?

For Teachers Higher Ed
Teachers explore patterns in sunspots and total solar irradiance to understand the counterpoint to the human effect of global warming. In this professional development tool, teachers work through a lesson on the sun's natural...
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Application of Scientific Notation

For Students 8th - 10th
In this scientific notation worksheet, learners solve eight problems about the sun, the planets and the universe using very large numbers expressed in scientific notation.

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