Curated OER
The Relative Sizes of The Sun and Stars
In this relative sizes of the sun and stars worksheet, students determine the relative sizes of the Earth, Jupiter, the Sun and other stars. Students compare the size of stars given ratios of one star to another.
Curated OER
Our Sky Clock
Students explore space science by completing a worksheet in class. In this astronomy instructional activity, students discuss and identify star patterns in the night sky and relate these patterns to the approximate time they appear....
Curated OER
Seasonal cycles
Students understand that the rotation of the Earth is responsible for the seasons. In this seasonal cycles lesson, students learn how the rotation of the Earth affects the seasons. Students answer questions about the rotation, the...
Curated OER
It's A Meteor
Learners complete a webquest to find Earth's relationship to the sun. In this webquest lesson, students complete tasks to understand the effect of the sun on weather and time. Learners create a multimedia presentation as an...
Curated OER
Variables and Expressions from Around the Cosmos
In this variables and expressions worksheet, students solve 7 problems using different mathematical formulae to find the length of Earth's day in the future, the distance to the galaxy Andromeda, the temperature of a gas cloud emitting...
Curated OER
The Magic School Bus Out of This World
Students learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. In this Magic School Bus lesson plan, students explore craters that objects of different sizes and weights (marbles, Ping-Pong balls, and aluminum foil balls) create.
Curated OER
Hubble Spies Colliding Asteroids!
In this colliding asteroids worksheet, students are given the equation to determine the collision time for asteroids. Students use this equation to solve 4 problems including finding the area of a cross-section through the body of an...
Curated OER
Water on Planetary Surfaces
In this water on planetary surfaces instructional activity, students read about the Galileo spacecraft and the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. They read about the energy needed to keep the water in a liquid state on Europa. Students...
Curated OER
Using a Sundial
Students examine the use of a sundial to tell apparent time. In this sundial lesson, students watch a teacher demonstration using a flashlight to create shadows. They discuss what happens to shadows of different objects as the position...
Curated OER
Galaxies Galore, Games and More
Students practice skills used in scientific investigation while studying the three main types of galaxies. Students identify Earth as part of Milky Way galaxy, the parts of galaxies, and the types of galaxies, as well as classify...
Curated OER
Our Changing View of the Solar System
Students identify and name the eight planets and the five dwarf planets in our solar system. In this space science lesson, students view a slideshow of the planets and label them on an included Solar System chart.
Curated OER
Settlement Exploration: Then and Now
NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This lesson is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the settlement of...
Curated OER
Worksheet 19: Ship Positions
In this math worksheet, students read informational paragraphs and then answer 18 questions using data from their readings. Questions are about vectors, positions, distance and orbits.
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...
Curated OER
E.T., Are You Out There?
Research the necessary components of a planet that supports life after reading the article "All of a Sudden, The Neighborhood Looks a Lot Friendlier" from The New York Times. After finding their information, middle and high schoolers...
Curated OER
"Lettuce" Learn About the Water Cycle
Young scientists investigate the water cycle through a lettuce seed experiment. For this experiment, learners plant lettuce seeds inside of a ziplock bag in order to create a small greenhouse. They observe condensation and precipitation,...
Indian Land Tenure Foundation
Tribal Origin Stories
The teacher reads and retells Californian tribal origin or creation stories that come from the traditions of a variety of California Indian tribes. Then, pupils get together in groups and retell the stories they just heard; just as...
Curated OER
Groundwater Basics
Groundwater is an essential natural resource, not to mention a fascinating topic to study. Here is a series of twelve amazing lessons on the water source and how we use it in our daily lives. Concepts require higher math and physics...
Curated OER
Galaxy Adventure
Working in groups, learners create a mnemonic device, give an oral presentation, and create a pictorial representation of the correct sequence of the planets and asteroid belt from the sun. An assessment rubric is included in the lesson.
Curated OER
Solar/Lunar Eclipses and the Seasons
How do the moon, sun, and Earth line up to create eclipses? Why do the seasons change throughout a year? The answers to these questions are explained through this series of slides. This apt presentation outlines information using bullet...
Curated OER
Delta, Delta, Where is the Delta?
Students explore several images of Earth from space. They identify parts of deltas. They observe, label, and measure delta images, taken from space. They consider how deltas form and why they differ in shape.
Curated OER
Radiation Comparison Before and After 9-11
Using the NASA website, class members try to determine if changes could be detected in cloud cover, temperature, and/or radiation measurements due to the lack of contrails that resulted from the halt in air traffic after the attacks...
University of Colorado
Planetary Distances on the Playground
Earth is 149,600,000 km, or 92,957,130.4 miles, from the sun. Young astronauts create an interactive model to learn the distances between planets. Nine groups, each representing a different planet, are spread around at class-calculated...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Tree Rings: Living Records of Climate
Open with a discussion on weather and climate and then explain how tree rings can provide scientists with information about the earth's past climate. Pupils analyze graphics of simulated tree rings from various US locations for the...