Students investigate the costs and benefits of switching their school to sustainable technology energy production. They use software called HOMER developed by the National Renewable Energy Lab to do the cost/ benefit analysis. They then...

Do you think Earth makes fun of other planets for having no life? The presentation covers the rotation and revolution of both the earth and our moon. It provides explanations for seasons, tides, and eclipses. Lesson is the 20th in a...

Students examine the distances between the Sun, planets, and smaller objects in the Solar System. They design a model using beads that shows the scale distances of the Solar System using astronomical units converted into a 10 centimeter...

Take a walk through nature with a science experiment about leaves. Third graders use a branching diagram to group attributes of certain kinds of leaves, such as oak, pine, and chestnut. For extra practice, they can collect leaves and...

Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to travel around the sun. In the fifth of 22 lessons, young scientists create a travel guide to a planet in our solar system. They provide tips for others on what to bring, what they see, and their...

Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...

Students trace the beginning of the heliocentric theory of the solar system--the idea that the solar system revolves around the Sun--to an observation by the Greek astronomer Aristarchus, which convinced him that the Sun was much bigger...

Excite scholars to design their own planet in this first of five lessons. The instructional activity starts with a pre-activity assessment, a complete lesson plan that is easy to implement, and a post-activity assessment that would...

Students interactively explore the term transpiration. In this science/ecology lesson, students discuss what they would do if they were thirsty while conducting research in Brazil. Additionally, students write descriptive words to...

Students explore the difference between a meteor, meteorite and meteoroid. For this space science lesson, students first read information about these space bodies. Students make Comet Cookies and use them to model a meteor shower with a...

Students compare and contrast the size, composition and surface features of the nine planets of our solar system with the possible sizes and compositions of extra -solar planets.

There is a specific zone, or distance from a star, that a planet must be in order to have water in a liquid form. The activity demonstrates how flux density depends on its distance from the source. A photovoltaic cell gets power to...

Looking to take a trip? Why not go to space? Here, scholars take on the role as travel agent to create a guide to their favorite planet including travel tips and sightseeing recommendations. 

New Horizons set forth on a mission to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, the spacecraft is still on its way. Here, enthusiastic scholars predict what they will be like—likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.—when New Horizons arrives at its...

In this auroras activity, learners define 11 terms related to space phenomena such as auroras, coronal mass ejections and auroral ovals. Students use a given website to help them define the terms and they write a 500 word essay about the...

In this magnetic storms and Earth's magnetic field learning exercise, students use a bar graph showing the Kp Index for planetary variability. Students use the bar graph to answer 3 questions about the solar storms and their Kp values.

Where can you see an aurora in North America? After completing an astronomy activity, scholars can locate the exact coordinates. Pupils plot points of the inner and outer ring of the auroral oval and answer questions based on...

Students download NASA Hubble Space Telescope views of star-forming regions in nebulae and look for evidence of planetary systems forming beyond our own solar system. They hypothesize about mysterious objects in NASA HST images.

Students investigate the stories told by ancient cultures about the constellations. They listen to stories told by the Greeks and Romans. The classroom should have posters of constellations for the lesson plan and the teacher performs...

Young scholars discuss the possibility of intelligent life in space. In this space science lesson plan, students decipher a radio message electronically transmitted in space. They create their own extraterrestrial welcome greeting.

Learners engage in an overview of solar and lunar calendars, their history and lore. Also, of the day and the month, and their relations to the rotation period of the Earth and the orbital period of the Moon.

In this Leap Year reading comprehension worksheet, can learn about the various types of calendars (lunar, solar, etc.) and answer 7 multiple choice questions. Also included is a word search of key terms.

Middle schoolers determine just how large the sun is. In this solar system lesson, students follow the prescribed steps to draw a box that represents the size of the sun and its mass compared to the entire solar system.

Third graders draw what they believe is in space on a dry erase board. In groups, they are given a beaker half filled with water and they add a teaspoon of oil, observing the different layers that form. To end the lesson, they identify...