Lesson Plan
Curated OER

SETI WebQuest and the Drake Equation

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students complete a WebQuest where they research the Internet for extraterrestrial intelligence. In this extraterrestrial lesson plan, students also explore how the Drake Equation can predict the occurrence of life elsewhere.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Extraterrestrials

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners 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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is Anybody Out There?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students focus on the tremendous public interest in the potential of extraterrestrial life. They read and discuss an article about the search for alien life. They divide into small groups and discuss the issues and implications of this...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

E.T., Are You Out There?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Chemical Signatures of Asteroid Impacts

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What killed the dinosaurs and how do scientists know? Your high schoolers can examine these fascinating questions with a geochemical lens using the engaging 33-minute video, the accompanying data interpretation, and some thoughtful...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Extraterrestrial Communication: Can We Talk to Anybody Out There?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine the possibilities of communication with other living organisms within our solar system through research and hands on activities, as well as observing and analyzing teacher demonstrations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Long Would It Take To Travel To the Stars?

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students consider the amount of time that it would take to get to the star, Sirius using various modes of transportation, some practical and some whimsical. The practicality of physically going to another star system is explored in this...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introducing Culture

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze what it is that constitutes culture. They describe how the concept of culture relates to their own experience and imagine that they are extraterrestrials-peaceful, intelligent creatures from another planet who have...
Activity
International Technology Education Association

Pixel This!

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Did the image I drew match the image you saw? By simulating a satellite and a ground station, teams of two transmit data in the form of pixels in order to recreate an image. They use four different levels of brightness, creating slightly...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introducing Culture

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine cultural values and beliefs. In this culture lesson, students describe the attributes of their culture and explain the meaning behind them.
Article
Scientific American

Sci Am: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

For Students 9th - 10th
Carl Sagan and Frank Drake make a case for exploring space to discover extraterrestrial intelligence.
Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Carl Sagan

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article from Wikipedia provides a brief biography of Carl Sagan, the American astronomer who pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), and science in general.
Website
PBS

Pbs: Exploring Space: The Quest for Life

For Students 9th - 10th
Alien life is often theorized in many ways throughout popular culture. This site by the Public Broadcasting System attempts to shed light on the studies and exploration that are currently underway to uncover such life. This well rounded...