Learners access prior knowledge of solar energy and understand that solar energy produces heat. In this solar cooker lesson, students complete grade appropriate experiments using the heat of the sun. Learners complete a worksheet on...

Students build a solar oven. In this Science lesson, students construct a functional solar oven. Students design the oven and explain the energy concepts involved.

Young scientists gain a better understanding of space, the solar system and its vastness by creating a scale model. Students first need to calculate the distance between each of the nine planets according to the size of their scale. This...

Students study what makes Earth warm and explore how different locations on the planetreceive different amounts of solar energy based on the intensity of the sun's rays. They calculate light intensities and compare the amounts of light...

How do you make raisins? Do a simple experiment with your class that prompts them to set a bunch of grapes in the sun for a few days, and see what they find!

In this energetic neutral atoms worksheet, students solve 3 problems including determining the formula for particle speed, writing the equation to show the relationship between mass, energy and speed and determining the speed of protons...

This activity asks learners to interpret data displayed on a graph within the context of the problem. Learners are given three graphs that show solar radiation, or intensity of the sun, as a function of time. They are also given three...

What better way to learn about plant life than by creating a class garden? Young botanists start with a brief discussion about radishes before planting seeds and watching them grow. To determine the importance of water,...

Third graders watch a video on the solar system and examine the role of the sun. As a class, they complete a KWL chart and make different color temperature pockets to use during their experiment. In groups, they make predictions about...

Introduce starting space scientists to the electromagnetic spectrum, expecially the portion of visible light. Teach them about wavelength and frequesncy. Then give them a roll of adding machine tape and a manila folder to make a...

Make sure your house is warm in the winter. Pupils analyze graphs of heating costs for two similar houses and make hypotheses for why the costs differ. They then build models of houses with appropriate insulation to reduce heating costs.

In this solar flares worksheet, learners observe a sequence of figures of a solar flare observed in 2003 from the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager satellite. Students solve 6 problems including finding the scale of each...

Students study the scientific evidence about carbon dioxide emissions. They learn to calculate the amount of energy used by different appliances. They complete a worksheet which analyzes the amount of energy that their home uses.

What does it mean to grow? To germinate? For the plan detailed here, class members investigate the growth process of an oak tree while focusing on the beginning stages of planting and germination. They plant seeds and record observations...

Students experiment with the growth of philodendron plants in different amounts of sunlight. They complete a gardening notebook including plant sketches and growth data.

Students investigate the affect shape has on the ability of a solar panel to collect sunlight.  In this collecting sunlight using a solar panel lesson, students determine which solar panel shape collects the most sunlight. ...

Learners explore how the angle and distance of an object can change it's temperature. After reviewing how the position of the Earth affects the temperature of the planet, student groups design and perform an experiment to test how...

Second graders observe images of prairie ecosystems and discuss the needs of living things. They create a prairie habitat in a closed jar to observe the water cycle and plant growth.

Use this multidisciplinary instructional activity to delve into these subjects: English language arts, math, science, drama, and character education. After reading, discussing, and making interpretations about Go To Sleep, Gecko!: A...

Students explore the greenhouse effect.  In this environment lesson, students describe how "ice out" affects animals and plants who live in a Maine lake.  Students graph "ice out" data and make predictions about the upcoming...

Plant growth experiments offer rich, cross-curricular learning opportunities that can really excite and engage young learners. In this series, children work in pairs planting, measuring, and comparing the height of bean plants in order...

In this solar flares and coronal mass ejections learning exercise, students create a Venn Diagram with given data about solar flares and Halo CMEs. Students answer 6 questions about the events and the probability of each type of event...

Students describe how the sun heats the Earth, explain the nature of infrared light, explain how thunderstorms are formed and use infrared maps to predict severe weather.

In this satellite and solar cells worksheet, students determine the electrical power generated by the solar cells on the IMAGE satellite. Students solve 3 problems including finding the usable area of the satellite, determining the power...