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The Magic School Bus Lost in Space
Students learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. For this Magic School Bus lesson plan, students explore outer space as they visit the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars in order to learn about our solar system.
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Paper Rockets
Learners design, construct, and fly paper rockets that travel the greatest distance possible across a floor model of the solar system. They construct small flying rockets out of paper and propel them by blowing air through a straw.
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Why Do We Have Night?
Students engage in a fun, creative way to discover how the Earth moves. This lesson helps students explain why there is day and night. It can also create curiosity to further study the solar system and eclipses!
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Exploring Ecosystems
Fourth graders investigate ecosystems. In this ecosystem instructional activity, 4th graders explore producers, consumers, and decomposers and study the interdependence of each.
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Seasons and Cloud Cover, Are They Related?
Learners use NASA satellite data to see cloud cover over Africa. In this seasons lesson students access data and import it into Excel.
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Rotating Rings of Ice
Students work together to develop a model of Saturn and its rings. They identify what types of materials make up the rings and how they revolve around Saturn. They write a short paragraph describing the rings.
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Make a Comet Model and Eat It!
Students create models of comets. They develop a comet model in a team and exchange samples with other teams. They use their senses to demonstrate the filters on a spectrometer and record their data. They discuss the contents of their...
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Robots from Junk
High schoolers create balloon and rubber band models of robotic rovers to investigate the concepts of mass, torque, and friction. Through research and planning, students construct a rover test-bed that simulates the Martian environment.
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Using Mathematic Models to Investigate Planitary Habitablity
Pupils examine how the sun's intensity affects the temperature on various planets. They determine whether or not these planets could be habitable. Finally, they factor in the average albedo of the planets to determine whether or not...
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Transpiration
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...
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Classification of Clouds
Students view progressive slides of cloud formations and identify which type of cloud is shown as it forms. They estimate the cloud's height while viewing each image.
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Out of This World (Science)
Students participate in various hands-on activities to visually demonstrate the positions of the planets from the sun. Then they draw a pictorial representation of the order of planets from the sun.
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Cosmic Wheels
Students build a scale model of the Solar System and determine the time other planets take to travel around the Sun in comparison to the time of the Earth's revolution. The velocity of the planets are also determined in this lesson.
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Water, Weather, and the World
Students in a special education classroom examine the role of weather and water in their lives. Each day, they add a symbol for the weather outside and identify the proper activities for the weather on that day. In groups, they...
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Solar Cars
Pupils research the causes and effects of air pollution. Using the internet, they examine the specific effects of carbon dioxide on the environment and discover the benefits of using solar power. In groups, they build a model of a...
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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.
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Walk a Mile in your Orbit
Young scholars create an awareness of the distance between the planets and the complexity of the solar system through a model of an active solar system. they incorporate physical education and math with the ability to convert distances...
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Distance in Space
Sixth graders explore space science by measuring distances between planets. In this solar system instructional activity, 6th graders view a Bill Nye video and discover the conversion between the metric system and imperial measuring...
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The Moon
Students explore the relationship between the earth, sun, and moon in our solar system. They create a moonrise/moonset chart, perform a dance that models the moon phases, and create a Styrofoam model of the moon's surface.
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Introduction to the Planets
Students become familiar with the members of the solar system and planetary order. They identify differences and characteristics of individual planets. Finally students visualize the great size of the solar system and make the image more...
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Astronomy
Students complete a series of activities to better understand space studies. In this space science lesson, the teacher is provided with a number of activities for students to complete such as finding words that begin with the prefix...
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Warming the Earth
First graders investigate how the sun warms the Earth and examine the rotation of the Earth and the sun. They create an illustration of the sun, examine a solar system model, and listen to the book "The Sun: Our Nearest Star." They also...
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Map Your House
Learners are introduced to the concepts of maps as scale models of the whole. After a brief lecture on creating and using an accurate scale when drawing and reading a map. They create a scale drawing of the floorplan of their homes.
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Day and Night
Fifth graders investigate the Earth's rotation and revolution and the moon's orbit around the Earth. They participate in a class discussion about how night and day occur, and take notes. Next, they watch a video about the solar system...