Curated OER
Can an Astronaut on Mars Distinguish Earth from its Moon?
Students explore the possibility of being on Mars and being able to identify the Earth. In this space lesson plan students complete a set of calculations to see if this is possible.
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Asteroids Between Mars and the Sun
In this asteroids of the solar system worksheet, students observe a diagram showing all the minor planets found in the orbit of Mars. Students answer 4 questions about the minor planets inside the orbit of other planets, they find the...
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Email From Another Planet
In this article about emails and plants worksheet, students read short descriptions about 8 planets in the solar system and then imagine they are visiting one of the planets and send an email to a family member describing their...
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Planetary Alignments
In this planetary alignments worksheet, students use 2 different methods to find out when planet alignments will occur. They use a three number series and they use least common multiples to find out when Mercury and Venus will align.
Voyage Solar System
Round and Round We Go — Exploring Orbits in the Solar System
Math and science come together in this cross-curricular astronomy lesson plan on planetary motion. Starting off with a hands-on activity that engages the class in exploring the geometry of circles and ellipses, this lesson plan then...
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Sun's Impact On Earth's Temperature
Students view NASA images and movies of Venus, Earth, and Mars to deduce weather patterns and manipulate computer models to test competing hypotheses. They manipulate computer models to investigate the influence of solar distance and...
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How To Build a Planet From The Inside Out!
High schoolers read about the Spitzer Space Telescope and the technology used to learn about planet composition. They calculate the radius of a planet, the size of a planet, the average density of a planet and the likely core composition...
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A Model Solar System
If Earth is modeled by a grapefruit, what planet could be represented by a golf ball? This activity uses everyday and not-so-everyday objects to create a model of the Solar System.
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Estimation Quiz: Use a Table
In this estimation worksheet, students use information about planets, given in a table, to complete a 16 question quiz. Answers are included on page 2. A reference web site is given for additional activities.
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Planet Fractions and Scales
In this planets and fractions worksheet, students solve nine problems about the sizes and scales of planets compared to each other using fractions.
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Create an Alien Life Form
In this creative writing worksheet, students answer a series of questions about an alien they imagine. There are also other pre-writing exercises about historical figures, monuments, a zoo, and other topics designed to aid in the...
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Multiply 3-Digit Numbers by 2-Digit Numbers
By solving word problems related to the planets, 4th graders practice multiplying numbers with several digits. Using this worksheet to solve problems involving 2 and 3-digit multiplication, students practice this skill. This worksheet is...
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Large Numbers- the Planets
In this writing distances worksheet, students re-write the chart to show the distance each planet sits from the sun using words rather than numbers, all measurements are in km.
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Science Trail
Learners explore the solar system by conducting Earth science experiments. In this Sun lesson, students identify the different seasons on Earth and discuss their purpose and cause. Learners create a sundial and observe the changes to...
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Central Tendency
Fifth graders compare and contrast different sets of data on the basis of measures of central tendency.
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Planet Vacation
In this planets worksheet, students fill out a chart where they fill in the distance each planet is from the Earth, and how much travel time in years and hours it would take to get there. Students do this for 8 planets.
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Grade 6 Math Investigation
In this math investigation worksheet, students find five facts about outer space that contain a number greater then ten million, underlining the digit in the ten millions place. Worksheet has a chart with facts beyond the 10 million place.
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The Universe-Scientific Notation Extension
In this scientific notation worksheet, students write a set of 9 average distances in standard form, then complete 3 additional problems. A reference web site is given for additional activities.
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Last Year on Pluto
Students examine the astronomical concept of a year. They relate the passage of time on planets to historical events in the USA.