What does math have to do with the behavior of the earth and sun? Learn how the movement of celestial bodies has influenced the development of trigonometry. Scholars connects the details in mathematics to their...

Geometry meets earth science as high schoolers investigate the cause and features of the four seasons. The effects of Earth's axis tilt features prominently, along with both the rotation of the earth about the axis and its orbit...

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.

Size within the solar system is a difficult thing for pupils to imagine. Using everyday objects, they build models to show the scale between the sun, moon, and Earth. They situate their props in proportional distances between the objects...

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...

Add visual representation to teaching place value with a magnitude model. Using adding machine tape, pupils build a linear place value strip from 1 to 100.

Third graders discuss how Aristotle concluded that the Earth was round. As a class, they review theories about the Earth's shape and describe how life on Earth would be different if it were flat. Individually, they make a moon book in...

First graders explore why the sun and moon seems to disappear and reappear creating day and night.

How do you put something as large as the universe in perspective? Use a series of scale experiments. Classmates collaborate around four experiments to examine the scale of the earth-moon system, our solar system, the Milky Way galaxy,...

In this Earth's rotation and day length instructional activity, students are given a table with the period of geological time, the age of the Earth and the total days per year. Students calculate the number of hours per day in each...

Students make several models of the solar system to learn the positions of the planets in the solar system as well as relative distances and sizes. Creation of these models will help them identify the planets by size, shape, color,...

High schoolers examine how Earth's rotation causes daily cycles in solar energy using a microset of satellite data to investigate the Earth's daily radiation budget and locating map locations using latitude and longitude coordinates.

Does the space shuttle have an odometer? Maybe, but all that is needed to determine the distance to the moon is a little geometry! The lesson asks scholars to sketch the relationship of the Earth and moon using shadows of an eclipse....

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 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...

Who needs the daylight to simulate a lunar eclipse? Astronomers model the positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon to explain the necessary conditions for a lunar eclipse. Investigators cut and label a paper plate to represent the Earth and...

Examine an innovative approach to a large-scale model. Pupils across the state of Maine teamed up to create a model of the solar system that spans 40 miles. Put thinking skills to work within your classes as they make the calculations to...

Logical thinking is at the forefront of this jam-packed lesson, with young mathematicians not only investigating geometric concepts but also how they "know what they know". Through each activity and worksheet, learners wrestle with...

Bring the sun to your class! Young scholars analyze actual solar wind data in the second lesson of a five-part series. Their analysis includes speed, temperature, and density data.

Fourth graders measure the change in the size of their shadow over time. They visit a fixed structure and record the date, the time, and the measurement of the length of their shadow. They do this over the course of the school year. They...

Third graders create a model of the solar system. In this solar system lesson plan, 3rd graders create a scale model of the solar system. Working in pairs students solve mathematical problems to correctly measure the distance each planet...

Students determine how to find North using a watch and their shadow. In this finding North lesson plan, students go outside on a sunny day and work with their shadow and a wrist watch to find out which direction that North is. They...

Groups explore illumination with NASA's Lighting Environment Test Facility (LETF) as a context. Using the TI-Nspire app, groups determine the lux equation that models their simulation. They then use the lux equation to...

For this cosmic rays and solar cells worksheet, students read about how cosmic rays damage the electrical output of solar cells over time on satellites. Students use a graph of the solar power output compared to the year for the SOHO...