Lesson Plan
Curated OER

And a Star to Steer Her By: A Field Trip Guide for the Planetarium Show

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
In this field trip study guide for the planetarium show lesson, students construct a model of the Earth and describe the relative positions of the continents using latitude and longitude. Students construct a star chart to find...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Erosion: Changing the Face of Earth

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore how the landscape of the planet can be changed by different elements of wind, water, ice and chemicals through hands-on activities. They examine pictures of areas around town and discuss anything they think is out...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Scale And Ratio

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students measure the actual size and distance of the solar system using scale and ratio. They watch and discuss a video, create a distance-scale solar system model, and compare the scale sizes of planets to their actual sizes.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Night Here, Day There

For Students 3rd - 5th
Explore astronomy with a lab sheet for fifth grade scientists. After reading a short explanation about the earth's rotation, they solve a word problem about the differences in times across the world. Next, they make a model of the solar...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduce Vocabulary: I Am Planet Earth

For Teachers K - 3rd
Learners discover the meaning of tier two vocabulary words. In this vocabulary lesson, students read I Am Planet Earth, listening for 3 pre-select tier two vocabulary words. Words are defined by the teacher and learners practice...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mathematical Fingerprint of Our Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars study the beautiful mathematical model unique to our solar system.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Observations From the Past

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore direct and indirect evidence. In this astronomy lesson, 9th graders investigate the contribution of early astronomers to their field. They create a model of the solar system.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Space, the Final Frontier...

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students study a common theory on how the solar system was formed and examine the relative scale of the size and distances among the bodies of the Solar System.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introducing The Gulf Stream

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders research the average temperatures of different places on Earth. In this earth science lesson, 6th graders explain how the sun's heat cause ocean movement. They discuss how temperature change affects the weather we experience.
Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

Phases of Charon

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Charon, the largest of Pluto's moons, was discovered in 1978. Lesson is a walk through of how to solve for the phases of Charon. It uses two different points on Pluto and takes into account the tilt of the pole, the rotational axis, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Volcano Model with Pizzazz

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students create a volcano replica. In this volcano lesson plan, students construct an erupting volcano from a list of materials and instructions. Students read or listen to volcano stories during the eruption.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water Cycle - Family Page

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students discuss the steps of the water cycle. They create their own model of the water cycle. They complete the Family Page at the end of the lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Solar System

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students describe the different bodies that make up our solar system, explain the place of our solar system within the Milky Way Galaxy and the universe, explain day and night and the Earth's movement, and describe the relationship...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Periodic Table

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners research an assigned element using the library, an encyclopedia, the Internet and other appropriate resources in order to write a research paper, a project, and an oral presentation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson for the EasyJet Set

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Young scholars take a closer look at the environmental costs of flying. In this current events lesson, students research the noted Web sites regarding the Airbus, noise pollution, and oil use associated with airline travel. Young...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Moon's Density-What's Inside?

For Students 9th - 11th
In this moon's density worksheet, students solve 4 problems about the Moon and a model planet. They find the Moon's density and they find its volume. They make a model of a planet's interior and use its mass and radius to find the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Magic School Bus Lost in Space

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. In 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.
Worksheet
Curated OER

From Dust Grains to Dust Balls

For Students 10th - 12th
In this formation of planets worksheet, learners solve 6 problems including finding the equation for the mass of rocks as a function of time, finding the equation for the rate of growth of the mass of rocks and integrating these equations.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Understanding the Rutherford Model

For Students 9th - 12th
In this Rutherford model instructional activity, students read about Rutherford's experiment with gold foil and alpha particles which led to the discovery of subatomic particles. Students answer six analysis questions about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planetary Diversity

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore the infrared radiation and the part of the spectrum that is not always visible.  In this electromagnetic lesson plan students complete a lab activity on the different wavelengths.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gravity: A Relatively Heavy Subject

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine planetary movement and its relation to the tide.In this gravity instructional activity students describe how and why the high and low tides change every day.
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Focus of an Ellipse

For Students 9th - 11th
In this algebra worksheet, students solve for the center of an ellipse by finding the focus. They use the focus formula when solve for conics. There are 13 problems with an answer key.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Meteorite Mysteries: Building Blocks of Planets

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students simulate the formation of chondrites and asteroids. In this astronomy instructional activity, students demonstrate accretion using balloons and static electricity. They compare and contrast their models to the actual process of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth's Age: The Dating Game

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners conduct a simulation to determine radioactive decay and half-life. Using pennies, dice or sugar cubes as isotopes placed in shoe boxes simulating rocks, they hold five trials representing 1000 years each to find the theoretical...