What are characteristics of a planet? With this plan, learners investigate the characteristics of the planets in our solar system. They gather research of the nine planets by using the Internet and other research tools. Then they create...

What a neat interactive that interacts with the amount of water on Earth's surface. It begins with a brief audio introduction of the Blue Planet and how it got its name. Then, users click on the activity to play a game...

What does the ground around your home have to do with water pollution? Young ecologists learn about their local watershed and create their own cause-and-effect models of the hydrosphere.

Learners engage in science, math, and language activities as they do research on the components of the solar system. The class begins with some anticipatory activities and discussions before it is divided into small groups to conduct...

Readers take the main characters in Matilda and individually describe them through a mnemonic. To get there, group members create an acrostic poem describing the character they were given, and choose one of the words from the...

Reading, writing, and rings! A lesson from NASA combines space science with authentic reading and writing tasks. Included in this lesson are pre-reading activities, four mini informational booklets on Saturn, a structured...

Launch your class on an exploration of the solar system. Learners construct solar system models to scale and get a better understanding of our place in the vast void of space. This is a great way for them to cement their understanding of...

Readers are asked to identify the main ideas and supporting ideas in a passage about the eight planets in our solar system. 

Explore the world's beauty with Jean Marzollo's colorful book I Am Planet Earth, the context of a vocabulary study focused on the following in-text words: globe, jungle, paddy, planet, and valley. Discuss the...

Here's a reading exercise that uses an article about the inner planets to assess comprehension. After reading the article, kids respond to a series of questions using information from the text.

Students explore space science by creating a planetary model in class. In this solar system activity, students identify the many planets and moons that make up the solar system and decide on one entity in which to research. Students...

Students explore the solar system.  In this solar system science lesson, students choose 3 out of 12 centers to visit, each of which contains an activity related to the planets. The station activities are designed to address...

Is Pluto still a planet? Using this popular question, kids are introduced to graphic organizers as a writing tool. As a class, they watch a demonstration on how to use them and work together with a partner to research whether Pluto is a...

How do scientists provide evidence to support the theories they put forth? What clues do they put together to create these theories? After watching West of the West's documentary Island Rotation class members engage in a series of...

Students explore the Solar System and examine the characteristics of al the planets. Through research and discussion, they create catalogs of the Solar System's components. Next, students use their findings to create Powerpoint...

Students discover the moon's phases and the rarity of eclipses. In this lunar lesson, students view a video titled Spin Around the Solar System: A Moon Dance, which demonstrates the key differences between a lunar and solar eclipse....

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 observe and report that the moon can be seen sometimes at night and sometimes during the day. They describe how changes to a model can help predict how the real thing can be altered. Students explain the essential fact of the...

Fourth graders study the Moon phases. The lesson includes hands-on activities as well as web-based activities. They use models of the Moon and a lamp to study each of the phases of the Moon, and test their knowlege of the Moon on a web...

Sometimes explaining an argument can lead to confusion and miscommunication. Narrow down the details in written arguments with a group activity in which learners pretend to be aliens from another planet, struggling to understand each...

Students brainstorm about what they know about the solar system. They study a planetary fact sheet and create a Venn Diagram with the information. They work in groups to examine the names of the planets and information regarding each of...

Students, working in small groups construct scale models of the planets and solar system. They examine images of Mars and discuss what might have caused the features. They record facts about their planetary research in their journals and...

In this field trip study guide for the planetarium show instructional activity, students construct a model of the Earth and describe the relative positions of the continents using latitude and longitude. Students construct a star chart...

Pupils 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 pupils practice recognizing...