Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rocket Pinwheel

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners observe a balloon-powered pinwheel to study the principles of rocketry. They study Newton's Third Law of Motion.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton's 2nd Law

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discuss Newton's Second Law of Motion, and the acceleration of fast and slow moving objects. They experiment with items with different masses to determine the effect mass has on acceleration using a toy car. They complete...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Make Waves

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars investigate the concept of waves and how they are formed. The force of wind is demonstrated as the prime factor to the creation of ocean waves. Students research the concept in detail for better comprehension.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Easy Does It

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students discover how inclined planes make work easier as they make mathematical predictions and prove their predictions through experiments.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physics of Roller Coasters

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students design a roller coaster and demonstrate their knowledge of Potential and Kinetic Energy. They determine the average velocity a given marble travels on their roller coaster and apply their knowledge of various measurement systems...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Airplane

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students demonstrate the Bernoulli Principle, review the influences that affected the Wright Brothers, and make and modify paper airplanes. This amazing lesson plan has an excellent structure, and very clear plans for the students to...
Lesson Plan
PHET

Measuring the Interplanetary Magnetic Field

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Scientists need to figure out how to measure interplanetary magnetic fields, but the magnetic field of the spacecraft is interfering with their readings. Scholars attempt to solve the problem that has perplexed NASA scientists for years.
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Engineering Lessons Adapted for Special Education

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Modifying engineering lessons from NASA makes them accessible to a wider variety of learners.
Lesson Plan
Earth Day Network

Staying Green While Being Clean

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Clean up the environment with a lesson that focuses on replacing hazardous cleaning supplies with green, environmentally-friendly products. Using a dirty patch of surface as a control area, kids clean other parts of various surfaces...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Dark Matter NASA Conference

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young scholars calculate the escape velocity of planets in our solar system and use that knowledge to calculate the escape velocity for NGC 2300 group. They then suggest reasons for the escape velocity to be higher than possible given...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Two Versions of Gravity: Newton and Einstein

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
We have all heard the debate about teaching both theories, but an innovative lesson takes the discussion to a new level. Scholars research and debate Newton's Law of Gravitation versus Einstein's General Theory of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cosmic Ray Momentum

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students describe how cosmic rays achieve high kinetic energy via conservation of momentum.
Lesson Plan
PHET

Mapping the Field of a Dipole Magnet

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
High school scientists build their own magnetometer and use it to map the field surrounding a bar magnet. Excellent background resources is included, as well as a diagram of how to build the magnetometer.
Lesson Plan
PHET

Mapping the Ambient Magnetic Field

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
No GPS allowed! High school scientists continue to explore magnetic fields with a hands-on activity. After mapping the ambient magnetic field in the classroom and completing data analysis, they write about the similarities and...
Lesson Plan
PHET

The Earth as a Magnet

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Everyone loves playing with magnets and iron filings. Here, young scientists first observe and then participate in an activity demonstrating magnetic fields. After completing their observations, they apply this knowledge...
Lesson Plan
PHET

Earth’s Magnetic Field from Space

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Feel the pull of science! The final installment of this 18-part series is an application of everything learned in the previous high school lessons. Scholars are given a magnetic field map and must propose an arrangement of magnets that...
Lesson Plan
PHET

Mapping the Field of Multiple Dipole Magnets

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
So you built a magnetometer, now what? High school scientists use their magnetometer made in a previous lesson to map the union of magnetic fields of dipole magnets. They experiment with different alignments and draw conclusions about...
Lesson Plan
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NASA

Pop! Rockets

For Teachers K - 8th
Off they go — launching rockets is fun. The lesson plan contains templates to build paper rockets that can be launched from a PVC pipe launcher. Individuals or groups build the rockets and determine the shapes for their fins. Included...
Lesson Plan
1
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NASA

Launch Altitude Tracker

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Using PVC pipe and aquarium tubing, build an altitude tracker. Pupils then use the altitude tracker, along with a tangent table, to calculate the altitude of a launched rocket using the included data collection sheet.
Lesson Plan
1
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NASA

Rocket Wind Tunnel

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Using a teacher-built wind tunnel constructed from a paper concrete tube form, a fan, and a balance, individuals determine the amount of drag their rocket design will experience in flight. Pupils make modifications to increase the...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Determining the Nature, Size, and Age of the Universe

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Prompt scholars to discover the expansion of the universe themselves. Using photographs of other galaxies, they measure and then graph the size and distance of each. Finally, they draw conclusions and prove the universe is...
Lesson Plan
1
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University of Colorado

Great Red Spot Pinwheel

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The great red spot on Jupiter is 12,400 miles long and 7,500 miles wide. In this sixth part of a 22-part series, individuals model the rotation of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. To round out the activity, they discuss their findings as a...
Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Happy Landings: A Splash or a Splat?

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Huygens spacecraft landed on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005, making it the farthest landing from Earth ever made by a spacecraft. In this hands-on activity, the 12th installment of 22, groups explore how density affects speed. To do this,...
Lesson Plan
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NASA

Foam Rocket

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
When going for distance, does it make a difference at what angle you launch the rocket? Teams of three launch foam rockets, varying the launch angle and determining how far they flew. After conducting the series of flights three times,...

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