Leading the students to draw a representation of ellipses of planets, this handout will help understanding the planet movement around the sun.  There are ten questions about the analysis of those orbits and a conclusino specifically...

In this science worksheet, students read about the summer of 1971 when the Earth passed closer to Mars than it had since 1924. Students also learn about the retrograde motion of Mars as seen from Earth.

Students build a scaled model of the solar system. In this space science activity, students arrange them according to their distances from the sun. They analyze each planet's unique features such as density and relative gravity.

A set of instructions that help learners draw concentric orbital arcs to scale of each planet.  There is a table to complete with data and questions to check understanding of realistic orbits and relative sizes.

Use the Franklin Institute's exhibition "An Inquirer's Guide to the Universe" to have students research ideas for a science fiction story. After completing their research, writers will compose science fiction stories that incorporate...

Students investigate magma flow using gelatin volcano models. In this earth science lesson, students sketch the magma bodies as observed from the top of their model. They explain why magma moves that way.

After reading a short excerpt about Mercury, your class will answer four comprehension questions. The worksheet challenges them to fold over the paper and answer the questions without referring back to the excerpt. An answer sheet is...

Scholars find Earth won't support humans much longer and need to identify a planet with water to inhabit. They test four unknown samples and determine which is the closest to water. Then they explain and defend their results.

You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate...

Not novel, but fun, this lesson gets your space science learners to model the size of the planets and the solar system along your school's hallway. Scaled measurements as well as actual distances are provided for both planet diameters...

Young climatologists explore the factors that contribute to a region's climate in this two-part earth science activity. To begin, learners are provided with a map of an imaginary planet and are asked to label global wind and...

Young scholars compare a globe and a two-dimensional world map and explore how they both represent the planet Earth. They locate the Hawaiian Islands on the globe or the world map and describe how the geographical position is unique.

In this planets worksheet, students put the planets in order, complete sentences about planets, read text about planets, match sentences, and more. Students complete 7 tasks total.

Learners compare and contrast the Earth's interior with 2 other planets by looking at images on the computer. In this planet interiors lesson plan, students write a paper about their findings.

Students research Earth including what makes it suitable for life, its rotation, geological composition and gravity.

Students identify the most common causes of global warming. In this earth science lesson, students use an interactive website to explore changes over time in sea ice, sea level, carbon emissions, and average global temperature. They take...

In this Earth Day worksheet, students read a passage about the day, then complete short answer questions and match lists of items to their descriptions.

Students explore ways to protect the earth.  In this environmental issues and technology lesson, students investigate the water quality in their community and compare their findings to the water quality in other geographic...

Students consider the comparative sizes of the planets in the solar system. In this scale instructional activity, students select balls of different sizes to represent the planets in the solar system.

Students explore how the angle of sunlight affects the Earth's temperature and seasons and then apply this understanding to their local situation.

Students compare Earth and Mars to find similarities between the two planets using given websites. They collect and download pictures of geological features of both planets from print and non-print sources. Descriptions of the...

In this solar system worksheet, students complete a database comparing the 9 different planets' mass, surface temperature, rotation period, orbital period, moons, and distinguishing features. This worksheet is a graphic organizer.

For this gravity worksheet, students determine how much they would weigh on the different planets. Students calculate how far they could jump on other planets. This worksheet has 2 graphic organizers and 6 short answer questions.

Fifth graders animate their own planets.  In this solar system lesson plan, 5th graders use smartphones and the software, GoKnow Sketchy, to create images for presentations on their created planets that appear to be animated when...