Fresh water is a precious resource. Most kids don't realize how little of the water on Earth is actually drinkable. This lesson will help to illuminate them on this important topic. They discus the ratio of water to land, where most...

Fly around the Martian surface. Pupils view a presentation on the planet Mars featuring a flyover that shows different views of the surface where rovers have landed and explored on different missions. As individuals watch the images, the...

Add a visual aid to your solar system lessons. Enthusiastic astronomers create a model depicting the nine planets and their distance from the sun. 

Researchers think they have evidence of a new planet deep in our solar system that is the size of Neptune and orbits the sun far beyond Pluto. The orbit simulator shows the orbits of our well-known planets, as well as Pluto and the comet...

Students explore the planet Earth, outer space, and Earth's axis. They demonstrate reading comprehension skills, including literal meaning, inference and critical analysis.

For this Earth chart worksheet, students complete a KWL chart for the planet Earth. Students list what they know, what they want to learn, and what they have learned about the planet Earth.

In this article about emails and plants worksheet, students read short descriptions about 8 planets in the solar system and then imagine they are visiting one of the planets and send an email to a family member describing their...

Fifth graders gain knowledge about Mars and Earth. In this compare and contrast lesson, 5th graders use visual representations of the solar system to observe the characteristics of the planets. Students read fiction and nonfiction...

Young scholars, in teams, design and construct models of two planets, one hot and the other cold, using a variety of materials. They attempt to create the models out of substances that will actually show the greatest temperature...

Third graders research about the location of different planets from the sun. In this earth science lesson, 3rd graders discuss the weather in their place and identify common weather terminologies. They explain how tornadoes form and...

Students develop a timeline of all the major events involved in the formation of the Earth and the emergence of humans. In groups, they focus on a specific topic by watching a PBS program and taking notes. After the video, they list...

Students study robotic spacecrafts that have provided detailed information about the inner and outer planets. In this exploring the planets lesson plan, students use posters and diagrams to study the various robotic spacecraft sent to...

Second graders research climate and landforms on nine planets in our solar system, choose one planet to visit, gather information about their chosen planet's climate and landforms, and "invent" space suit that would enable them to...

Students examine satellite images of Earth and contrast images at different scales. In this exploring Earth from space lesson plan, students use satellite images to contrast images at different scales, calculate distances from the scale...

Learners explore the planets and celestial bodies in our solar system. In this outer space lesson, students identify the planets and record journal information about them and other celestial bodies. Learners define outer space words.

In this Earth Day worksheet, learners complete activities such as reading a passage, matching phrases, fill in the blanks, choose the correct word, multiple choice, unscramble the words, sequencing, unscramble the sentences, write...

Students examine the rotation of the Earth as it occurs in the 24 hour cycle. They use models of planets and the globe to make observations of movements made. Students brainstorm prior knowledge and then participate in a demonstration of...

Eighth graders draw the paths of the planets in the solar system. In this astronomy lesson, 8th graders calculate speed of objects using distance and time information. They research about the work of scientists in the 16th and 17th century.

Students examine the topic of the Earth's rotation, revolution, and orbit. They observe teacher-led demonstrations, explore various websites, write journal entries, conduct a demonstration of why Earth experiences day and night, and...

In this inner planets worksheet, students will list the four inner planets on a chart. Then students will write in information for each of these planets including size and composition, atmosphere, temperatures, surface features, moons,...

Students examine the different planets in outer space. Each class studies a different planet and creates a scavenger hunt for the other classes to explore that planet.

In this discovering new planets learning exercise, students read about how the Kepler spacecraft detects new planets by observing the dimming of light emitted by stars as the planets pass in front of them. Students solve 2 problems using...

Students examine the new categories of planets and how planets were reclassified.  In this solar system lesson students complete activities using Venn diagrams and images of planets. 

In this forces of nature worksheet, students read a 2 page article on the forces of nature and answer 4 detailed comprehension questions about the forces of nature on Earth.