Teach Engineering
The Amazing Red Planet
Introduce your class to Mars with a resource that provides information about its size, location, length of day, length of year, number of moons, and average temperature. Also includes is information about the lans for past and future...
Curated OER
Reading and Writing About the Solar System
Utilizing the classic Magic School Bus series, young scientists explore the solar system. Some excellent worksheets are included in this plan, such as Planet Roll Call and Solar System in Motion. This is an ambitious 5-day unit that...
Curated OER
The Planet Mars
Fifth graders gain knowledge about Mars and Earth. In this compare and contrast instructional activity, 5th graders use visual representations of the solar system to observe the characteristics of the planets. Students read fiction and...
Curated OER
Ceres and Pluto: Dwarf Planets as a New Way of Thinking about an Old Solar System
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.
Curated OER
Please Ex-Planet!
What is most useful about this lesson plan is the "Student Explanet Worksheet," a set of instructions for collaborative groups to use to collect information about an assigned planet. After students have researched and organized their...
Curated OER
Using a Graphic Organizer to Research a Question
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...
PHET
Planet Designer: Retro Planet Red
What does the atmosphere on Mars look like? This fourth lesson in the series of five is designed for high schoolers. Scholars apply previous knowledge to add atmosphere to Mars in an online simulation. This comprehensive lesson includes...
PHET
Planet Designer: Martian Makeover
Mars used to have liquid water, can you make it come back? Use the lesson and simulation to understand why Mars lost its magnetic field, why atmosphere is important, and what gravity has to do with it. This is the third lesson in a...
Curated OER
Following Directions
In this following directions practice worksheet, students carefully read 14 questions and follow the instructions to answer each of them.
Curated OER
Why do Stars Rise in the East?
In this stars rise in the east worksheet, students use geometry to show how the Earth rotates from west to east and why celestial bodies appear to rise in the east and set in the west. Students draw a figure and label given points in...
Curated OER
Planet-Tac-Toe Review Game
Students research the nine planets in the solar system. They play a board gram like tic-tac-toe using the names of the planets. Factual info is given to help play the game.. This sounds like a fun review game.
Curated OER
Planet/Constellation Mobile
Young scholars construct three-dimensional solar system mobiles.
Star Date
Astronomy Day from McDonald Observatory Solar System Scale Activity
Add a visual aid to your solar system lessons. Enthusiastic astronomers create a model depicting the nine planets and their distance from the sun.
NOAA
Endangered Species Origami
Make sea turtle or whale origami in a hands-on activity that provides instructions for folding and facts for learning about each.
Starry Night Education
The Year and Seasons
Turn your classroom into a live demonstration of how the earth and sun interact to create the four seasons. Using a globe, a light source, and a series of constellation cards, super scientists discover how the motion of these...
Kentucky Educational Television
The Road to Proportional Reasoning
Just how big would it really be? Young mathematicians determine if different toys are proportional and if their scale is accurate. They solve problems relating scale along with volume and surface area using manipulatives. The last day of...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Winogradsky Columns: Microbial Ecology in the Classroom
Winogradsky columns are ideal for observing the role of bacteria and other microorganisms in an ecosystem. This student activity guide is complete with data tables for observations and analysis questions for processing what was observed....
Pacific Science Center
Worlds in Comparison
Young astronomers follow a step-by-step procedure for dividing a lump of dough into parts, resulting in a scaled volume set of puny planets. Along with the printable directions is a template chart of planet names on which learners can...
American Museum of Natural History
Are YOU Cut Out for Mars?
A brief, 6-question quiz identifies whether or not a scholar is ready for a mission to Mars.
It's About Time
The Earth-Moon System
Explore the earth-moon system with blossoming astronomers in this fun-filled activity. They begin by investigating lunar phases and differentiating between each. They continue the activity by learning about tidal forces and how these are...
Space Awareness
How To Travel On Earth Without Getting Lost
Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Take a virtual trip with a geography lesson that uses longitude and latitude, the position of the sun, an astronomy app, and a classroom globe.
Curated OER
May We Present Planet Earth?
Students draw a map to scale. They illustrate knowledge of how to use DOGS TAILS on a map. Students identify the main parts of a map. They identify and illustrate the major features necessary for sustaining a quality of life for a society.
Teach Engineering
Global Climate Change
The greenhouse effect and its relationship to global warming is the focus of an activity that asks class member to consider the effects of climate change on weather. Pupils work with their families to determine their carbon footprints...
Space Awareness
Sun, Earth and Moon Model
The moon orbits Earth while the Earth is rotating, and the Earth revolves around the sun. This can be a tricky concept for young astronomers. Implement an activity that helps distinguish between the movements of Earth's systems around...