American Museum of Natural History
What Do You Know About Stars?
Illuminate the information about stars. Pupils respond to 10 multiple choice questions about stars. The questions cover topics such as the size of the Milky Way Galaxy, the Sun, and the life cycle of a star. The resource works as a...
Curated OER
Planet Fact Sheet
In this space science worksheet, students record facts about one of the planets, which they draw in a box on the page. They write the name, distance from the sun, length of day and year, and number of moons. They describe how the planet...
Curated OER
Planets in Proportion
Students apply estimation strategies and proportional reasoning to determine a scale comparing the planetary bodies to Earth. They convert measurements of time and distance using scientific notation. Both the metric and customary units...
Curated OER
Categorizing Celestial Objects
Students work together to develop a classification system for planets. They take a class vote and read an article about an astronomer's classification system. They write an essay on how scientists make decisions for the general public.
Curated OER
Scale Model of Our Nearest Stars
Sixth graders calculate a light day, light hour, and light minute from the standard of a light year. After establishing the distances, a one meter scale is created to demonstrate the distance between the sun and the planets of our solar...
Curated OER
Star Words
Students identify and categorize apostrophes. They create maps of the solar system and write simple sentences using apostrophes that describe each planet's characteristics.
Curated OER
Glowing Glimpses of Our Universe
Students will complete hands-on space activities. In this space science lesson, students will create a glow-in-the-dark model of the solar system, visit a planetarium, make star pictures, and paint constellations. Activities are meant to...
Curated OER
Changing Faces: A Study of Solar and Planetary Rotation Rates
Students determine rotation rates of a variety of solar system objects using images and the Internet.
Curated OER
Making Models To Understand Our Home
Students investigate the concept of a model and how it is used to represent something that is real. They recognize how the model can be applied to other types of concepts like the solar system. Students create a scale drawing of a house...
Curated OER
Volume Calculation Exercise
Middle schoolers work with scientific notation and rounding as they determine volume. In this volume instructional activity, pupils attempt to calculate the volume of the planet Jupiter. They use rounding to two significant digits and...
Curated OER
Hyperstudio Solar System Review: Technology, Study Skills
Students use Hyperstudio to review important points before taking a test at the end of a study unit on the solar system. This concept could easily be switched to many different topics.
Curated OER
Exploring Place and Space
Young scholars explore number values by completing mathematical worksheets in class. For this decimals lesson, students identify the different place values a number has and the use of decimals to represent a fraction of a number. Young...
University of Colorado
Planetary Distances on the Playground
Earth is 149,600,000 km, or 92,957,130.4 miles, from the sun. Young astronauts create an interactive model to learn the distances between planets. Nine groups, each representing a different planet, are spread around at class-calculated...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Let's Save Water: Water Conservation
Did you know that cutting down your shower by one minute a day can save five gallons of water? Learn about water conservation with a science reading activity. After kids finish reading key terms and water-saving tips in a reading...
Curated OER
Visual Arts- Planetary Travel Brochure
Learners research the planets and create a "travel brochure." In this space science lesson, students read the book Magic School Bus: Lost in Space and identify various properties of each planet. Learners create a brochure for a specific...
Curated OER
Exploring Mars
Learners, 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...
Yummy Math
Curiosity Landed on Mars
Out of this world math and science are mixed together on a learning exercise that would be a great enrichment activity classrooms that are studying our solar system. The information presented is best suited toward middle school math, and...
Curated OER
Saturn’s Moons
Students compare Saturn's moons to the Earth's moon. In this moon lesson students work in groups and complete a lab activity then answer questions.
Curated OER
Eclipses
In this eclipses worksheet, students are given diagrams of a solar and lunar eclipse. They fill in each diagram with given terms and color the diagram to indicate the process for each type of eclipse.
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Earth's Rotation
After completing the activity, "Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year," zoom in on Earth's rotation using the same simulation setup and this outline. Each class member dons a map of the Western Hemisphere and plays the part of...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Mars Opposition Dance
Your class will watch as one child orbits the sun as Earth, while another orbits as Mars. If the timing is right, they will see the repetitive dance between the two planets and discover how often they are opposite from each other. For...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Planets
Young scholars become familiar with the members of the solar system and planetary order. They identify differences and characteristics of individual planets. Finally students visualize the great size of the solar system and make the...
Curated OER
Colonizing the Stars
Students compare and contrast the size, composition and surface features of the nine planets of our solar system with the possible sizes and compositions of extra -solar planets.
Curated OER
Hubble Sees a Distant Planet
In this Hubble telescope worksheet, students solve 4 problems about the image of the distant planet the Hubble telescope discovered. Students determine the distance the planet was from its star in 2006, they determine the planet's...