Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Out of This World (Science)

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students participate in various hands-on activities to visually demonstrate the positions of the planets from the sun. Then they draw a pictorial representation of the order of planets from the sun.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planet Picking

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students arrange the planets according to their distances from the sun. In this astronomy activity, students list interesting properties about each planet. They identify an unknown planet photo.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Colonizing the Stars

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners 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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling Hot and Cold Planets

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students, 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 differences...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Matters II

For Teachers 4th - 11th
Students research solar energy. In this solar energy activity, students construct a KWL chart and research solar energy through various websites and related readings. Students complete a science journal page as an assessment.
Activity
NASA

The Drake Equation

For Students 9th - 11th
In this Drake Equation worksheet, students read about how scientists can estimate the number of intelligent civilizations that may exist in our galaxy. Students answer 7 questions about the Drake Equation and they use the internet to...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Atom

For Students 6th - 12th
In this atom worksheet, students read about the parts of the atom and how atoms combine into molecules and compounds. Students learn how to read a periodic table. This worksheet has 20 fill in the blank and 10 matching questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moon Journal

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students review the planets and major moons in the Solar System. In groups, they research and describe the various phases of the moon. They record their observations of the moon phases over a specific period of time and use the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stellar Discoveries That Are Out of This World

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners hear of the recent discovery of a group of planets orbiting the star Upsilon Andromedae. Each student create a page about an element of the universe,
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Outer Space and Beyond

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students compare and contrast the size, characteristics, composition, and orbits of the planets in our Solar System. They view a PowerPoint presentation, and in small groups conduct Internet research on a selected planet. Each group...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Outer Space and Cyber Space

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders learn about the Solar System while they use mean, median and mode to explore the characteristics of the planets. Students web publish expository writing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Models To Understand Our Home

For Teachers K - 2nd
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...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto

For Students 7th - 12th
In this planets worksheet, students read information about Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto and then complete 18 multiple choice, 4 true or false, and 2 fill in the blank questions.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Watch This Space!

For Students 7th - 9th
In this space instructional activity, students, with a partner, answer five questions about the universe and read and discuss ten questions regarding astronomy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Far Away Is Saturn?

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students work together to create a scale model of the solar system. They write a descriptive paper and a paper comparing and contrasting the Earth to Saturn. They discuss their writings with the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comets

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the nature and composition of a comet. They research comet facts, legends, and myths. They identify different types of comets and describe what happens to a comet as it travels closer to the Sun.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inner Planets

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research characteristics of the planets and record their findings on Planet Web worksheet. They create fold paper to create a foldable booklet to display the information they discover about the planets.
Activity
International Technology Education Association

Pixel This!

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Did the image I drew match the image you saw? By simulating a satellite and a ground station, teams of two transmit data in the form of pixels in order to recreate an image. They use four different levels of brightness, creating slightly...
Activity
NASA

Taking Apart the Light

For Students 9th - 12th
Break down light into spectra. Scholars learn how atoms emit and absorb photons and come to understand how this process allows scientists to identify different atoms based on either absorption lines or emission lines. Learners then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Attributes of Renewable Energy: From Nanopossibilities to Solar Power

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore solar energy, why we use it and how we use it.  In this renewable energy lesson students compare active and solar techniques.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cosmic Wheels

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students build a scale model of the Solar System and determine the time other planets take to travel around the Sun in comparison to the time of the Earth's revolution. The velocity of the planets are also determined in this lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planetary Problem Solving

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students create their own planet. They determine its diameter, density, composition, mass and orbit. Students create a list of elements necessary to sustain human life. They present their model to the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Solar System

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students analyze the theories of the formation of the universe and solar system. Students analyze planetary motion and the physical laws that explain that motion: Rotation, Revolution, Apparent diurnal motions of the stars, sun, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Big Are Earth, Sun, and Moon?

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders draw what they believe is in space on a dry erase board. In groups, they are given a beaker half filled with water and they add a teaspoon of oil, observing the different layers that form. To end the lesson, they identify...