Handout
Nine Planets

The Nine Planets: The Moon

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the mythology, structure, observational history, gravitational force, and orbit of Earth's Moon.
Article
DOGO Media

Dogo News: Nasa Confirms Presence of Liquid Water on Mars

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about the fascinating discovery of liquid water on Mars. Includes video.
Handout
NASA

Nasa: Image Science Center: Ask the Space Scientist

For Students 9th - 10th
A NASA scientist, Dr. Sten Odenwald, answers many students' questions. Topics include planets, galaxies, black holes, the origin of the universe, and common misconceptions about space.
Website
Other

The Astronomy Cafe

For Students 9th - 10th
NASA scientist Sten Odenwald calls this his "web site for the astronomically disadvantaged." Do you have lots of questions about space that you can't seem to get answers to? Would you like to learn about a career in astronomy, Big Bang...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: An Inflated Impression of Mars

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The purpose of this activity is to use scaling in order to give students an idea of the size of Mars in relation to the Earth and the Moon as well as the distance between them. The students will have to calculate dimensions of the scaled...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Investigating Ordering Planets: Math Connections & Number Sense in Science

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this Solar System Investigate, students will determine ways to order the planets. Teacher directed inquiry will suggest that they first order the planets according to their distance from the sun. Students will then work on their own...
Handout
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Saturn O Logy Card

For Students 3rd - 8th
Flip this interactive card to start learning about the planet Saturn. Answer multiple-choice and fact-or-fiction questions and review some fast facts about the second largest planet in our solar system.
Handout
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Jupiter O Logy Card

For Students 3rd - 8th
Flip this interactive card to start learning about Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. Answer multiple-choice and fact-or-fiction questions and review some fast facts about Jupiter.
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: The Outer Planets

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars explore the outermost planets of our solar system: Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They also learn about characteristics of Pluto and its interactions with Neptune. Students learn a little about the history of space travel as...
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart guides online research on a study of our solar system and links the teacher to a WebQuest activity.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Geo Logic: Terrestrial and Jovian Planets

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Through GEOLogic puzzles, students are given clues about properties about the terrestrial and Jovian planets respectively, and challenged to match the planet with the correct equatorial radius, mean orbital velocity, and period of rotation.
Activity
NASA

Nasa: Planets in a Bottle

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
In this simple lesson, students grow yeast to learn how the climates on each of the nine planets would affect life.
Handout
Nine Planets

The Nine Planets: Uranus

For Students 9th - 10th
An excellent report on the planet Uranus. The site includes detailed information about the planet as well as links to information about Uranus moons, unmanned probes sent to explore Uranus, and an extensive set of images of the planet.
Article
University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas Mc Donald Observatory: Mars

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover interesting facts about Mars, the furthest planet from the sun.
Article
University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas Mc Donald Observatory: Venus

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover interesting facts about Venus, the hottest planet and the second planet from the Sun.
Article
University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas Mc Donald Observatory: Mercury

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover interesting facts about the tiny planet Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun.
Article
University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas Mc Donald Observatory: Earth

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn interesting information about the Earth, the largest of the "terrestrial" planets.
Article
University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas Mc Donald Observatory: Pluto

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover interesting information about Pluto, a member of the Kuiper Belt and no longer a planet since 2006.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Introduction to the Universe

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students use descriptive words to create imagery of the many varieties of objects found in our universe.
Website
NASA

Nasa: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

For Students 9th - 10th
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology is "the lead US center for robotic exploration of the solar system."
Website
Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum: Our Place in the Universe

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of a larger online exhibit on the moon and space, this site deals with one's place in the universe. The topics covered include the sun and solar system, the galaxy, and the universe.
Lesson Plan
Other

Sandburg Center for Sky Awareness: What Are the Shapes of the Planets' Orbits?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this lesson plan investigation students learn about the shapes of the planetary orbits by experimenting with ellipses of different proportions.
Graphic
NASA

Nasa: Astronomy Picture of the Day: Uranus's Moon Oberon

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief overview of Oberon, the most distant and second largest moon of Uranus. Includes its discovery and also a few pictures. A NASA picture of the day.
Graphic
NASA

Nasa: Astronomy Picture of the Day: Uranus's Moon Ariel

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a brief overview of Ariel, one of Uranus's moons. Details how its deep valleys were formed. A NASA astronomy picture of the day.