Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Path of the Sun: The Ecliptic

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate the celestial sphere and the paths it takes in the solar system.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pinhole Viewer

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students make a pinhole viewer to demonstrate how it inverts light passing through it which produces inverted images.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Color Recognition

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students envision how space observatories make use of monochromatic filters to collect data on the color of objects in space. They see the actual colors of objects when they are in monochromatic light.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Probes to Other Planets

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders use a list of robot components and common household items to design and construct a robot spacecraft model suitable for exploring the Saturn System. They present the robots to the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Path of the Sun, the Ecliptic

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to the ecliptic, the zodiac and the apparent motions of the Sun, Moon and planets across the sky.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension 6

For Students 8th - 9th
Set the timer for five minutes (or less), and distribute this resource to your class. There's a very short reading passage followed by a set of three questions. What a great tool in prepping your class for upcoming state testing. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get the Picture!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Astronomers practice downloading data from a high-energy satellite and translate the data into colored or shaded pixels. As a hands-on activity, they use pennies to simulate high-energy satellite data and they convert their penny...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Did the First Asteroid Come to be Discovered?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine asteroids including how and when they were discovered.  In this asteroid lesson plan students view a PowerPoint presentation on asteroids.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lotto or Life: What Are the Chances?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Though the website does not seem to have the mentioned video, a reding and lottery style games simulate the chances of finding intelligent life somewhere other than Earth. Without the video, this lesson is short, but it can be a useful...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Drake Equation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars use the Drake Equation to calculate the probability of sustaining life on various planets. Through the use of the equation, they determine whether intelligent and advanced civilizations can be developed on planets other...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth is Round?

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders discuss how Aristotle concluded that the Earth was round. As a class, they review theories about the Earth's shape and describe how life on Earth would be different if it were flat. Individually, they make a moon book in...
Interactive
Curated OER

Coordinates

For Students 6th
For this coordinates worksheet, 6th graders solve ten multiple choice questions by using their knowledge of coordinates on a grid. This is an interactive worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sun and Moon Poetry Baskets

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students write Sun and Moon poetry. In this poetry lesson, students research the sun and the moon.  They write poetry and create two class baskets for descriptive words about each.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Scientific Method

For Students 4th - 5th
In this scientific method worksheet, students read and discuss a 2 page article on the scientific method, match 3 founders of the scientific method with what they found or produced, answer 4 statements as true or false, list 3 crucial...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

News to the Core Reported by Very Special Students

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students create news articles that help them build their knowledge, skills, and academic confidence. In this special education lesson, students use previous knowledge to write a newsletter and demonstrate their understanding of various...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Mark Zuckerberg

For Students 4th - 6th
In this famous people worksheet, students read a selection about the life of Mark Zuckerberg, then complete a variety of comprehension activities including synonym matches, fill-in-the-blank sentence completions, unscrambling words and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Taking Risks: Drug and Alcohol Abuse

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students discuss a video about drug and alcohol abuse and their connection to risk-taking. They answer questions on a risk factor sheet about the use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. They discuss long and short term goals and how not...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The EUVE Orbit

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the nature of a satellite's orbit around the Earth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Celestial Reflections: See Yourself in the Sky!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students create a mirror/mirror frame using glass mosaic tiles, grout, and various other mosaic supplies.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Which Stars Can You Use for Navigation

For Students 9th - 10th
A great science project from Science Buddies that examines how ancient peoples navigated without the benefit of a GPS. Find out which stars are important in navigation in the northern and southern hemispheres. The Science Buddies project...
Article
Library of Congress

World Digital Library: Astronomy: Reaching for the Stars

For Students 9th - 10th
In this article the contributions of the Islamic world to our knowledge of astronomy is discussed.
Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Space Science: Astronomy for Kids

For Students 1st - 9th
Kids learn about astronomy, the study of outer space including the stars, planets, comets, black holes, and the Solar System. History and astronomers in this astronomy for teachers and kids section.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Where Did All the Stars Go?

For Students 3rd - 5th
If you live in a big city or urban area it is hard to see many stars at night. In most urban areas only the most brilliant stars, planets and the moon can be seen. This is because of something called light pollution which is the...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: The Moon and the Stars

For Students 3rd - 5th
When you are in the city, only a few of the brightest stars are visible. But when you are in the country, you can see many more stars than you can count. Sometimes you can even see the bright belt of our galaxy, the Milky Way. In this...