Students are introduced to planetary research and become familiar with the planets and their features. They view images of the planets, and fill in an information chart which is imbedded in this plan.

In this solar system word search worksheet, students locate and mark the 8 planet names within the word search puzzle. No word bank is provided.

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 learners have researched and organized their...

Looking to take a trip? Why not go to space? Here, scholars take on the role as travel agent to create a guide to their favorite planet including travel tips and sightseeing recommendations. 

Does the angle of a solar panel change the output? Emerging engineers find out! Demonstrate for your class how they can angle a straw to match the angle of light rays coming from a source. Then turn them loose to experiment with the...

The first remote sensors were people in hot air balloons taking photographs of Earth to make maps. Expose middle school learners to space exploration with the use of remote sensing. Groups explore and make observations of a new...

How is solar energy able to move wind and water to control the climate? Scholars explore the concept of solar energy in the first of 10 activities in the Discover Your Changing World series. They follow instructions to build homemade...

What would a baseball game look like on the moon? Probably a lot of home runs! A creative activity explores the motion of a projectile on the surface of different bodies in the solar system. Participants adjust the angle and...

Kepler decided to think outside the box and discovered that planets orbit in elliptical patterns. An engaging activity demonstrates the elliptical orbit pattern in relationship to the area of a planet to explain Kepler's Second Law....

In this solar system instructional activity, students fill in the blank to sentences that refer to the solar system. Students fill in 15 blanks with planet names.

In this science and research skills activity, students use Internet searches to find the answers to 15 questions about the planets in the solar system.

Learners research the solar cycle. In this Science lesson, students use the internet to investigate the solar cycle. Learners produce a spreadsheet and graph from the information collected.

Learners simulate different spacecraft missions using materials provided. In this space science lesson, students observe and record a planetary model's features from a distance. They relate this activity to scientists' space exploration...

A lamp, four globes, and some signs taped around the room are all you need to set up a solar system simulation for teaching how Earth's tilted axis creates the seasons. (Sticky dots are also needed, but not mentioned in the materials...

Students examine the concept of a solar system. In this research based lesson, students compare a star and a planet. They explain the requirements for life in a biosphere.

Learners learn about the planets by creating a MediaBlender travel brochure. In this space science worksheet, students do research on a planet and create an interactive brochure for a visit to this planet. Learners include facts about...

Students investigate the planets in our solar system. They conduct research using a variety of resources in order for students to make cognitive connections with the demonstrations made by the teacher. Students discover how to recognize...

Young scholars complete an in-depth study of the known planets in the solar system. As a class, students identify the planets that are known in the universe, in the night sky. They explain the differences between planets and stars and...

There is a specific zone, or distance from a star, that a planet must be in order to have water in a liquid form. The activity demonstrates how flux density depends on its distance from the source. A photovoltaic cell gets power to...

Did you know that Neptune is named after the Roman god of the sea? Young astronomers read about this and other facts about the eighth planet from the sun in a short informational text passage.

Help your class understand the magnitude of the distance between Earth and Mars with an activity that asks small groups to use balloons to create scale models of the Earth, Moon, and Mars. Class members figure out the distances...

After reading a short excerpt about Mercury, your class will answer four comprehension questions. The worksheet challenges them to fold over the paper and answer the questions without referring back to the excerpt. An answer sheet is...

You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate...

Sixth graders examine and investigate the solar system. They participate in a Webquest, and create a Powerpoint presentation that is meant to be a research guide to help alien visitors find a suitable habitat in the solar system.