Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life Beyond Earth

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners investigate the solar system and what makes a planet habitable. They complete an online Webquest, simulate a NASA training program online, take an online quiz, answer discussion questions, and locate newspaper articles about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lining up the planets

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students follow cue cards in order to order the planets in the correct order in the solar system. For this planets lesson plan, students work in groups to make a 2D model of the planets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Celestial Motions

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders complete a unit of lessons on the history of our knowledge of celestial objects. They conduct Internet research, plot the motion of a planet, construct a model of the sun's apparent motions, and create diagrams of the solar...
Lesson Plan
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NASA's Mars gamble pays off

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners read an article about NASA and Mars and complete short answer questions about the article. In this Mars lesson plan, students also create a scale model of the solar system.
Worksheet
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Astronomy Test

For Students 6th - 8th
In this astronomy test, middle schoolers answer 50 true/false and multiple choice questions about the relationships of the earth, moon, and sun. The test also includes questions about the solar system, galaxies, and the universe. An...
Lesson Plan
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Exploring Mars

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Students, 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...
Printables
Research Parent

Universe Cards

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
A 9-page packet comes with 24 cards that have pictures and informational text about each object in the universe. From nebulae to dwarf planets, objects we see—or don't see—are represented in the cards through pictures and words.
Worksheet
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Planets Word Search

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
In this planets word search instructional activity, students search for words that name eight planets reading across, up and down, or diagonally that are hidden in the puzzle. Students find 8 words.
Lesson Plan
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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 instructional activity students compare active and solar techniques.
Printables
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Mercury

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
In this solar system learning exercise, students color a detailed picture of the planet Mercury. Students answer 5 essay questions about the planet.
Organizer
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The Earth and Beyond

For Students 5th - 6th
In this solar system worksheet, students complete 2 activities that involve ordering the nine planets and correctly placing them onto a diagram.
Lesson Plan
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Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students study space. In this solar system lesson plan, students discover the correct order of the planets and create a diagram showing this knowledge. They listen to the book A New View of the Solar System and then work in groups on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planet/Constellation Mobile

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Pupils, through small group discussion, identify and share a rationale for shapes and patterns in the construction of a mobile that represents the solar system that makes them think of the creation of our solar system.
Lesson Plan
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Please Ex-Planet

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders create a model of an earth centered solar system and a model of the sun centered solar system. As a class, they discuss why the earlier astronomers believed their model and why it changed when evidence arose that this...
Lesson Plan
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Identifying Characteristics of Planets And Their Moon(s) Using an Internet Scavenger Hunt.

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars perform an internet scavenger hunt. They describe characteristics of each planet and their moon(s) and draw a diagram of the solar system and label the planets.
Lesson Plan
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Determining distance between planets and the Sun

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students use a model to determine the distance between the sun and plants in our solar system. They determine a scale to use that represents the distance between the Earth and sun. Students calculate the scale distance that each planet...
Lesson Plan
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Interplanetary Distance and Travel Time

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students are introduced to the challenges involved in understanding the space travel distances and the time involved to do so through the use of an interactive fable. The modeling and comparisons deal with specific distances at different...
Lesson Plan
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Take a Spin Through the Solar System

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders participate in a variety of activities to explore the Solar System in this unit.
Lesson Plan
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Solar System (Lesson 2)

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify the objects that make up the solar system. They define new vocabulary and practice using them. They discover that the sun is a star.
Worksheet
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Solar System

For Students 6th - 10th
In this solar system, students review information about the planets found in our solar system. Students complete 15 fill in the blank questions and then find the 9 planets in a word search.
Lesson Plan
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Word Processing and Internet Planet Report

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders write a research report on a selected planet in the solar system. They conduct Internet research, save a graphic from the Internet onto a disk, bookmark websites, and present their report.
Worksheet
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Solar System

For Students 5th
For this Solar System worksheet, 5th graders demonstrate knowledge of parts of the Solar System. Students unscramble letters to list these parts.
Lesson Plan
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Earth's Place in the Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students study and discuss the planets. They create a visual representation of the layout of the solar system and color it. They also write an informative/narrative summary report on the cultural relevance of the Sun.
Lesson Plan
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Our Solar System

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
In this solar system worksheet, students find the names of the eight planets in the word search puzzle. The names of the planets are listed.