Curated OER
Glowing Glimpses of Our Universe
Young scholars will complete hands-on space activities. For this space science lesson, students will create a glow-in-the-dark model of the solar system, visit a planetarium, make star pictures, and paint constellations. Activities are...
Curated OER
Universal Proportions: Earth and Moon
Young scholars create scale models of Earth, the Moon, and the distances within the universe. Working in groups, they construct their models of Earth and the Moon on a scale of 50:1 and calculate how far apart to place their models. ...
Curated OER
Solar System
Students study space. In this solar system lesson, 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 their...
Curated OER
Time That Period
Physical science starters play with a pendulum in order to experience periodicity. Detailed procedures and a worksheet are included for day one. For day two, learners will use a graphing calculator to help them plot orbit data from a...
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Fighting Back!
Students examine the roles of the immune system in keeping the body healthy. They see how engineers contribute to this process by creating antibiotics, and vaccinations. They discuss how an astronauts' immune system may be suppressed...
Curated OER
Explore the Characteristics of Stars with Microsoft WorldWide Telescope
Students explore the characteristics of stars. In this space science activity, students use the Microsoft WorldWide Telescope program to identify the properties of stars and identify the stars in the galaxy.
Curated OER
Rock Cycles, Crayon Cycles
Students examine the rock cycle and the path that rocks go through to rearranged in different ways. They define key vocabulary terms, then in small groups conduct a variety of experiments using crayon shavings as simulated rocks and...
Curated OER
Origins: Earth Is Born
Learners develop a timeline of all the major events involved in the formation of the Earth and the emergence of humans. In groups, they focus on a specific topic by watching a PBS program and taking notes. After the video, they list...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Mars Opposition Dance
Your class will watch as one child orbits the sun as Earth, while another orbits as Mars. If the timing is right, they will see the repetitive dance between the two planets and discover how often they are opposite from each other. For...
Curated OER
Earth's Revolution and Rotation
Eighth graders investigate the regular motions of the sun, Earth and the moon and explain how these are related to days, years, seasons, eclipses, tides and moon cycles. They participate in an exercise where they explore the...
NASA
Earth, Earth’s Moon, Mars Balloons
Very specific diameters are given for blowing up three different balloons to represent, in scale, the moon, Earth, and Mars. In groups of three, amateur astronomers explore scale measurements and distance in space.
Curated OER
Moon WebQuest
Third graders research basic information about the moon and identify the phases and order of the phases of the moon. They conduct Internet research, complete a moon WebQuest, and write a magazine article about the moon using their...
Curated OER
Decoding a Mystery Message from Space
Students examine a message sent from outer space and do their best to interpret its meaning. In this problem solving lesson, students investigate a code sent to them from "outer space." The students collaborate with their classmates to...
Curated OER
Making Models To Understand Our Home
Pupils 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 or...
Curated OER
Space: Stars and Planets
Students observe and report that the moon can be seen sometimes at night and sometimes during the day. They describe how changes to a model can help predict how the real thing can be altered. Students explain the essential fact of the...
Curated OER
Earth Systems Science
High schoolers perform experiments designed to grow plants and bacteria in a controlled environment. In this ecosystems lesson students investigate varying conditions for growing plants and bacteria.
Curated OER
The Drake Equation
Students 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 than...
Curated OER
Microbial Influence on Earth's Systems
Students identify the different biogeochemical cycles on Earth. In this biology lesson, students observe microbes under a microscope. They compare and contrast respiration and photosynthesis.
Curated OER
The Space Cadet's Laboratory: Using Electromagnetic Energy to Study Astronomy
Students build their own spectrophotometer to study light. For this physics lesson, students explain the dual nature of light. They calculate the angle of incidence and refraction using Snell's law equation.
Curated OER
History of Astronomy
Students participate in assessments regarding the history of astronomy. They listen and take notes, draw a time line, draw a solar sytem designed by Ptolemy and create flashcards. They write an essay on Galileo, watch a video, take a...
Curated OER
Are There Other Neighborhoods Like Our Own?
Students investigate the possibility of life existing on other planets. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The instructional activity includes an overview that is used for classroom discussion practices. They tell the...
Curated OER
The Weather Classroom: Atmosphere
Students explore the planets and their atmospheres online. They write the story of "Goldilocks and the Nine Planets" to explain how each planet's atmosphere differs from Earth's. They design a viable life form.
University of Colorado
Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
In the 19th activity of 22, learners determine if distance from a light source affects photosynthesis. Participants capture oxygen in straws and find that the amount of water the gas displaces is proportional to the rate of photosynthesis.
PHET
CME Plotting
Young scientists build on their previous knowledge and apply it to coronal mass ejections. By plotting the path of two different coronal mass ejections, they develop an understanding of why most don't collide with Earth.