Eighth graders explore the reasons why they believe scientific ideas are true. They think critically rather than accept everything they are told without question.

Sixth graders understand the patterns of change observable on Earth as a result of the movement of the different bodies in the solar system. They identify the physical characteristics of the different components of the solar system.

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...

Ninth graders investigate and describe ways that human understanding of Earth and space has depended on technological development. They describe and interpret the science of optical and radio telescopes, space probes and remote sensing...

Learners identify the Earth-Moon relationship and the phases of the Moon. They participate in an activity that illustrates why the Moon has so many different looks within a lunar cycle. They discuss solar and lunar eclipses.

Third graders demonstrate the position of the Earth, Moon, and Sun in a solar and lunar eclipse. They list uses for manmade satellites and write a description of how a satellite would be use.

Students study the motions of the heavenly bodies.  In this space lesson students use models to show a variety of schemes explaining the motions. 

In this science worksheet, students find the words that are related to the common science terms. The answers are found using the links at the bottom of the page.

Students examine how Earth's rotation causes daily cycles in solar energy using a microset of satellite data to investigate the Earth's daily radiation budget and locating map locations using latitude and longitude coordinates.

Students investigate the concept of dark matter and how it occurs in the universe. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students use the information by reading at least two articles about dark matter. They also generate...

Students explain how moon phases occur. They describe and explain at least two common misconceptions that people have about the moon. Students explain what a star is. They explain 3 ways that the night sky has been used throughout history.

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...

Third graders explore the rotation of Earth and the moon. In this solar system lesson, 3rd graders participate in an Earth and moon simulation in which part of the class "becomes" the sun, while other children represent the moon by...

Students discover scientific facts about the Moon and how some American Indian Tribes used the moon to measure time. They accomplish this by listening to stories and poetry, writing stories, communicating with an astronaut,...

In this computer activity worksheet, students visit a website and take a Virtual Tour of the Sun. While navigating through the site, they complete 16 fill in the blank questions.

Eighth graders are introduced to concepts related to the Solar System. In groups, they participate in an experiment in which they must describe a ray of light and how it travels. They draw a diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum and...

Students correlate surface radiation with mean surface temperature of several geographic regions. They observe how these parameters change with latitude and construct an understanding of the relationship of solar radiation to seasonal...

Students explain the reason for the changes in season. In this lesson examining the relationship between the Earth and the Sun, students use an applet to discover how the alignment of the Earth and the Sun cause the change in seasons.

Learners research the Earth's patterns of rotation and revolution, create a chart and graph of these patterns and use them to explain the causes of night and day and summer and winter.

Students create an astrolabe and locate the North Star in the night sky. They determine the latitude of the North Star, and calculate an average latitude based on class results.

Students participate in activities in which they find the Big Dipper and locate the North Star in the night sky, examine the relationship between the angle to Polaris and latitude, and determine latitude by using an astrolabe.

Young scholars explain how moon phases occur. They explain three ways that the night sky has been used through history. Students locate some of the constellations in the night sky. They discuss stories and myths surrounding stars.

Students study the stars and their positions.  In this astronomy lesson plan students see how scientists can predict the positions of the stars and can tell how they would have appeared in the past. 

Students sketch the different phases of the moon after exploring them on an internet program. For this moon phases lesson plan, students discuss how the Sun, Earth, and Moon are related.