Lesson Plan
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Mensa For Kids: The Moon

For Teachers 1st
First graders explore space science by completing an arts and crafts activity. In this moon lesson, 1st graders explore the geography of the moon and discuss the importance it has for people living on Earth. Students create a replica...
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Moon, Mars, and Beyond-Mission Briefing

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students complete this introductory instructional activity in which they find out about the scenario for a simulated online space mission. They review vocabulary and complete a review sheet to reinforce the details of the mission and its...
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From Airmail to Airlines

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars explore changes in air transportation from 1920 to the present. In this air flight lesson plan, students are introduced to the history of air transportation. This lesson plan contains three different activities that will...
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The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF)

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students design an experiment for NASA's STEREO/IMPACT mission to measure the interplanetary magnetic field. This lesson includes 3 excellent hands-on and critical thinking activities in which students explore magnetism in the solar wind.
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Solids, Liquids, and Gases

For Teachers K - 4th
Students investigate and explore the three states of matter. They read and discuss the NASA article "The Engine That Does More," identify examples of each state of matter, and as a class complete a section of two worksheets. They...
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There's More to Light than Meets the Eye

For Teachers K - 4th
Learners explore the concept that not all light is visible to the human eye. Although UV light is not visible, it can still be harmful, causing sunburns or skin cancer. They use special beads to detect UV light around the school....
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Take the Stage

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore kinesthetic movements. In this kinesthetic movements lesson, 8th graders explore how to enter the stage properly. Over two days, students investigate how to hold their own on the stage during a dance.
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Theoretical Quantum Physics... For Kids!

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students explore quantum physics by participating in several class activities. In this space-time lesson, students discuss the concepts of time traveling and the anatomy of an atom. Students draw geometric figures and utilize string to...
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Follow the Sun

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students use a simple model of the Earth and Sun as seen from space to explore the sun's apparent movement across the sky over the course of a day and year. They consider the apparent direction of movement and changes in the sun's angle.
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Probing Our Solar System

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders engage in a lesson utilizing small group activities and individual work incorporating student research on space satellites, probes and international connections. They, in groups, construct information disks, timelines, and...
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Not Your Average Planet

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore median, mode, mean, and range using information about the planets and our solar system.
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Voyage: A Journey through our Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Young scholars build the Voyage scale model of the Solar System on a playground and "travel" to each planet. They recognize that the Sun and planets are tiny worlds in a vast space, giving them a new perspective on the Solar System, and...
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Beads, Balls, and Beakers

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Learners analyze the amount of space required to pack round objects. For this geometry lesson, students practice using space economically by practicing packing spheres into beakers. They then translate this concept to molecules being...
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Digestive System

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students analyze how the digestive system works by taking the food we eat and breaking it down for our bodies to use for various reasons. They list the major components of the digestive system and draw a diagram. They explain how...
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Stellar Resorts

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the future of "orbital vacations" and create fanciful tours of the Milky Way Galaxy. Students respond to the following prompt in their journals "Entrepreneurs are currently designing concepts for accommodating tourists...
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Shedding New Light

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider why photographs in space might not show stars and research the importance of light in this phenomenon. They research other scientific processes related to light or its absence and create "How It Works" posters about them.
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Magazine Dollars and Sense

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze magazine advertisements that appeal to them. They explore how tobacco companies continue to target teens in magazine advertisements. They explore how advertisers select magazine ad space.
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What's Air Got to Do with It?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students use M&M's to create a pie graph that expresses their understanding of the composition of air. They watch and conduct several simple experiments to develop an understanding of the properties of air (it has mass, it takes up...
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Etymology

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars tie together planet names with Greek mythology. Students browse thru a dictionary to see where exactly these names came from and what significance they have. Young scholars explore the origins of some English words.
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Plate Tectonics: Movin' and Shakin'

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students are introduced to the causes of plate movements and the hazards they present. They plot the location of 50 earthquakes and 50 volcanic eruptions on a map and explore the relationships between plate tectonics, earthquakes, and...
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Water Resources

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study water resources that are important to the people of North American and Africa. They use satellite images and data to explore how human actions can degrade, improve, or maintain water resources. They analyze and interpret...
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Gravity Launch

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students examine how gravity affects launching rockets into space. In this physical science instructional activity, students review the concept of gravity and use an interactive online site, "Gravity Launch," to simulate a rocket launch.
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Air and Water in the Environment

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students demonstrate an awareness of air as a substance that surrounds us and takes up space, and whose movement we feel as wind. They predict and describe how local weather conditions affect living things, including themselves.
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Waterproof Paper

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore matter through the concept of displacement. They perforrm an inquiry experiment with a glass, paper and a bucket to demonstrate that gases take up space.