Find all things solar system in a set of reference cards. Even Pluto makes an appearance! Each of the 24 cards has a picture and accompanying informational text that gives brief background about the object.

Rocks and minerals are great on their own, but they also turn into some pretty amazing stuff! An online lesson explains the different types of materials we get from rocks and minerals, including glass, plastic, and coins. An embedded...

Investigate light in space as it encounters a large mass of matter. Learners discover the idea of gravitational lensing through an interactive activity. They adjust the size and location of the mass to see the effect on the path of...

Students investigate how engineers navigate satellites in orbit around the Earth and on their way to other planets in the solar system. They study vocabulary words and participate in studying a satellite by learning about times and...

Students simulate that they need to develop a new home on a different planet. They design a shelter that will ensure their survival after researching the characteristics of the other planet. They write an essay about their home design.

In this space instructional activity, students, with a partner, answer five questions about the universe and read and discuss ten questions regarding astronomy.

Students analyze the factors that affect exploration such as religion, trade, territorial expansion, and science. In this Great Explorations instructional activity, students determine the names of famous explorers as well as their routes...

Students consider the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. They view the first segment of Science Court video and use Timeliner software to construct a scale of the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

Students visit web sites with information on space fiction and collect information for their stories.

Fourth graders research sources of fossil fuels especially oil while determining how scientists take core samples from an Earth model. They look at oil consumption and production in the US and throughout the world.

High schoolers investigate the history and use of the Hubble Space Telescope. They take a quiz in order to establish in any prior knowledge. Students conduct research to find information in conjunction with participating in class...

Students assemble flip books. In this Earth science lesson, students read about different solar occurrences and create flip books. This teacher resource has links to create six different flip books.

Students list ways to reduce, reuse and recycle, and produce an acrostic poem reflecting their understanding about Earth Day. They also use the Internet to integrate technology into learning.

Students discover that the Earth rotates on its axis in a cyclical fashion. They examine how this rotation results in day and night.

Students explore the potential challenges of living in space.  In this investigative lesson students search the Internet to locate 16 nations that are working together to build the Independent Space Station, then they divide into...

Students explore the Earth. In this space activity, students view the " Earth and Moon Viewer" web site and complete a related worksheet.

Students observe pictures taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. From a given website, students observe images of the Einstein Cross, Black Eye Galaxy, Hoag's Object, merging and interacting galaxies and more. This lesson plan gives a...

Students read and discuss," The Andromeda Strain" by Michael Crichton and complete a short writing exercise as a warm-up for a longer piece of science fiction writing. They choose a topic and create a science fiction short story such...

Students investigate oxidation-reduction reactions involving iron by conducting an experiment in which they expose iron filings to different atmospheric and ocean conditions. They relate the results to the oxidation banding patterns seen...

What do Newton's Laws have to do with getting from Earth to Mars?The activities in this resource show how Newton's Laws work with rockets to get them into space. Background information includes facts about orbits and how orbits...

Students discuss the solar system, the planets, periods of orbit and revolution.  In this space lesson students discuss the importance of the study of Mars and brainstorm ideas on how NASA might solve its Rover design problem. 

Who doesn't love learning about space? This presentation provides a mnemonic device and a song to help young students remember the names and basic facts about each of the nine planets in our solar system.

How does the color of a surface affect the heating of the earth? Middle school science classes experiment with color and surface albedo to determine the relationship. The website has tabs for an overview, teacher's instructions,...

Young scientists know it is hotter along the equator, but why is it also rainier? Through the process of completing two experiments and a worksheet, scholars discover the answer is the intertropical convergence zone. First, they...