Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Can See and Feel the Change in the Seasons

For Teachers K
Students use their senses to investigate the changes in the seasons. They discuss how the Earth moves around the sun and its tilt. They practice using new vocabulary and examining the different seasons.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

PLANETS IN PROPORTION

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover scales for both the solar bodies' relative sizes and their distances from the sun. They find equatorial circumference and volumes of their solar bodies. Students apply estimation strategies and proportioanl reasoning to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stellar Magnitudes

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers analyze the stellar magnitude scale. In this stellar magnitude lesson, students examine the stellar magnitude scale. Middle schoolers predict the Sun's magnitude from various planets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Voyage Scale

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars identify how models are powerful tools of exploration and that the sizes of the planets and distances between the planets in the Solar System span a large range. They make a sign for each planet they have created in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Temperature Changes: Atmosphere & Ocean

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students observe temperature differences of water and air in sunlight and darkness. They determine that the sun warms the Earth's surface, which controls global currents and climate, keeping the earth habitable. They discover water and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Magic School Bus Lost in Space

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students identify the planets by making two models of the Solar System. They create a model that shows the order of the planets and a model that shows the planets sizes as compared to one another. They may write about the planet they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Activity: A Roundabout Way to Mars

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students investigate Hohmann orbit transfers using cardboard and string while focusing on the orbits of Earth and Mars. They look at the planets orbits around the sun and transfer orbit form one planet to another to determine what a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planets or Not, Here We Come!

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students, working in groups, research planets in terms of the size, temperature, number of moons, and potential for life. They use packets and worksheets as guides for their research. Students may role-play as aliens visiting their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Lunar and Terrestrial Tug of War

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders, in groups, locate, comprehend, interpret, and evaluate information about celestial bodies that influence ocean tides on Earth. They apply this information through graphic representations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Geology Quiz Worksheet

For Teachers 4th - 5th
For this earth science fill-in-the-blank worksheet students complete 8 questions about an geology. They see a picture of a rock and a volcano on the page. They check their work with the word bank at the bottom of the page.
Lesson Plan
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The Toilet Paper Solar System

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Young scholars classify the planets in the solar system, study planetary objects, and measure the relative distance between planets. In this solar system lesson, students use toilet paper to complete a scale model of the distance between...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In Outer Space

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students use the internet to gather information on the solar system. They identify the discoverer and unique characteristics of each planet. They compare and contrast each planet based on size, mass, and distance from the sun. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Layering the Soil

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students study and classify soil. In this soil science lesson, students classify soil by texture and size and study soil horizons. Students label the soil types with their specific soil horizon and learn about permafrost. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inner Planets

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students create a booklet about the inner planets after researching the characteristics of each planet. Students research the following items for each planet: moons, size, rotation, orbit, atmosphere, an interesting fact. Their final...
Lesson Plan
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Introduction to the Planets

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students become familiar with the members of the solar system and planetary order. They identify differences and characteristics of individual planets. Finally students visualize the great size of the solar system and make the image more...
Lesson Plan
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Moon Phase Stations

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders investigate the moon. In this Earth science activity, 3rd graders discuss the moon phases and how every 4 weeks the moon cycles through these phases.
Lesson Plan
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Tropical Atlantic Aerosols

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students analyze NASA data from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer. In this NASA data lesson, students access an assigned website to examine information from the MISR on the Terra Satellite. They determine how desert dust travels...
Lesson Plan
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Solar Powered Cars

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students build and race solar powered cars after a teacher lecture. They answer questions based on their experiences with the car they build.
Lesson Plan
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Observing Mars in the Night Sky

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students compare and contrast the orbits of Earth and Mars, locate the planet Mars, and diagram its retrograde motion.
Lesson Plan
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The Planets Terra Firma

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the theories of the creation of the universe and examine the properties of celestial bodies. They analyze the relationship between the sun, Earth and the other planets.
Lesson Plan
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Making a Food Web and Learning About Ecosystems

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the difference between a food web and food chain. They also examine the importance of the sun in a food web and food chain. Students understand what happens when you remove parts of the chain.
Lesson Plan
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The Planets Moon

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the theories of the creation of the universe and examine the properties of celestial bodies. They analyze the relationship between the sun, Earth and other planets. They discover the infinite potential of the science of...
Lesson Plan
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Planet Research

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Pupils recognize that the other eight known planets, which revolve around the Sun, have characteristics and surface conditions that are different from Earth; and identify examples of those differences.
Lesson Plan
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Polar Caps: Image Processing Tutorial

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students utilize computer image processing techniques to measure the size of Earth's polar ice caps and analyze various phenomena visible on planetary images.