Curated OER
Spatial Relationships: an Over/Under Dance
Young scholars explore the relationships of space through movement. Two perform movement improvisation based on over/under. The activity improves hand-eye coordination, cooperation, and communication skills. The timing of the dance also...
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Celebrating 100 Years of Flight for Grades 3-5
Students study the history of flight of the past one hundred years, focusing on the invention of the airplane, the introduction of women pilots and the space race. They conduct research and then write and publish a "100 Years of Flight"...
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Trip to Moon, Mars, or Wherever!
Students play a game relating to outer space. This game can be adapted for higher grades.
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On Jupiter
Students tour Jupiter. In this scenario based lesson, students examine the size of Jupiter and make models of the other planets in the solar system to show how large Jupiter is compared to the other planets.
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Sustainable Livestock
Young scholars investigate healthy eating habits by researching livestock. In this food sustainability lesson, students research the negative impact factory farming has on our environment due to pollution. Young scholars define...
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The American Currency Exhibit
Examine the historical structure, the purposes, and functions of the United States monetary system. Your class engages in a scavenger hunt to compare U.S. currency notes from specific eras throughout U.S. history. They work to identify...
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Making Regolith
You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate...
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How Big Is That Star?
Aspiring astronomers study stars. They compare stars and explain the relationship between radius, mass, and diameter. By creating a star simulation, they discover how a binary star system's orbit can cause changes in the observed...
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Celebrating 100 Years of Flight
Participate in the 100th anniversary of the first flight. In groups, learners use the internet to research the roles the Wright Brothers and Amelia Earhart played in promoting the use of flight. They use the information to write and...
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Green Classroom Audit
Students audit their classroom for environmentally friendly practices. In this "green" lesson, students take an inventory of the classroom and identify ways to improve practices. Students complete a worksheet, brainstorm new ideas for...
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Secret Writing Devices
Elementary and middle schoolers explore the world of secret writing, otherwise known as cryptography. After an interesting introduction to the activity, learners utilize a decoder badge which uses the St. Cyr cipher - which is a cipher...
SeaWorld
Marvelous Manatees
Here is an interesting lesson plan on the manatee for your upper graders or middle schoolers. A game is played where learners work together to complete a successful manatee migration. It's a board game, and all of the game components are...
NASA
Dark Matter NASA Conference
Young scholars calculate the escape velocity of planets in our solar system and use that knowledge to calculate the escape velocity for NGC 2300 group. They then suggest reasons for the escape velocity to be higher than possible given...
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The Color Spectrum: How Does it Work?
Create models of the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Working in small groups, your class can investigate metric conversions calculations. They will find the length of the waves in nanometers,...
NASA
Stellar Fingerprints and Doppler Red Shifts
Young scientists observe the spectra of elements and compare that to the Doppler effect. Hook scholars from the beginning all the way to the extension activities in this 5E-format lesson.
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Charting The Progress of New Horizons
Students explore the long distances and timescales involved in space travel. They track the progress of the New Horizons spacecraft and access the New Horizons website to discover the distance of the spacecraft from the Sun, and then...
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Finding the Spot
Fourth graders use circles to "home in" on particular spots, showing the ability of scientists to locate unseen objects in space. This activity shows how scientists know certain objects exist in space due to the forces exerted by...
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Build a Lunar Lander
Students build a space vehicle. For this space lesson, students create a shock-absorbing space vehicle that can be dropped from 1 foot in the air. Their vehicle must include an open cup with two marshmallows (astronauts) that can not fly...
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Where are you Spider?
First graders investigate the proximity of objects in space. In this proximity lesson, 1st graders place a felt spider in different locations on a teacher made book, and they describe its proximity to certain items in that book. Students...
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The Magic School Bus Out of This World
Students learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. In this Magic School Bus lesson plan, students explore craters that objects of different sizes and weights (marbles, Ping-Pong balls, and aluminum foil balls) create.
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Galaxies Galore, Games and More
Students practice skills used in scientific investigation while studying the three main types of galaxies. Students identify Earth as part of Milky Way galaxy, the parts of galaxies, and the types of galaxies, as well as classify...
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Classroom Planetarium
Students work in groups to create the planets of the solar system. In this planets lesson plan, students create a hanging solar system taking into account the size, shape and position of the planets. Students discuss the...
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Historical Witness - social Messaging
Students examine and develop artwork that shows women's roles during different eras. In this women's role instructional activity, students look at artwork that shows women at work during the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century....
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Outer Space Creature
Students read poems by Shel Silverstein about planets and outer space. As a class, they compare and contrast his descriptions to actual facts which have been discovered through explorations. They write a description of an outer space...