Travel through space as you learn about the galaxy, solar system, planets, and much more. An extensive resource for studying astronomy in upper-elementary and middle school classrooms.

The moon orbits Earth while the Earth is rotating, and the Earth revolves around the sun. This can be a tricky concept for young astronomers. Implement an activity that helps distinguish between the movements of Earth's systems around...

Humans have only inhabited Earth for a short part of its existence. An online resource explains how scientists use clues from rocks and fossils to piece together information about Earth prior to humans. The online instruction includes...

There is a specific zone, or distance from a star, that a planet must be in order to have water in a liquid form. The activity demonstrates how flux density depends on its distance from the source. A photovoltaic cell gets power to...

If you feel like you're standing still, you're wrong! The Earth is constantly rotating and orbiting under our feet. Demonstrate the Earth's movement within the solar system with a collaborative activity. With a candle or lamp in the...

Take a field trip around Earth by way of satellite images. Learners watch a video lesson that describes different images taken from orbiting satellites. They then test their visual skills in a 14-question online quiz. 

Your pupils may believe that you and their parents are the oldest things in the universe, but surprise! There are elements of the universe that are even older. Elementary scientists create a class timeline to demonstrate the...

Follow along as Stella Stardust interviews the sun. A fun and informative interview provides scholars with information about the sun. 

Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Take a virtual trip with a geography lesson plan that uses longitude and latitude, the position of the sun, an astronomy app, and a classroom globe.

Things are about to heat up in your classroom! A kinesthetic lesson asks learners to play the part of the gases in the earth's atmosphere and interact with the sun's radiation. The focus is to learn the impact of the increasing...

Scientists know the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today is higher than at any point in the last 800,000 years. Scholars learn about the amount of thermic radiation absorbed by air and what happens to the rest of the...

Save the planet one vocabulary activity at a time! Offer scholars a chance to locate 20 words with an Earth Day-themed word search. 

How do you know there is air? Can you see it, smell it, feel it? To begin the investigation, learners watch a video and discuss what they know about air and the atmosphere. Then, they participate in five different hands-on, inquiry-based...

Fifth graders gain knowledge about Mars and Earth. In this compare and contrast lesson, 5th graders use visual representations of the solar system to observe the characteristics of the planets. Students read fiction and nonfiction...

Students study robotic spacecrafts that have provided detailed information about the inner and outer planets. In this exploring the planets lesson plan, students use posters and diagrams to study the various robotic spacecraft sent to...

Eighth graders draw the paths of the planets in the solar system. In this astronomy lesson, 8th graders calculate speed of objects using distance and time information. They research about the work of scientists in the 16th and 17th century.

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

Cute graphics make this an attractive presentation for upper elementary classrooms, and multiple choice questions make it interactive as well. There is, however, a lack of coherence. For example, slide #4 addresses the air we breathe,...

Writing prompts are great because you can usually find one for any holiday or event. Have your class help the Lorax in his quest to spread the word about Earth Day and environmental awareness with a short printable prompt. The page...

Throughout this earth science exam, high-school geologists complete a series of multiple choice and short answer questions about the solar system, atmosphere, and earth system. This is an amazing test, as are all of the exams developed...

Students study the variables that affect the Earth's albedo.  In this environmental data analysis lesson students interpret and graph information and calculate changes. 

Inspire scholars to do their part for planet Earth with a read-aloud of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, and variety of activities designed to boost the environmental activist in us all. Activities include writing poems about the Earth,...

Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...

Get your hands dirty with a set of earth science activities! Class members delve into a hard-boiled egg to find the similarities to the earth's layers, create a papier-mâché model of the earth, craft a simulation of the earth's...