Curated OER
Phases of the Moon
Students explore why when you examine the moon depends on its location in relationship to the sun and Earth. The moon never goes away or changes shape-we just see a different fraction of sunlight being reflected from the moon to Earth.
Curated OER
Space Science: Phases of the Moon
Looking for a terrific lesson on the phases of the moon that has lots of good worksheets? With two excellent websites are embedded in the plan, the activity is sure to spark some interest in your astronomy unit. Some common...
Science Matters
Thermal Energy Flow in Materials
The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth lesson in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal energy. Scholars build...
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
No Fossils in This Fuel
Yeast and sugar go beyond the pantry and into a fuel experiment. Use these common baking ingredients to assist your class in creating ethanol, a natural fuel. Pupils observe the process and gather information to elaborate...
Curated OER
Finding Out About the Stars and Planets
Students complete a web-based activity to study the planets and solar system. Students complete a number of activities including a slide show that depict the true facts about planets.
Curated OER
How Far Away Are the Planets?
Young scholars name nine planets in order, describe some notable characteristics of the planets, explain how distance from the sun may affect these characteristics, and create solar system models.
Curated OER
It's A Meteor
Students complete a webquest to find Earth's relationship to the sun. In this webquest lesson, students complete tasks to understand the effect of the sun on weather and time. Students create a multimedia presentation as an...
Curated OER
The Solar System Walk
A unique lesson on the solar system, and some of the mathematics associated with it, is here for your high schoolers. Pupils are put into groups of four, and each group is assigned one of the planets from our solar system. They must...
Virginia Department of Education
Solar System Model
How many planets can you name? Did you get all 13 in our solar system, including the dwarf planets, or were you surprised when you read there are 13 planets? The lesson helps scholars understand the scale of the universe including the...
Curated OER
Comet Myths, Facts, and Legends
Here is an interactive book lesson through which learners explore the facts and stories about comets. The plan is comprehensive, providing background information, standards met, vocabulary, assessment ideas, and more. Though the content...
Curated OER
Night Here, Day There
Explore astronomy with a lab sheet for fifth grade scientists. After reading a short explanation about the earth's rotation, they solve a word problem about the differences in times across the world. Next, they make a model of the solar...
Space Awareness
Climate Zones
The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The instructional activity goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use...
NASA
Taking Apart the Light
Break down light into spectra. Scholars learn how atoms emit and absorb photons and come to understand how this process allows scientists to identify different atoms based on either absorption lines or emission lines. Learners then...
Curated OER
The Solar System
High schoolers construct a sketch of the planets in our solar system using concentric circles and angles. In this solar system lesson plan, students plot the position of each planet on concentric circles using graph paper. The sun is...
Curated OER
Changes Inside Planets
Students relate meteorites to the mantle and crust of asteroids. In this planetary lesson students complete experiments to model the separation of light.
Curated OER
The Toilet Paper Solar System
Explore the solar system with this activity. Learners create a model of the solar system using toilet paper. With this creative approach, learners create a solar system according to distance and scale parameters, and write down a list of...
Curated OER
Interplanetary Distance and Travel Time
Students are introduced to the challenges involved in understanding the space travel distances and the time involved to do so through the use of an interactive fable. The modeling and comparisons deal with specific distances at different...
Curated OER
Organic Molecules Detected on Distant Planet!
Here is a planet worksheet in which learners read about organic molecules detected through spectral lines of the planet Osiris. They calculate the mass, the volume and the densities of common ingredients for planets including Osiris and...
Star Date
Solar System Scale Model Demonstration
Explore outer space and decorate your classroom with an astronomy project. Learners create a visual model with the creation of a scaled solar system using different sized balls.
Curated OER
Azimuth and Altitude
Students use a compass and their hands to find positions of stars and planets in the night sky or of the sun during the day.
Curated OER
Taking a Voyage away from Home
Young scholars experience and participate in a journey through a "Voyage" exhibition of the Solar System and the frontier it covers. They build a dynamic model of the Earth and Sun. Descriptions are given on the relative sizes of the Sun...
Curated OER
The Solar Cycle
Students research the solar cycle. In this Science lesson plan, students use the internet to investigate the solar cycle. Students produce a spreadsheet and graph from the information collected.
Curated OER
Your Weight on Other Planets
Students explore their weight on other planets. In this science lesson, students view a presentation about the other planets and complete a worksheet in which they make predictions about their weight on the moon and other planets.
Curated OER
Determining distance between planets and the Sun
Students use a model to determine the distance between the sun and plants in our solar system. They determine a scale to use that represents the distance between the Earth and sun. Students calculate the scale distance that each planet...