Curated OER
Houston, We Have a Problem! An Introductory Lesson for the unit Stars, Galaxies and the Universe
The lesson plan would make a stimulating introduction to a space unit. It is highly imaginative and suggests that the teacher darken the room to set the mood and dress as an astronaut. Teams are asked to help solve an imaginary problem...
NASA
Just How Far is That Star?
Pupils often wonder how we know the distance to various stars. Starting with a thought experiment and progressing to a physical experiment, they determine the brightness and distance to various stars. The evaluation requires...
NASA
Raisin Bread Universe
What is the universal breakfast? The resource includes two activities, the first one observing oatmeal to understand the texture of the universe. Then, scholars measure raisin bread dough before and after it rises to represent the...
Curated OER
Taking the Measure of the Universe
Four fabulous activities immerse amateur astronomers into measuring objects that we cannot handle. The experiences are applied to NASA's Space Interferometry Mission, which will take measurements of planets around stars other than our...
Curated OER
The Universe
Middle schoolers describe what scientists mean by an "expanding universe" in their own words. They explain how scientists comprehend the universie is expanding. Students comprehend the vast scale of the universe. They comprehend how...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Explore the Characteristics of Stars with Microsoft WorldWide Telescope
Students explore the characteristics of stars. In this space science activity, students use the Microsoft WorldWide Telescope program to identify the properties of stars and identify the stars in the galaxy.
Curated OER
Galaxy Mapping
Students research the constellations and discuss their findings. Then they construct their own maps of the galaxy using paper, black paint, aluminum foil, etc. They make a 3-D map of their chosen constellation.
Curated OER
Time Travel to the Edge of the Universe and Back!
Learners analyze the size of the universe and calculate the time to travel to near and distant destinations.
Curated OER
The Battle for Ultimate Power
Students gain an understanding of how the powers of 10 and scientific notation can be used to represent the scale of things in the universe. They relate the number of stars in the universe to the number of grains of sand on Earth's beaches.
Curated OER
Galaxy Hunter - A Cosmic Photo Safari
Space science stars journey through our night sky and take virtual photos of galaxies to investigate simple random samples. Higher math is used to analyze the data collected. Copy the evaluation/assessment questions onto a handout...
Curated OER
Star Party- Closing Lesson
Students study the stars and galaxies. In this universe instructional activity students complete their unit by participating in an evening bonfire to share what they learned.
Curated OER
Dark Matter In The Universe
Students investigate the concept of dark matter and how it occurs in the universe. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students use the information by reading at least two articles about dark matter. They also generate...
Curated OER
Galaxies
In this galaxy worksheet, students use the galaxy fact worksheet to complete 18 fill in the blank questions about galaxy shape, sizes, and number of stars.
Curated OER
Hunting for galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field
Students examine Hubble Deep Field images. In this galaxy classification lesson, students research galaxy classification. Students view and classify Hubble Deep field images of galaxies.
Curated OER
History of the Universe
Students describe how the universe was formed. In this astronomy lesson, students listen and respond to questions in a PowerPoint lesson that includes various theories about how the universe was created.
Curated OER
Stars and Galaxies
Eighth graders define constellations and how they are used as reference points and identify stars and constellations in the nighttime sky. They construct their own planetarium star finder and identify the location of circumpolar, zodiac,...
Curated OER
Time That Period
Physical science starters play with a pendulum in order to experience periodicity. Detailed procedures and a worksheet are included for day one. For day two, learners will use a graphing calculator to help them plot orbit data from a...
Curated OER
Galactic Inquiry
Students view NASA images of galaxies and develop a galaxy classification scheme. They compare and contrast their classification scheme with that developed by Edwin Hubble. They recognize that galaxies are collections of billions of stars.
Curated OER
The Structure of the Galaxy
Students infer the galaxy shape. In this structure of the galaxy lesson plan students observe the distribution of objects in the sky and answer questions.
Space Awareness
Living in the Milky Way
Get to know our galaxy with an astronomy-themed, hands-on activity. Scholars watch an informative video, answer questions, and construct a model of the Milky Way in order to examine its contents and the distance inside it.
Virginia Department of Education
Modeling the Big Bang Theory
Young astronomers learn about the Big Bang Theory and redshift through a hands-on activity in the last installment of a three-part series. Participants draw dots on balloons and then inflate them to model how galaxies moved farther apart...
NASA
Discovering Some of Your “Yardsticks” Are Actually “Meter-sticks”
The Milky Way gets great reviews on Trip Advisor — 100 million stars. The activity allows scholars to rethink their assumptions and prior knowledge. Pupils observe a set of two lights at equal distance and brightness, but they believe...
Curated OER
How Many Stars in the Milky Way?
Students perform an experiment in which they will use a statistical method called `sampling' to count to a billion (and beyond). Students practice sampling by estimating the number of characters on a page from the classified section of a...