Math and science come together in this cross-curricular astronomy lesson plan on planetary motion. Starting off with a hands-on activity that engages the class in exploring the geometry of circles and ellipses, this lesson...

In this article about emails and plants activity, students read short descriptions about 8 planets in the solar system and then imagine they are visiting one of the planets and send an email to a family member describing their experience...

In this planets and fractions worksheet, students solve nine problems about the sizes and scales of planets compared to each other using fractions.

If Earth is modeled by a grapefruit, what planet could be represented by a golf ball? This activity uses everyday and not-so-everyday objects to create a model of the Solar System.

High schoolers read about the Spitzer Space Telescope and the technology used to learn about planet composition. They calculate the radius of a planet, the size of a planet, the average density of a planet and the likely core composition...

In this planets worksheet, students fill out a chart where they fill in the distance each planet is from the Earth, and how much travel time in years and hours it would take to get there. Students do this for 8 planets.

In this creative writing worksheet, students answer a series of questions about an alien they imagine. There are also other pre-writing exercises about historical figures, monuments, a zoo, and other topics designed to aid in the...

Fifth graders compare and contrast different sets of data on the basis of measures of central tendency.

In this scientific notation worksheet, students write a set of 9 average distances in standard form, then complete 3 additional problems. A reference web site is given for additional activities.

In this writing distances worksheet, students re-write the chart to show the distance each planet sits from the sun using words rather than numbers, all measurements are in km.

Students examine the astronomical concept of a year. They relate the passage of time on planets to historical events in the USA.