Take young scientists on an exploration of the cosmos with this cross-curricular writing exercise. Tasked with producing an expository composition describing a planet of their choosing, students perform research and...

Sixth graders complete a unit of lessons on the solar system. In small groups, they participate in a Webquest, watch movies, complete graphic organizers, and answer questions, create a model of the planets, and develop a Powerpoint...

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

Should Pluto be considered a planet or a dwarf planet? Scholars research planets in our solar system to understand their similarities and differences. It also includes memory activities related to the order of the planets. 

First graders identify and explore the four inner planets. For this planet science lesson, 1st graders watch a PowerPoint about the planets. Students read the book Our Solar System and discuss the inner planets. Students create a book...

Students create a booklet about the inner planets after researching the characteristics of each planet. Students research the following items for each planet: moons, size, rotation, orbit, atmosphere, an interesting fact. Their final...

Sixth graders examine and investigate the solar system. They participate in a Webquest, and create a Powerpoint presentation that is meant to be a research guide to help alien visitors find a suitable habitat in the solar system.

Students research characteristics of the planets and record their findings on Planet Web worksheet. They create fold paper to create a foldable booklet to display the information they discover about the planets.

Students explain the observed motion of the planets. The inner ones move back-and-forth across the position of the Sun, while the outer ones usually advance in one direction, but with occasional temporary reversals known as "retrograde...

Young scholars view a video to gather information about our solar system. They create models of the planets to scale and place them in scale relative to their distances from the sun. They also visit a planetarium or use the internet to...

Ninth graders complete a unit of lessons on the history of our knowledge of celestial objects. They conduct Internet research, plot the motion of a planet, construct a model of the sun's apparent motions, and create diagrams of the solar...

First graders investigate the five outer planets. In this space science activity, 1st graders read the book Our Solar System and identify the five outer planets. Students create a booklet and write about outer planets.

Students study the ideas behind the heliocentric theory of Copernicus. They examine about retrograde motion of the planets as they move around the sun. They study astronomers who include Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Galileo.

Learners use the scientific method to explore the effect of size on impact cratering. They compare images of landforms on Earth to those of other planets to compare surface processes. Students infer the geologic history of another...

Students research Earth including what makes it suitable for life, its rotation, geological composition and gravity.

Take your science class on a hypothetical field trip to Mars with an engaging astronomy lesson. After first learning about NASA's Mars rover missions, young scientists plan their own scientific investigations of Earth's...