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Activity
Smarter Balanced

View Through a Telescope

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Preparing for an assessment? Here's an activity that will ensure that all class members have the background knowledge they need to demonstrate their skills on a performance task related to the solar system and the tools astronomers use...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Telescoping Periscope

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Ahoy, matey! Here is an engineering expedition that mini mariners are sure to be swept away by! After reading a brief description and history of periscopes, they work in crews to construct one. Use this activity to enhance a lesson on...
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PPT
Urbana School District

Optics

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Don't worry, optics is a light topic! The presentation covers reflection, refraction, fiber optics, mirages, prisms, rainbows, dispersion, mirrors, lenses, telescopes, diffraction, the human eye, and much, much more. Presentation is the...
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Activity
Las Cumbres Observatory

Astronomical Seeing - How Good Are the Observing Conditions?

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Why is star gazing easy on some nights and difficult on others? Pupils aim to quantify the answer in an enlightening astronomy lesson. After collecting images from an online robotic telescope, they measure the brightness of images using...
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PPT
Mr. E. Science

Stars, Galaxies and the Universe

For Students 7th - 8th Standards
It takes 225 million years for our sun to travel around the galaxy. The presentation covers astronomical units, light years, telescopes, types of stars, the life cycle of a star, and types of galaxies. This is the last lesson in a...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Galileo: Revealing the Universe

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
To gain an understanding of the significance of Galileo Galilei's revolutionary ideas, class members watch the short video "Stargazing Before Galileo," and conduct a close reading of Galileo's Sidereal Messsenger. They then compare...
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Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Mission: Possible—How Can We Plan an Exploration of Another World?

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
An astronaut's spacesuit weighs 280 pounds and takes 45 minutes to put on — that's a serious suit! The second activity of a three-part series allows pupils to see all that goes into space exploration. Through simulations, groups analyze...
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

How Did the Universe Begin?

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
The Big Bang Theory is more than a television show. Pupils read how Edwin Hubble observed other galaxies and noticed that the galaxies are moving away from each other. Scholars learn about the idea of the big bang and what happened next...
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Article
NASA

Blinded by the Light!

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Pupils learn of multiple ways astronomers look for planets outside of the solar system. By completing a hands-on activity, scholars discover that trying to see the planets directly because of the glare from the nearby star is nearly...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

NOVA Sun Lab Lesson Plan

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Looking for a sun-sational multi-lesson plan full of videos, simulations, and discussion? Introduce your young scientists to all things solar with a four-part hands-on adventure. Pupils learn the basics of solar anatomy, space weather,...
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eBook
Rice University

College Physics for AP® Courses

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains multiple...
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PPT
Glynn County School System

Multi-Wavelength Astronomy

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Take a look at astronomy through the light lens. From radio to gamma, light waves exist in every corner of the universe. An enlightening PowerPoint presentation gives an overview of the different categories of light and then discusses...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Exoplanets through Kepler’s Laws

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The majority of all confirmed exoplanets relied on Kepler's laws to discover their locations. Scholars learn how to apply Kepler's laws and then practice using data to discover exoplanets. They benefit from NASA video footage, NOVA...
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Activity
Las Cumbres Observatory

Create a Hubble Tuning Fork Diagram

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Add a little color to the universe. Learners recreate images of the galaxies using real data and Photoshop software. They display their images in a Hubble tuning fork diagram by classifying and categorizing their shapes.
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Interactive
Las Cumbres Observatory

Agent Exoplanet

For Students 6th - 12th
Not everything revolves around the sun! Believe it or not, there are planets, called exoplanets, that orbit stars other than our sun. Learners use an interactive online resource to research several of these planets. They learn about the...
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "In the Next Galaxy" by Ruth Stone

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Imagine what life might be like in a different galaxy. That's the challenge young scientists take on in a warm-up activity designed to prepare them for a close reading of Ruth Stone's poem "In the Next Galaxy." After class members share...
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Activity
Las Cumbres Observatory

How Big is the Solar System?

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Find out if it's possible to travel to the edge of the solar system. Learners use a piece of string to model the distance between planets in the solar system. They then use the distances to calculate how long it would take to travel to...
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Planetary Mysteries

For Students 6th - 12th
A website all about planetary mysteries—it's a one-stop-shop for all things, stars, planets, and space travel. Scholars read an astronomy overview to discover the page's big ideas, then choose from the plethora of resources, including...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

The Amazing Red Planet

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Introduce your class to Mars with a resource that provides information about its size, location, length of day, length of year, number of moons, and average temperature. Also includes is information about the lans for past and future...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Determining the Nature, Size, and Age of the Universe

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Prompt scholars to discover the expansion of the universe themselves. Using photographs of other galaxies, they measure and then graph the size and distance of each. Finally, they draw conclusions and prove the universe is expanding.
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Lesson Plan
1
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University of Colorado

Phases of Charon

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Pluto, although no longer considered a planet, has five moons. Pluto's moon, Charon, is the focus of a resource that describes how the moon is viewed from the surface of Pluto. Photos help individuals see how Charon would look at...
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

The Jovian Basketball Hoop

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
A radio receives radio signals, converts them to an electrical signal, then converts this signal to a sound signal, and amplifies the sound so people can hear it. Class members use this information to create a short-wave radio antenna...
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PPT
Glynn County School System

Terrestrial Planets

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are collectively known as the terrestrial planets. Although part of the same group, each planet has its own set of characteristics. Scholars explore the characteristics that make the planets unique and...
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PPT
Glynn County School System

Light, History, Gravity, Distance, Relativity, and Space-Time

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Let the star's color be the guide! The color of a star indicates its temperature and its mass and distance affect the gravitational force. The lesson presentations address these concepts as well as how the theory of special relativity...

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