Curated OER
Designing a Crew Exploration Vehicle
Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design instructional activity. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork,...
Mr. E. Science
Manned Spaced Exploration: From Start to Gemini
Seven percent of Americans believe the moon landing was staged. The presentation covers manned space exploration from the beginning of the space race through the Gemini missions. The lesson is the 23rd in a set of 26.
American Museum of Natural History
Space Travel Guide
Scholars showcase their narrative writing skills with a science fiction writing assignment. Six pages present writers with a question to answer accompanied by a detailed picture to draw. All together, pages create a space-travel guide.
K5 Learning
Space Based Astronomy
How much astronomy can you study with the naked eye? Learn more about the ways scientists explore the galaxy with a short reading passage and set of short-answer questions.
NASA
Space Transportation: Reshooting the Moon
What does it take to get stuff to the Moon? Design teams create subsystems for a space transportation system to go to the Moon. The teams study Earth transportation components along with historical space transportation systems to...
Voyage Solar System
Round and Round We Go — Exploring Orbits in the Solar System
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...
NASA
Engineering Design for Human Exploration
What would it take to live on the lunar surface? Small groups build model rockets in order to simulate launching a habitat into space and rebuilding it. Divide the class into groups to design and build a model of a lunar habitat. The...
NASA
Lights on the International Space Station
Groups explore illumination with NASA's Lighting Environment Test Facility (LETF) as a context. Using the TI-Nspire app, groups determine the lux equation that models their simulation. They then use the lux equation to...
Concord Consortium
Triangles: Angle Space
Three angles in a triangle, three-dimensional space, it all seems connected somehow. Given several different triangles, pupils use the three angles of the triangle as coordinates to plot points in three-dimensional space. They explore...
EngageNY
Coordinates of Points in Space
Combine vectors and matrices to describe transformations in space. Class members create visual representations of the addition of ordered pairs to discover the resulting parallelogram. They also examine the graphical representation...
EngageNY
Solving Equations Involving Linear Transformations of the Coordinate Space
Explore methods for solving linear systems with your classes and introduce learners to using matrices as a viable method. Scholars are able to recognize situations where matrices are the efficient method of solving. Application...
American Museum of Natural History
Planetary Mysteries
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...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Looking to the Future
New Horizons set forth on a mission to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, the spacecraft is still on its way. Here, enthusiastic scholars predict what they will be like—likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.—when New Horizons arrives at its...
NASA
Resolving 3-Plane Traffic Conflicts by Changing Speed—Problem Set F
Get three planes to line up safely. Individuals work through a set of problems to eliminate spacing conflicts between three airplanes in flight. The pupils use their knowledge to change the airplanes' speed or route to meet a...
EngageNY
Composition of Linear Transformations 2
Scholars take transformations from the second to the third dimension as they extend their thinking of transformations to include three-dimensional figures. They explore how to use matrices to represent compositions of...
CK-12 Foundation
Sample Spaces and Events: Triple Spin!
Scholars determine the number of possible outcomes when a spinner is spun three times. They start with the case of one spin and build up to the case of three spins.
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Taking a Closer Look at Objects
Take a close look at the world around you with an activity that magnifies everyday objects. Five explorations examine items under intense magnification and pose a series of questions that encourage critical thinking and following...
K12 Reader
A Planet in the Solar System
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...
Curated OER
Water Cycle Activities
Explore the water cycle in all aspects with a resource packed full of activities and lessons. The 37-page packet comes with vocabulary, a game, writing prompts, printables, and opportunities to journey through the stages in the water...
American Museum of Natural History
Beyond Planet Earth
Scholars take a journey through space with 16 eye-catching images. Along the way, learners read captions starting with the moon, then move onto asteroids, Mars, and Jupiter.
American Museum of Natural History
Cosmic Connection
Do you see what I see? Individuals view eight images from the Hubble Space Telescope and then determine exactly what is being shown in the images. The pictures range from the rings of Saturn to views of billions of galaxies that take up...
American Museum of Natural History
Journey to the Stars
Fifteen detailed pictures and informative captions delve deep into the exploration of stars—their life cycle and importance in the universe.
Super Teacher Worksheets
Our Solar System Scavenger Hunt Activity
Send students on a search for facts about the solar system with this scavenger hunt activity. Whether they are finding out how far the sun is from the earth, or the names of all four gas giants, this resource will engage young...
A to Z Teacher Stuff
Solar System Book
Young astronomers travel through the solar system in the pages of this printable book. With clear pictures and simple sentence structure, this is a perfect resource for exploring the planets in the early elementary grade levels.