Lesson Plan
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The Coriolis Effect

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students will determine the direction of Earth's rotation as viewed from the north and south if they were suspended out in space. They will model how the rotation of the Earth causes currents to be deflected in different directions for...
Activity
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Moon Phase Flip Books

For Teachers 5th - 8th
What better way to study the moon phases than to see them in action? The directions on the handout only have kids cut out and tape on the moon phases to make the flipbook, but it would be even more powerful to include the name of each...
Worksheet
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Space Weight, Gravity, and Distance

For Students 9th - 12th
In this planets in space activity, students calculate their weight on the 9 planets plus calculate the distance of the planets from the sun in astronomical units. This activity has 6 fill in the blank and 3 short answer questions.
Lesson Plan
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Life Beyond Earth

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate the solar system and what makes a planet habitable. They complete an online Webquest, simulate a NASA training program online, take an online quiz, answer discussion questions, and locate newspaper articles about the...
Lesson Plan
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Delta, Delta, Where is the Delta?

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students explore several images of Earth from space. They identify parts of deltas. They observe, label, and measure delta images, taken from space. They consider how deltas form and why they differ in shape.
Lesson Plan
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The Role of the Atmosphere and Greenhouse Effect in Determining the Surface Temperature of the Earth

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students complete research and solve problems that show the factors that determine the temperature of the earth's surface including the effect of greenhouse gases. They look at the relationships between solar energy, atmosphere, and how...
Lesson Plan
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Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation with Simple Machines

For Teachers 1st
First graders engage in a instructional activity that is about Newton's Laws Of Gravitation while conducting research in order to perform an information search. They sing a song about the Law of Gravitation and play a game of Ring Around...
Lesson Plan
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Space, the Final Frontier...

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students study a common theory on how the solar system was formed and examine the relative scale of the size and distances among the bodies of the Solar System.
Lesson Plan
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The Water Cycle

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders discover how water circulates through the earth and its atmosphere while determine how much of the Earth's water is suitable for drinking. They discover the meaning of evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation and...
Lesson Plan
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Science: What Is a Barometer?

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discover how barometers help to predict the weather. Using newspapers, they examine the weather forecast and determine the meaning of high and low as they pertain to pressure. After making cluster diagrams, 4th graders...
Lesson Plan
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Organisms and Their Environment

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore Earth's biosphere. In this biosphere lesson, students participate in group activities regarding biotic and abiotic factors, population density, and species' habitats.
Lesson Plan
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How Clean is the Water?

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Learners read about and discuss water and how it is used as a resource and how engineers use technology to preserve it. In this water lesson plan, students look at a picture of water treatment and tell what is wrong with the picture.
PPT
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Climate Shifts

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Eight slides of information related to shifts in the climate make up this presentation. The vocabulary and concepts displayed are geared toward high school meteorology learners. Content is not cohesive from slide to slide, but the...
Lesson Plan
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Heat Up the Floating Plates

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders research the connection between the convection currents within the mantle of the earth and the moving of Earth's plates. A connection to lessons at previous grade levels on the rock cycle and important background...
Worksheet
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The Expanding Universe

For Students 2nd - 6th
In this expanding universe worksheet, students create a universe with balloons, clothes pins, markers, and more and see what this means for the distance between the Earth and stars. Students follow 6 directions and answer 3 questions.
Lesson Plan
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Outdoor Observation

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders explore Earth science by participating in a nature observation activity. In this four seasons lesson, 2nd graders identify the four seasons on Earth and the weather patterns they are known for. Students read several books...
Lesson Plan
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LCROSS Moon Mission

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students read to discover the sequence of events of the LCROSS moon mission.  In this space science instructional activity, students read an article about the LCROSS moon mission and the events that took place.  After reading,...
Lesson Plan
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Wide Open Spaces

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students examine the problem of groundwater pollution. In groups, they develop a solution to solve the problem of a local polluted water source. They also practice measuring the space between sediment particles and the rate of water flow.
Worksheet
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Worksheet 4. Reading: The First Woman in Space

For Students 2nd - 5th
In this vocabulary review worksheet, students read a brief 4 paragraph selection about the first woman in space and answer 10 multiple choice questions pertaining to it.
Worksheet
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Problems With Space Exploration-Reading Comprehension

For Students 3rd - 6th
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a passage about problems with space exploration, then complete a set of comprehension activities, including writing 2 paragraphs about a given topic.
Lesson Plan
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Our Ever Changing Earth

For Teachers 1st
First graders discover plate tectonics. They observe the forces of erosion. They observe the forces of weathering. They state three ways the earth changes. They record observations and make conclusions about their observations.
Lesson Plan
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Animal Coverings

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students compare and contrast the types of coverings found on animals. They identify a wide variety of animals in a museum room. They classify animals based on their coverings as well.
Lesson Plan
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The Magic School Bus Lost in Space

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students identify the planets by making two models of the Solar System. They create a model that shows the order of the planets and a model that shows the planets sizes as compared to one another. They may write about the planet they...
Lesson Plan
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My Place In Space

For Teachers 4th - 8th
The purpose of this unit is for students to make the rich set of connections between astronomy and the rest of science and technology, language arts, cultural studies (social studies), math, art, and music.