Lesson Plan
NASA

Just How Far is That Star?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Pupils often wonder how we know the distance to various stars. Starting with a thought experiment and progressing to a physical experiment, they determine the brightness and distance to various stars. The evaluation requires...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Science Fiction Story

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
A lesson allows you to go back in time and see the big bang actually happen. Bazinga! In reality, pupils research the Big Bang Theory and theorize what it would be like to go back in time and see it happen. There are four...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Discovering Some of Your “Yardsticks” Are Actually “Meter-sticks”

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The Milky Way gets great reviews on Trip Advisor — 100 million stars. The activity allows scholars to rethink their assumptions and prior knowledge. Pupils observe a set of two lights at equal distance and brightness, but they believe...
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...
Lesson Plan
NASA

The Evidence is “Clear”!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Do you think you know better? Become a scientist and prove it. Scholars review the evidence for two different theories of the origins of the universe. They notice the empirical observations as well as the inferences to determine which is...
Lesson Plan
NASA

What’s the Problem with Isotropy?

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Some patterns are so small, we can't see them without the help of technology. The same is true for cosmic microwave background radiation. During this activity and discussion, scholars examine both anisotropic and isotropic items and...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Raisin Bread Universe

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
What is the universal breakfast? The resource includes two activities, the first one observing oatmeal to understand the texture of the universe. Then, scholars measure raisin bread dough before and after it rises to represent the...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Melting Ice: Designing an Experiment

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Sometimes, despite the best laid plans, the unexpected will occur. Learners witness this firsthand as they carefully design an experiment to determine the time needed for ice to melt in salt water or pure water. They uncover facts not...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Gravitational Waves

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Young scientists participate in a hands-on experiment to explore Einstein's theory of relativity in a creative manner. They investigate various waves and compare their characteristics as they discuss how each wave is created....
Lesson Plan
NASA

Cosmic Microwave Background

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Begin your next class with a BANG! Pupils discuss the formation of our universe and its expansion before proceeding with an activity designed to demonstrate what most likely occurred billions of years ago. They conclude with a discussion...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Measuring Dark Energy

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
You're only 10 minutes late? Do you know how much the universe has expanded in those 10 minutes? Scholars graph supernovae based on their redshift and see if the results verify Hubble's Law. If it does confirm it, the universe is...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Are You Bigfoot?

For Students 5th - 6th Standards
Scholars independently explore several websites to calculate their ecological footprint. Using their new found knowledge, they answer six short-answer questions and take part in a grand conversation with their peers about how...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Natural and Human Causes

For Students 7th - 9th Standards
Part three in the series of seven has pupils discussing the different greenhouses gases, learning about the carbon cycle, and then watching a short video about the carbon cycle. Based on their knowledge, individuals complete a greenhouse...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Historical Climate Cycles

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Ice core samples give scientists access to climates of old—those from more than 800,000 years ago. Through an analysis of various temperature graphs from ice cores, tree rings, and weather stations, scholars compare historical climates...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Food for Thought: Climate Change and Trophic Cascades

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Learners examines the arctic food web with a short video about polar bears and an article about bears and warming temperatures. They design an arctic food web and discuss the trophic cascade that could come from climate...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Supernova Chemistry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
By measuring the wavelength, frequency, and intensity of electromagnetic radiation, scientists determine the temperature, density, and composition of far away items. Scholars rotate through ten lab stations using a spectroscope at each...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Photons in the Radiative Zone: Which Way Is Out? An A-Maz-ing Model

For Students 9th - 12th
Can you move like a photon? Young scholars use a maze to reproduce the straight line motion of a photon. The second in a six-part series of lessons on the sun has learners measure angle of incidence and refraction to determine the path...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Analyzing Tiny Samples Using a Search for the Beginning Mass Spectrometry

For Students 9th - 12th
Teach the basics of mass spectrometry with a hands-on lesson. The fourth in a series of six lessons explores how mass spectrometry measures the ionic composition of an element. Learners then compare and contrast relative abundance and...
Activity
NASA

Keeping Nine Eyes on the Weather

For Students 9th - 12th
Take a look at climate change from another angle. Readers learn about the MISR instrument on the Terra satellite and how it studies Earth. Pupils experience how the multiple cameras give scientists multiple views so they can better study...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Color is the Ocean?

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students view satellite pictures of the ocean, and discuss the presence of phytoplankton and the colors of the ocean. Students compare/contrast ocean satellite images with maps and globes, then color world maps to replicate the satellite...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Show Me the Way To Go Home

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students place a pencil perpendicular to the ground and trace its shadow between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. They measure the length of the shadow, periodically over several hours, in either English or Metric units. Using the data, they find...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Atomic Structure Using Cooperative Learning

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Individuals in a group of four each take on a different role: atomic number expert, mass number expert, isotope expert, and nuclear atom expert. They teach each other about their area of expertise. As an assessment, a short quiz is...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Space Exploration - Boom or Bust?

For Students 5th - 8th
In this space exploration worksheet, learners will label if 5 statements support space exploration or not. Then students will complete 2 short answer questions giving their opinion about three things that are good and three things that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Much Is That Camera in the Window?

For Teachers K - 4th
Students classify cameras by type and price. Analyzing newspaper ads, magazines, and catalogs, students compare kinds and brands of cameras. Excellent links and resources are also provided.

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