Curated OER
NASA Plans Moon Base
Learners react to statements about the moon, then read a news article about NASA's plans to build a permanent base on the moon. In this space science and current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and a...
NASA
Earth and Space—Climate and Seasons
Why does Earth have so many seasons? Learn about the importance and changes of our planet's climate with a series of learning activities, which focus on connecting seasons to past experiences, making scientific observations, and...
NASA
Let's Investigate Mars
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 nearest neighbor.
Curated OER
Ask a NASA Engineer
Students develop questions to ask a NASA engineer to email them. After emailing the quesitons to the volunteer, the answers are sent to the class via the same method. To end the instructional activity, they formulate more questions and...
Curated OER
Exploring Photosynthesis with NASA Remote Sensing Data
Students explore photosynthesis using NASA satellite data. For this inquiry based biology lesson plan, students will look at data from a chosen national park to determine when the maximum amount of photosynthesis is occurring. This will...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Reflecting on What I Learned About Climate Change
After three eye-opening lessons about our environment, scholars revisit a 10-question survey, reflect on their new-found knowledge, and take action by writing to a representative or creating a public service announcement about climate...
National Wildlife Federation
Get Your Techno On
Desert regions are hotter for multiple reasons; the lack of vegetation causes the sun's heat to go straight into the surface and the lack of moisture means none of the heat is being transferred into evaporation. This concept, and other...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over time....
Oceanic Research Group
Heat Transfer and Cooling
Astronauts train underwater to simulate the change in gravity. An out-of-this-world unit includes three hands-on activities, one teacher demonstration, and a discussion related to some of the challenges astronauts face. Scholars apply...
PHET
Learning about Space Weather
Is the sun the only celestial body with magnetic fields? A guided discussion on the weather in space is designed with a mix of questions, discussions, explanations, and applications. Additionally, the resouce includes an article for...
Curated OER
NASA's Mars gamble pays off
Students read an article about NASA and Mars and complete short answer questions about the article. In this Mars lesson plan, students also create a scale model of the solar system.
Curated OER
Return to the Moon
Students react to statements about space exploration, then read a news article about plans to resume manned flights to the moon. In this space science and current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and...
PBS
Exoplanets through Kepler’s Laws
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...
NASA
Dark Matter NASA Conference
Young scholars calculate the escape velocity of planets in our solar system and use that knowledge to calculate the escape velocity for NGC 2300 group. They then suggest reasons for the escape velocity to be higher than possible given...
National Wildlife Federation
I Speak for the Polar Bears!
Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability and...
Curated OER
Water in Earth's Hydrosphere
Environmentalists test stream water for temperature, pH, and turbidity. Each group shares their information and then the class makes an overall evaluation of the water quality. A slide show sets the backdrop for the teaching portion and...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate and Forest Ecosystem Services
Forests, through sequestration, capture excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and store it, aiding in climate change. The third installment in a four-part series on how climate impacts forests explores carbon sequestration. Classes...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Accessing Prior Knowledge: Global Climate Change Survey
Begin a unit on weather and climate change by assessing prior knowledge of the topic. Learners respond to a survey with questions that ask what they think causes climate change, the effects of climate change, and if it is important to...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Impacts of Climate Change
Scholars become experts on the eight major impacts of climate change through a jigsaw and grand conversation. They then research and present what they learned about effects specific to their region.
Curated OER
The Right Ratio of Rest: Proportional Reasoning
High schoolers see how NASA scientists are studying the circadian timing system to improve astronaut's physical and mental tasks while working in space. They demonstrate how fractions, decimals, and percents are related.
Curated OER
Cloudy vs. Clear
Students analyze line plots. In this weather lesson using real NASA data, students discuss how weather affects the way the Earth is heated by comparing different line plots.
Curated OER
NASA, Impact on Space
Students examine the work of NASA. In this space exploration lesson, students watch "1958: Project Mercury Begins." Students then view a PowerPoint presentation about the history of NASA and research each of the manned space programs.
Curated OER
NASA Robots
Students explore the world of robotics. In this robotics lesson, students discover what a robot is and work with partners to find out how hard it is to accurately guide robots through simple tasks.
Curated OER
Teacher-Astronaut Offers New Lessons
Young scholars read about teacher-in-space Barbara Morgan and life in space. In this space science and current event lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a vocabulary activity, then students read the news piece and participate...