Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Soaring Through Space With a Kid Pix Slide Show

For Teachers 1st
First graders create a slide show on Kid Pix about space. In this space lesson plan, 1st graders will explore the earth, sun, moon, and planets. After exploring their motions and locations around the sun, they create a 4 page slide show...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Internet Activity: More Space About Space

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students analyze the exploration of space. In this space lesson, students discuss the space race of the 1950s and 1960s. Students identify important events in space exploration and analyze the reasons for a space station.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling Day and Night

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students complete a science experiment to study the role of night and day on sleep patterns. In this sleep patterns lesson, students brainstorm about night and day and the causes for the rotations on Earth. Students work in groups to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sampling the Ocean Floor

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students sample goodies from an unseen ocean floor and try to accurately describe their composition. This simulation helps students explain the limitations of sampling and the problem of obtaining representative samples of sea floor...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planetary Place Value

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Third graders explore place value to the ten thousands place. This incredibly thorough, 24-page lesson has learners construct, order, and compare numbers to 9,999. This three-day lesson includes reteaching and extension activities...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Lettuce" Learn About the Water Cycle

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Young scientists investigate the water cycle through a lettuce seed experiment. For this experiment, learners plant lettuce seeds inside of a ziplock bag in order to create a small greenhouse. They observe condensation and precipitation,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

E.T., Are You Out There?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Research the necessary components of a planet that supports life after reading the article "All of a Sudden, The Neighborhood Looks a Lot Friendlier" from The New York Times. After finding their information, middle and high schoolers...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Galaxy Adventure

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Working in groups, learners create a mnemonic device, give an oral presentation, and create a pictorial representation of the correct sequence of the planets and asteroid belt from the sun. An assessment rubric is included in the...
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Oceans on the Rise

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Temperature rises and land disappears! Through a lab exploration, learners understand the effect of temperature increase on water similar to the effect of global warming on our oceans. As they heat the water in a flask, they measure the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Tibetan Plateau

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars discuss the characteristics of the biosphere, with a focus on the Tibetan Plateau. They participate in a question and answer period discussing biomes and climate patterns. They compare and contrast different ecosystems.
Lesson Plan
Monroe City Schools

Clouds! Clouds! Clouds!

For Teachers 1st
Here is a beautiful lesson on clouds designed for your 1st graders. Learners study three different types of clouds. They construct drawings of cumulus, cirrus, and stratus clouds. The Cloud Book, by Tommie dePaola is used to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Mars

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Students, working in small groups construct scale models of the planets and solar system. They examine images of Mars and discuss what might have caused the features. They record facts about their planetary research in their journals and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecological Cycles Part 1

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Knowing about the hydrologic cycle is the first step to understanding the carbon cycle. Upper graders discuss the earth's water content, polar ice caps, and the concept of the ecological cycle as it applies to carbon, nitrogen, and other...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 6th - 9th
In this Earth Science worksheet, students read about the Greenhouse Effect and the difference between natural and amplified warming. Following, they answer ten short answer questions related to what they read about global climate issues.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Good Vibrations Remote Sensing data Collection: Thermal Emission Spectrometer

For Teachers 4th - 8th
The Mars Global Surveyor spent two years creating a mineral map of the planet Mars using thermal emission spectrometry. To help young astronomers understand this remote sensing instrument, have them simulate how data is collected and...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Is It Alive?

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or...
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Make a Star Lantern

For Students 1st - 4th
Go star-gazing with young learners! They study the history, origins, and patterns of constellations in an activity that explores the starry night sky.
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

The Thermal Layers of Oceans

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
How much does the sun heat up a lake or ocean? Scholars use a cup and a strong lamp to investigate the heat transfer and thermal layers in the ocean to come up with the answer. They collect data and graph it in order to better understand...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cup Capacity Tool: Measuring Cup

For Teachers K
Students examine containers and their capacity. They fill a one-cup measuring cup with water and pour cups of water into other containers. Through observation, students discover how many cups make a pint, and how many teaspoons make a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dead Zones: Why Are the Waters Dying?

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Young scholars investigate the effects of pollution on marine ecosystems. They read and discuss an article, identify the effects of pollution on marine life, conduct research on local nutrient pollution, and conduct local water quality...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Are Dams Forever?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
  Students consider the life span of dams, and what would happen if a dam falls apart.  In this environmental impact instructional activity, students discuss what the purposes of dams are, how they could be...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Slip Sliding Along

For Teachers 6th Standards
The San Andreas Fault is the largest earthquake-producing fault in California. In the seventh lesson plan in the 20 part series, pupils create maps of California, focusing on the San Andreas Fault system. The comparison of where...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shine On, Moon

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Pupils explore space science by conducting an experiment in class. In this Moon lesson plan, students define a list of space science vocabulary and read the book The Moon. Pupils utilize shoeboxes and string to conduct a sunlight...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Astronomy

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students complete a series of activities to better understand space studies. In this space science instructional activity, the teacher is provided with a number of activities for students to complete such as finding words that begin with...