Journey Through the Universe
Comets: Bringers of Life?
Young scientists investigate the elements found in our solar system and then construct a model of a comet. They apply their new knowledge to the formation of the solar system.
PHET
CME Plotting
Young scientists build on their previous knowledge and apply it to coronal mass ejections. By plotting the path of two different coronal mass ejections, they develop an understanding of why most don't collide with Earth.
Curated OER
Long Day?
Students become aware of the effects of tides on the Earth's rotation. In this tides instructional activity, students calculate the number of seconds lost over various periods of time.
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
University of Colorado
Terra Bagga
Earth's magnetic poles switch positions about every 200,000—300,000 years. In the activity, groups create a planet with a magnetic field. Once made, they use a magnetometer to determine the orientation of the planet's magnetic field....
University of Colorado
Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
In the 19th activity of 22, learners determine if distance from a light source affects photosynthesis. Participants capture oxygen in straws and find that the amount of water the gas displaces is proportional to the rate of photosynthesis.
Discovery Education
Satellite Telemetry
Satellites require rockets to launch, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand them. Future engineers learn about how satellites send data to Earth and how to interpret satellite images. They see how radio waves play a role...
PHET
Where to See an Aurora
Where can you see an aurora in North America? After completing an astronomy activity, scholars can locate the exact coordinates. Pupils plot points of the inner and outer ring of the auroral oval and answer questions based on...
Curated OER
Where Have All the Glaciers Gone?
Fourth graders discover that scientists examine evidence from around the world in order to explain global climate change. They see that records of climate change exist, and describe photographs interpreting changes in glaciers over time.
EngageNY
How Far Away Is the Moon?
Does the space shuttle have an odometer? Maybe, but all that is needed to determine the distance to the moon is a little geometry! The lesson asks scholars to sketch the relationship of the Earth and moon using shadows of an eclipse....
University of Colorado
Are All Asteroids' Surfaces the Same Age?
There are more than 600,000 asteroids in our solar system. Pupils analyze images of two asteroids in order to determine if they are the same age. They count craters for each asteroid and compare numbers.
University of Colorado
Are All Asteroids' Surfaces the Same Age?
Did you know scientists can tell the age of an asteroid by looking closely at its craters? This final lesson of a six-part series focuses on two asteroids, Gaspra and Ida, in order to demonstrate the concept of dating asteroids. Scholars...
Florida International University
Simulating Microgravity with Buoyancy
How do astronauts know how to live and work in a weightless environment? It doesn't come naturally! Junior physicists conduct experiments to examine the link between buoyancy and microgravity. Each activity illustrates a different aspect...
Teach Engineering
Incoming Asteroid! What's the Problem?
Oh, no! An asteroid is on a collision course with Earth!. Class members must rise to the challenge of designing a shelter that will protect people from the impact and permit them to live in this shelter for one year. In this first lesson...
Curated OER
Is Portland, Oregon Experiencing Global Warming?
Students use data to determine if the climate in Portland has changed over the years. In this weather lesson plan students complete line graphs and study long wave radiation.
NASA
Tools of the Trade
Did you know every state in the U.S. has at least one observatory? During the lesson, scholars research the cost of building and maintaining an observatory. They must present their information in a proposal to build a new observatory,...
Curated OER
The Solar System Walk
A unique lesson on the solar system, and some of the mathematics associated with it, is here for your high schoolers. Pupils are put into groups of four, and each group is assigned one of the planets from our solar system. They must...
PHET
AM Radio Ionosphere Station
Tune in! Young scientists use an AM radio at home to monitor solar output. The long-term project would be ideal in a flipped classroom or as an out-of-class project.
Chicago Botanic Garden
The Carbon Cycle
There is 30 percent more carbon in the atmosphere today than there was 150 years ago. The first lesson in the four-part series teaches classes about the carbon cycle. Over two to three days, classes make a model of the cycle,...
Channel Islands Film
Restoration Channel Islands Debate
Introduce learners to the debate format with an activity that uses the National Park Service's controversial Channel Islands restoration program as a topic. Class members learn how to generate provocative debate questions, how to prepare...
Curated OER
Are Dams Forever?
Learners consider the life span of dams, and what would happen if a dam falls apart. In this environmental impact lesson, students discuss what the purposes of dams are, how they could be damaged.
English Worksheets Land
Great Discoveries
Compare and contrast two paragraphs describing Alexander Fleming's scientific discovery of penicillin using this compare-and-contrast reading worksheet where scholars explain what happens through writing, decide whether the excerpts are...
Curated OER
Our Home in the Milky Way
Students gain appreciation of the vastness of our galaxy by viewing an applet about the Milky Way. Students hypothesize about how long it would take to get from Earth to Pluto.
Curated OER
Meteor Showers
Students use the Internet to discover the wonderful world of comets and meteor showers. They discover how to spot one and predict them using a calendar. They also examine the makeup of meteoroids and meteorites.