Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
Scientists use ice core samples to obtain temperatures of the earth from 400,000 years ago! The third of five lessons instructs pupils to interpret historical climate data to see changes over time. In part I, participants interpret...
NASA
Model Development Assessment Activity
Time to show off what they've learned! The final lesson in the series of six asks young scholars to process their learning from the previous lessons. They identify possible elements of the sun as well as a possible origin.
NASA
Exploration of a Problem: Making Sense of the Elements
When given too much data to simply memorize, it helps to sort it into manageable groups. The second instructional activity in the six-part series of Cosmic Chemistry challenges groups of pupils to take a large amount of data and figure...
NASA
Water Works on a Blue Planet
Keep within a water budget. Learners find out that less than 2.5% of Earth's water is available to drink—and that there is a fixed amount of water. Scholars read an interesting article comparing the available water to a game of Monopoly...
Curated OER
Detective Digis and the Computer Caper
Mathematicians participate in an hands-on activity to investigate the binary number system and write messages in binary code and have classmates decipher the messages. A said video on the topic does not seem to be available, but the...
Curated OER
Can You See What I See?
Students gain an understanding of the methods used to explore the earth's surface. Students create a time line leading to the first satellite image of the Earth that includes the various methods utilized to observe the earth's surface.
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Air Pressure is Powerful
Students make a barometer and write a paragraph describing how they did it.
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Interplanetary Travel Guide
In groups of six, middle school space scientists create an imaginative travel brochure for attracting visitors to the planet Mars. Information must include surface features and atmospheric conditions. Although time-consuming, this is a...
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Activity on United States Moon Landing: Apollo 11
Students use the World Wide Web to access additional information needed to complete a set of questions. They demonstrate an understanding of latitude and longitude by interpreting a lunar map.
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Make a Comet Model and Eat It!
Students construct a comet model based on procedure provided. For this space science lesson, students compare the physical properties of comets to the models they made. They record their observations and share them with the class.
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The Stellar Magnitude Scale
In this stellar magnitude scale instructional activity, students use a scale showing the magnitude of objects in the sky to answer 5 questions about the brightness of the moon, the planets and stars.
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Having a Hot Time on Mars!
In this cosmic radiation on Mars worksheet, students study a radiation map of Mars taken by the MARIE instrument on the Odyssey spacecraft. Students answer 4 questions using the radiation map and they answer questions about the exposure...
Curated OER
Power Functions: A Question of Magnitude
In this power functions worksheet, high schoolers read about determining the brightness of stars using a magnitude scale. Students solve 4 problems including finding the magnitude differences of stars and determining equivalent magnitudes.
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Grandpa's Social Security
Students examine social security and how the process works at different ages.In this retirement lesson students determine how long a retired person has to live to get the same benefits at different ages.
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Cloudy Days are for Reading and Writing
Students research weather proverbs and determine the scientific validity of 3 weather proverbs. They write an essay presenting their reasoning. They interview elderly people to graph the most frequently heard proverbs and theorize...
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Volcanoes are a Blast-Working with Simple Equations
For this projectile motion worksheet, students solve 3 problems and an inquiry problem using three equations that describe projectile motion. One equation is for the maximum velocity to reach a height, H, the other is the maximum...
Curated OER
Sunspots
In this sunspots worksheet, students use the given size of a sunspot and find the total number of Earth's it would take to equal the sunspot size. Students answer 3 questions about the sunspots and are given an extra credit problem with...
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Exploring Power-Law Functions Using WISE Data!
For this power-law functions worksheet, students solve 3 problems using data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Experiment in the constellation Carina. Students use a photograph to determine the number of stars as bright as the...
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Impact Craters: Holes in the Ground!
Students simulate crater formation through a lab activity. In this space science lesson, students calculate how much energy is transferred during meteorite impact. They identify different factors affecting the size and depth of craters...
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Exploring Meteorite Mysteries: Building Blocks of Planets
Young scholars simulate the formation of chondrites and asteroids. In this astronomy lesson, students demonstrate accretion using balloons and static electricity. They compare and contrast their models to the actual process of chondrites...
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Ultra-Efficient Engine Technology Kid's Scavenger Hunt
In this engine technology activity, students use a referenced website to complete a scavenger hunt, answering a set of 17 questions.
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How Many Days Are in a Year?
Students create a calendar for an imaginary planet. In this earth science instructional activity, students analyze the errors on the different calendars used on Earth. They present their work in class.
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Measurement
Middle schoolers experience a positive science experiment and study fundamental concepts of measurement.
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Monster Sunspots!
In this sunspots worksheet, students read about the large sunspots observed for thousands of years and their indication of solar storms. Students use given images to find the scales and physical sizes of the 3 sunspots shown.