Curated OER
Stellar Resorts
Students explore the future of "orbital vacations" and create fanciful tours of the Milky Way Galaxy. Students respond to the following prompt in their journals "Entrepreneurs are currently designing concepts for accommodating tourists...
Starry Night Education
The Stars
Three astronomy activities in one resource! Here you will find one hands-on activity, one demonstration, both with discussion questions, and one activity worksheet. During these lessons young scientists discuss how stars are different,...
Curated OER
Photometry of Stars and Clusters
Students apply an algorithm to measure the distance to stars in the night sky. In this photometry lesson, students observe stars in the night sky as they measure the distance to them and to the cluster, The Milky Way. They apply the...
Curated OER
A Galactic Fact Sheet
In this galactic fact worksheet, students read through important facts about galaxies, their shapes, and distances from the Sun.
Curated OER
Create a Galactic Mobile
Pupils create a mobile of the Milky Way galaxy. They discover other galaxies beyond the ones we can see. They share their mobile with the class.
Curated OER
The Solar System
Students describe the different bodies that make up our solar system, explain the place of our solar system within the Milky Way Galaxy and the universe, explain day and night and the Earth's movement, and describe the relationship...
Curated OER
Beyond Black Holes
Young scholars research the universe, including the Milky Way and other galaxies. They investigate black holes in space. They create a replica of a galaxy on posterboard using Crayola Neon Twistables for concentric rings found in the...
Curated OER
The Planets in our Solar System
Students learn the order and key characteristics of each planet in our solar system. In this solar system lesson, students work in groups to characterize each planet on an index card. They use their index cards to put the planets in...
Curated OER
Star Party- Closing Lesson
Students study the stars and galaxies. For this universe lesson students complete their unit by participating in an evening bonfire to share what they learned.
Curated OER
Your Address in the Galaxy
Students create a business card after researching their location in space and determining their Galactic Address.
Curated OER
Star Search
Seventh graders explore stars. In this star lesson, 7th graders apply generalities about space objects to constellations and explore the differences between radio waves and light waves by answering essential questions in their research.
Science 4 Inquiry
Temperature of Inner Planets
Mars, Earth, and Venus contain atmospheres that generate weather. Young scientists explore the temperature of inner planets. They create a model simulating the greenhouse effect before researching and answering guided questions to...
Curated OER
Space Science: Adventure is Waiting
These full-color handouts feature two activities. The first is a reading on comets, meteors, and meteoroids. Your space science learners will examine ten phrases and determine which of the three each characterizes. The second activity...
Curated OER
The Story of the Solar System
There is more to the solar system than the typical study of the sun and planets. Launch a study of asteroids, meteoroids, and comets by watching the video The Story of the Solar System, available for purchase through this resource on the...
Curated OER
Taking the Measure of the Universe
Four fabulous activities immerse amateur astronomers into measuring objects that we cannot handle. The experiences are applied to NASA's Space Interferometry Mission, which will take measurements of planets around stars other than our...
University of Texas
Lives of Stars
Stars exist from a few million years to over 10 billion years, depending on their mass. Scholars perform a play acting as stars to learn about their different life cycles. They develop an understanding of many of the fundamental concepts...
Curated OER
Exploring the Interstellar Medium
Students investigate the Interstellar Medium and the Local Bubble that the Sun is inside. They read and discuss a handout, answer discussion questions, observe a demonstration of light scattering, and conduct an experiment on the...
Curated OER
Seeing Interference Fringes with a Telescope
Students construct an interferometer using a simple telescope. In this physics lesson, students explain how light waves create the fringe patterns. They observe patterns made by different objects in the sky and compare them.
Curated OER
The Drake Equation
Students use the Drake Equation to calculate the probability of sustaining life on various planets. Through the use of the equation, they determine whether intelligent and advanced civilizations can be developed on planets other than...
Curated OER
The Sun
Students draw diagram of sun and its layers, including photosphere, chromosphere, corona, convection and radiative zones, and core. Students then describe each layer in their own words, define sun spot cycle, and describe solar flares.
Curated OER
Size of Stars
Fifth graders draw constellations in the sky and use the brightness levels of stars to show how big they are. In this constellations lesson plan, 5th graders describe what they see in the night sky by discussing the star's distances.
Curated OER
The Next Dimension
Students explore the three dimensional Cartesian coordinate system and discuss how it is important for structural engineers in order to be able to describe locations in space to fellow engineers. They participate in a hands-on activity...
Curated OER
Gamma Ray Bursts
Students study an article on Gamma Rays. In this investigative lesson students study the energy and wavelengths of gamma rays and the theories behind them.
Curated OER
Periodic Table
Students identify the periodic table trends and predict material properties. They also design and conduct simple experiments and test material properties. Finally, students compare and contrast material properties and that chemical...