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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Amazing and Beautiful Aurora

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers create an oil pastel painting. In this pastel painting lesson, students examine images of the aurora borealis. High schoolers produce an original pastel painting of the aurora.
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Lesson Plan
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Earth Science: Create a Star Clock!

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students identify and use the starts to tell time just as people had for thousands of years. They identify the stars that appear to rise in the east and set in the west, and that those stars near the North Pole appear to go in circles...
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Interactive
Curated OER

September Science Internet Activity

For Students 4th - 8th
In this energy worksheet, students click on the links in the questions about energy to find the answers to the questions and then come back and answer the questions. Students answer 12 questions total.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Searching For Protoplanetary Disks

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars download NASA Hubble Space Telescope views of star-forming regions in nebulae and look for evidence of planetary systems forming beyond our own solar system. They hypothesize about mysterious objects in NASA HST images.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shadows

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students measure shadows at different times of the day to determine when a shadow casts its longest and shortest shadows.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Solar System and the Forces Behind It

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders discover why planets stay in orbit. In groups, they use everyday materials to examine the effect of gravity of objects and calculate how mass changes based on gravitational pull. To end the lesson, they discuss how...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Astronomy

For Students 4th - 5th
In this astronomy worksheet, students read a detailed text about our solar system. Students then answer 15 questions about the information presented.
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Lesson Plan
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Oxidation and Combustion: Chemical Reactions in Fire

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the art and science of pyrotechnics.  In this chemistry and computer lesson, students learn about the chemical basis of fire and structure of fireworks.  Students then apply their knowledge in creating virtual...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shadows

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students conduct an experiment. In this shadows lesson, students record the height of a meter stick. Students then cast shadows and record their length. Students compare the length of the shadow with the actual height of the meter stick.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oxidation and Combustion: Chemical Reactions in Fire

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students study oxidation and define vocabulary pertinent to it.  In this oxidation lesson students make predictions and create experiments
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weather Proverbs

For Teachers K - 5th
Your class explores weather proverbs and superstitions from around the country and writes their own proverb about weather. They interview community elders to learn proverbs about Alaska and its weather. Then they discuss several example...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lunar Learning

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students learn about the phases of the moon. In this moon phases instructional activity, students learn about what causes the moon to look different to us everyday and how the Earth and Sun's position determine what phase the moon is in.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Timekeeping by the Sun

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students measure shadows to learn about the Sun-Earth relationship. In this astronomy lesson, students create a shadow stick of a Pokemon character and record measurements of its shadow in a data chart. Follow-up discussions guide...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Constellation Tracking

For Students 8th - 10th
In this constellation worksheet, students pick a constellation to track over time. They measure its altitude and azimuth at least three times. They make an experimental design for their research and plot their data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sampling Rocks

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students investigate rocks. In this earth science lesson, students collect rocks from the schoolyard and describe each of the rocks. Students measure and weigh each rock and record the results. Students create a rock guide for the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Study of Hydra Cluster Galaxies

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students analyze a designated galaxy with a partner or in a small group.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Orbital Dynamic Variables are Responsible for Earth's Weather?

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Young scholars explore the changing of the seasons. In this astronomy and seasons lesson, students construct a model of the revolution of the sun and the moon. Young scholars compare the recorded solstice/equinox orbital positions and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mercury

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study the planet Mercury and develop an understanding of the planet's composition, geology, and other important characteristics. They explore a Web resource on the planet Mercury which is the central focus of this lesson plan.
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Lesson Plan
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Cosmic Wheels

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students build a scale model of the Solar System and determine the time other planets take to travel around the Sun in comparison to the time of the Earth's revolution. The velocity of the planets are also determined in this lesson.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moon

For Teachers K - 4th
Students discover scientific facts about the Moon and how some American Indian Tribes used the moon to measure time. They accomplish this by listening to stories and poetry, writing stories, communicating with an astronaut,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Three D Constellations

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students are introduced to both celestial coordinates and to the first rung on the distance determination ladder. They convert spherical coordinates to Cartesian coordinates to construct a three dimensional model of a constellation...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rotating Rings of Ice

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Young scholars work together to develop a model of Saturn and its rings. They identify what types of materials make up the rings and how they revolve around Saturn. They write a short paragraph describing the rings.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weightlessness Demonstration

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers explore the concept that free-fall eliminates the local effects of gravity. They discuss what an Earth-orbiting spacecraft experience is like as well as the terminology of weightlessness. Their lab experiment commences.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lunar Cycle

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students become familiar with repeating patterns in nature, namely the phases of the moon.