The earth only revolves around one thing — and it's not any of your pupils. The lesson includes two activities dealing with the distance to the sun and the moon. First, scholars create a pin hole camera and use the rules of similar...

People may not be able to jump over the moon, but scientists can still study it! The moon is covered with mons (mountains) and mars (seas). Aspiring astrologists learn about the moon's features and phases in a PowerPoint presentation. In...

Expectant earth scientists examine the bottom side of a leaf and learn the role of the stomata. They consider the gas exchange that occurs through these structures and relate how the climate is changing to its impact on food crops. This...

Another A+ lesson plan on the impact of climate change comes to you from the National Earth Science Teachers Association. In this installment, learners model the stratification of water in lakes due to temperature differences. The lab...

Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help...

How quickly does light travel long distances? A short video simulates light going from the earth to the moon at two different paces. Scholars relate the distance to the rate to understand which simulation is correct.

In this planets worksheet, students fill out a chart where they fill in the distance each planet is from the Earth, and how much travel time in years and hours it would take to get there. Students do this for 8 planets.

Fifth graders are introduced to Earth day and study the nesting colonies of Midway.  In this Earth Day instructional activity students watch an online clip and see the effects our waste has on wildlife. 

Students gain knowledge about earth and space science by studying the nine planets in the solar system as well as their key characteristics. In this solar system lesson, students identify the nine planets. Students work in groups to...

Sixth graders explore the planets through an interactive web site. In this astronomy based lesson, 6th graders compare planets, explore comets, and discover planet facts through a variety of activities provided by the Smithsonian Museum.

Students study the moon and the planets. They create a painted, paper mache moon or planet sculpture.

Students examine the concept of a solar system. For this research based lesson, students compare a star and a planet. They explain the requirements for life in a biosphere.

Students identify and complete activities about the structure of the Earth. For this Earth structure lesson, students view a Powerpoint about the Earth's layers and complete a diagram. students compare temperatures in the Earth's layers...

For this Earth Day worksheet, students color the letters below to spell the secret word. Students read the clue at the bottom and spell out Earth.

For this planet worksheet, students read about finding the temperature of a planet using the distance to its star, its reflectivity and the luminosity of the star. Students use a given equation to determine the surface...

Students identify the main components of the solar system. For this earth science lesson, students order the planets according to their distances from the Sun. They differentiate planets from dwarf planets.

In this planets and fractions worksheet, learners solve nine problems about the sizes and scales of planets compared to each other using fractions.

In this hunt for planets instructional activity, students read about the Kepler satellite used to detect exoplanets. Students solve 6 problems including drawing a sun disk and determining the scale in kilometers/millimeter, finding the...

Students use NASA photographs and hands-on activities to compare the amounts of land and water on our planet. They discover that the world has five oceans and that they cover seventy percent of Earth's surface. Students learn how this...

Students identify the different biogeochemical cycles on Earth. In this biology instructional activity, students observe microbes under a microscope. They compare and contrast respiration and photosynthesis.

Students investigate the magnitude of Earth's magnetic field using PASCO. In this physics instructional activity, students describe the features of the magnetosphere. They explain how atmosphere layers protect the Earth.

In this dwarf planet worksheet, students use images from the Hubble Space Telescope and they determine the scale of the image, they identify the largest features in the images, they calculate the volume of Pluto and they create a model...

For this planet Eris worksheet, students read about the discovery of this dwarf planet and its characteristics. Students answer 3 questions about the planets, the classification of planets and the definition of planets. Students define 7...

Students investigate comets. In this space science lesson, students study overhead transparencies of the orbits of Earth and a comet. Students identify various locations and times where comets would be visible from Earth.