Curated OER
The Winter Solstice
In this winter solstice worksheet, students read a detailed text about the winter solstice and the historical and religious significance of this day. Students then complete a 15 question fill-in-the-blank and true/false worksheet.
Curated OER
Build a Space Shuttle
Students explore the concept of space. In this space lesson, students pretend to be aerospace engineers. Students build space ships out of cardboard tubes. Students discuss what aerospace engineers do. Students model their space ships...
Curated OER
Dot to Dot: Patterns in the Night Sky
Sixth graders are introduced to several major constellations and locate them in the night sky. They graph the constellations on grid paper and work in groups to research common myths and stories associated with specific constellations.
Curated OER
Earth's Revolution and Rotation
Eighth graders investigate the regular motions of the sun, Earth and the moon and explain how these are related to days, years, seasons, eclipses, tides and moon cycles. They participate in an exercise where they explore the...
Curated OER
Building a Scale Model
Third graders create a model of the solar system. In this solar system lesson, 3rd graders create a scale model of the solar system. Working in pairs students solve mathematical problems to correctly measure the distance each planet is...
Curated OER
Science Trail
Students explore the solar system by conducting Earth science experiments. In this Sun lesson, students identify the different seasons on Earth and discuss their purpose and cause. Students create a sundial and observe the changes to...
Curated OER
Heating the Earth
Students explore how the angle of sunlight affects the Earth's temperature and seasons and then apply this understanding to their local situation.
Curated OER
Arbor Day Lesson Plans
Arbor Day provides a great way to teach students about trees, plants, and why we need to protect our planet.
Curated OER
How Many Days Are in a Year?
Students create a calendar for an imaginary planet. For this earth science lesson, students analyze the errors on the different calendars used on Earth. They present their work in class.
Curated OER
Habitat Mural
Young scholars build a collage of an ecosystem. The goal is for them to understand interactions in a community, plant and animal adaptations, and how all life depends on plants. This activity is based on Wump World and students describe...
Curated OER
Seeing Solar Processes
In this seasons instructional activity, students compare 24 hour filmstrips for a single day in Canada, the U.S.A., and the Arctic Circle to determine the different seasons. This instructional activity has 12 fill in the blank.
Curated OER
Exploring the Constellations, a WebQuest Activity
Learners explore space science by participating in a class WebQuest. In this constellation identification lesson, students view star charts based on the four seasons and identify the changes our sky goes through in the course of 12...
Curated OER
Outer Space
In this space worksheet, students write a sentence for each picture. The pictures show a space shuttle, an astronaut, and a planet.
Curated OER
How the Amount of Solar Energy Absorbed by the Earth is Dependent Upon the Earth's Position
Students investigate the angle of light and how it faces the earth. They conduct a series of investigations with the following two objectives. Students determine if the angle of light is a factor in the absorption of heat. They correlate...
Curated OER
Astronomy: A Star Party
Students explain the functions of a telescope. They name the parts of the telescope. After previously learning the planets and constellations, students identify and view them during a star party.
Curated OER
Finding the Pole Star
Students study the constellations fo the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia and their use in finding the Pole Star. They realize that other celestial objects--Sun, Moon and planets--share the rotation (and hence rise and set), even though their...
Curated OER
Make Way for Wild Migrants
Students discuss the threats facing migratory species and track the seasonal journeys of wildlife in real space and in cyberspace. Once they have gathered information from several sources, they create a portfolio to share with others...
Curated OER
Our Universe: Always Moving, Always Changing
Students explore the main concepts of astronomy through the eleven lessons of this unit. The past, present, and future methods of studying the science are examined in this unit.
Captain Planet Foundation
Help a Sister Out: Garden Companions
Explore Native American gardening traditions with a lesson on companion planting. Based on the concept that certain crops grow better when planted near other specific crops, kids research the gardening method with background links and by...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Earth's Rotation
After completing the activity, "Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year," zoom in on Earth's rotation using the same simulation setup and this outline. Each class member dons a map of the Western Hemisphere and plays the part of...
Curated OER
Variables Affecting Earth's Albedo
Students study the variables that affect the Earth's albedo. In this environmental data analysis activity students interpret and graph information and calculate changes.
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year
How many times have you traveled around the sun? Aspiring astronomers grasp what a year is and they differentiate between orbit and rotation by walking around the sun right within your classroom. Place a lamp in the center of the room to...
Education World
Every Day Edit - Mars Odyssey
In this everyday editing activity, learners correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar.
Messenger Education
Give Me a Boost—How Gravity Assists Aid Space Exploration
The propellant needed for space explorations runs in the thousands, while paying to get the craft into orbit costs millions! In the second installment of three, two activities explore laws of conservation of energy and momentum. Using...