Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Plan on Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Pupils construct a solar system model. In this space science lesson, students calculate the eccentricity of a planet's orbit. They calculate the period of a planet's revolution using Kepler's formula.
Lesson Plan
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Sun's Impact On Earth's Temperature

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Young scholars view NASA images and movies of Venus, Earth, and Mars to deduce weather patterns and manipulate computer models to test competing hypotheses. They manipulate computer models to investigate the influence of solar distance...
Worksheet
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Life on Other Planets

For Students 4th - 6th
In this planets worksheet, students put the planets in order, complete sentences about planets, read text about planets, match sentences, and more. Students complete 7 tasks total.
Worksheet
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Planets

For Students 6th - 10th
In this planets worksheet, learners read about Mercury, Venus, and Earth and then complete 21 multiple choice, 2 true or false, and 1 short answer question.
Lesson Plan
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Language Arts: Bringing Verbs to Life

For Teachers K Standards
Kindergarteners create action words collections to use in their own writing projects. After listening to several books, they select action verbs to dramatize and take digital photographs of their acting. Once the photos are printed, they...
Lesson Plan
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Volume Calculation Exercise

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers work with scientific notation and rounding as they determine volume. In this volume lesson, pupils attempt to calculate the volume of the planet Jupiter. They use rounding to two significant digits and scientific...
Lesson Plan
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How Do Atmospheres Affet Planetary Temperatures?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students perform a literature search and use reputable research resources in order to find the surface temperature of different planets in our solar system. They speculate about the observed and unobserved factors. Then brainstorming is...
Lesson Plan
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Nature of Meteor Showers

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders describe, in general terms, the distribution of matter in space and identify evidence for, and describe characteristics of, bodies that make up the solar system. They then investigate predictions about the motion,...
Lesson Plan
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Planets in Proportion

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners apply estimation strategies and proportional reasoning to determine a scale comparing the planetary bodies to Earth. They convert measurements of time and distance using scientific notation. Both the metric and customary units...
Lesson Plan
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Daily and Seasonal Cycles

For Teachers 1st
First graders identify the sun as a source of heat and light. They identify features of houses that help keep use sheltered and comfortable throughout daily and seasonal cycles. Students are told that summer is the best season to...
Worksheet
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IBEX Uses Fast-Moving Atoms to Map the Sky!

For Students 9th - 11th
In this energetic neutral atoms learning exercise, students solve 3 problems including determining the formula for particle speed, writing the equation to show the relationship between mass, energy and speed and determining the speed of...
Lesson Plan
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Impact Craters: Holes in the Ground!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students simulate crater formation through a lab activity. In this space science instructional activity, students calculate how much energy is transferred during meteorite impact. They identify different factors affecting the size and...
Worksheet
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Understanding the Rutherford Model

For Students 9th - 12th
In this Rutherford model instructional activity, students read about Rutherford's experiment with gold foil and alpha particles which led to the discovery of subatomic particles. Students answer six analysis questions about the...
Lesson Plan
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Unit 2 Sun & Stars

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students describe stellar objects using terms such as stars, planets, satellites, orbits and light. In this sun and stars unit, students research stellar objects through seven individual lessons discovering star characteristics, how...
Worksheet
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Planets

For Students 7th - 10th
In this planets worksheet, students read information about Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn and then complete 21 multiple choice, 1 true or false, and 2 fill in the blank questions.
Lesson Plan
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Star Systems

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students study a star system and see how the planets move around stars.  In this star system lesson students complete an activity and see what an eclipse is.
Lesson Plan
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Exploring the Universe

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students conduct Internet research to find information about each planet and present their findings to the class. Students research statistical information and two interesting facts about each planet, then create a multimedia...
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Give Me a Boost—How Gravity Assists Aid Space Exploration

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
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Distance in Space

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explore space science by measuring distances between planets. In this solar system lesson, 6th graders view a Bill Nye video and discover the conversion between the metric system and imperial measuring systems. Students...
Lesson Plan
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MARS Dead or Alive

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars describe the design and construction of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs). They imagine that they can visit Mars and think about what they want to find out about the planet. The review the solar system and discuss...
Lesson Plan
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Ice is N"ICE"!!

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students observe and describe, both orally and in writing. the different forms of water on the surface of the Earth and measure the approximate size of an iceberg. They also estimate and measure the amount of ice that floats above the...
Organizer
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Planets

For Students 6th - 10th
In this planets worksheet, students access a website and record two unique facts about each planet in 1 graphic organizer. Then students go explore different sections of the website and answer 6 short answer questions.
Lesson Plan
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Ellipses And Kepler's First Law

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explain that planets actually orbit the center of gravity of the solar system, and that distant planets may be detected by motions of their central star around the centers of gravity of their planetary systems.
Lesson Plan
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Astronomy Teamwork

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work together in groups to complete an astronomy project. In the classroom, they find real objects to represent various objects in the solar system. After going outside, they practice using a distance scale and use their...