Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Observations From the Past

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore direct and indirect evidence. For this astronomy lesson, 9th graders investigate the contribution of early astronomers to their field. They create a model of the solar system.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gross Motor Development

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders participate in a game reflecting the solar system, stars, and rockets. They simulate how space invaders move and hit stars and rockets. They discuss how scientists study the stars and planets.
Lesson Plan
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Windows to the Universe Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students access the Internet to go on a scavenger hunt to investigate the solar system.  For this space mission lessons students fill out a worksheet  and explain how technology and scientific inquiry have helped us learn about...
Lesson Plan
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Embrace Space

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students use the internet to gather informatino about the solar system and space. In groups, they create a slideshow in which they use illustrations from the internet and include their own text. They complete the lesson by going on a...
Lesson Plan
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Modeling Hot and Cold Planets

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners, in teams, design and construct models of two planets, one hot and the other cold, using a variety of materials. They attempt to create the models out of substances that will actually show the greatest temperature differences...
Lesson Plan
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Solar Matters II

For Teachers 4th - 11th
Students research solar energy. In this solar energy lesson, students construct a KWL chart and research solar energy through various websites and related readings. Students complete a science journal page as an assessment.
Lesson Plan
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TARGET EARTH

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the possibility of an asteroid hitting planet earth. In this planetary lesson plan students complete a lab activity to see the effects of an asteroid hitting earth and compare different craters.
Lesson Plan
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Relative Ratios

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners discover that proportions are made up of equal ratios each containing the same building blocks. They, using the Internet, apply their knowledge of direct relationships and proportions to problems in planetary science.
Lesson Plan
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Planet Discovery and Identification

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students explore the internet world of Second Life and create a portfolio about the planets in our solar system. In this planets lesson plan, students provide many facts about 1 specific planet.
Lesson Plan
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Life Beyond Earth

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate the solar system and what makes a planet habitable. They complete an online Webquest, simulate a NASA training program online, take an online quiz, answer discussion questions, and locate newspaper articles about the...
Lesson Plan
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Lining up the planets

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students follow cue cards in order to order the planets in the correct order in the solar system. In this planets lesson plan, students work in groups to make a 2D model of the planets.
Lesson Plan
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Celestial Motions

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders complete a unit of lessons on the history of our knowledge of celestial objects. They conduct Internet research, plot the motion of a planet, construct a model of the sun's apparent motions, and create diagrams of the solar...
Lesson Plan
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Pluto a Planet No More

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students help to create a list of planets in the solar system. They review the terms in the news section and complete the sentences given. They then read the article together and discuss.
Lesson Plan
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NASA's Mars gamble pays off

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students read an article about NASA and Mars and complete short answer questions about the article. In this Mars lesson plan, students also create a scale model of the solar system.
Lesson Plan
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Exploring Mars

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Students, working in small groups construct scale models of the planets and solar system. They examine images of Mars and discuss what might have caused the features. They record facts about their planetary research in their journals and...
Lesson Plan
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Attributes of Renewable Energy: From Nanopossibilities to Solar Power

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore solar energy, why we use it and how we use it.  In this renewable energy lesson students compare active and solar techniques.
Lesson Plan
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Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students study space. In this solar system instructional activity, students discover the correct order of the planets and create a diagram showing this knowledge. They listen to the book A New View of the Solar System and then work in...
Lesson Plan
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Planet/Constellation Mobile

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Pupils, through small group discussion, identify and share a rationale for shapes and patterns in the construction of a mobile that represents the solar system that makes them think of the creation of our solar system.
Lesson Plan
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Please Ex-Planet

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders create a model of an earth centered solar system and a model of the sun centered solar system. As a class, they discuss why the earlier astronomers believed their model and why it changed when evidence arose that this...
Lesson Plan
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Identifying Characteristics of Planets And Their Moon(s) Using an Internet Scavenger Hunt.

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars perform an internet scavenger hunt. They describe characteristics of each planet and their moon(s) and draw a diagram of the solar system and label the planets.
Lesson Plan
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Determining distance between planets and the Sun

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students use a model to determine the distance between the sun and plants in our solar system. They determine a scale to use that represents the distance between the Earth and sun. Students calculate the scale distance that each planet...
Lesson Plan
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Interplanetary Distance and Travel Time

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students are introduced to the challenges involved in understanding the space travel distances and the time involved to do so through the use of an interactive fable. The modeling and comparisons deal with specific distances at different...
Lesson Plan
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Take a Spin Through the Solar System

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders participate in a variety of activities to explore the Solar System in this unit.
Lesson Plan
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Solar System (Lesson 2)

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify the objects that make up the solar system. They define new vocabulary and practice using them. They discover that the sun is a star.