Curated OER
Distance in Space
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...
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Sun's Impact On Earth's Temperature
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...
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Unit 2 Sun & Stars
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...
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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...
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Here Comes the Sun
Third graders watch a video on the solar system and examine the role of the sun. As a class, they complete a KWL chart and make different color temperature pockets to use during their experiment. In groups, they make predictions about...
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Triangles
Students identify triangles in the real world and construct their own triangle using drinking straws. They explore abstract triangles and find additional geometric shapes such as trapezoids. Students discuss similar shapes and examine...
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Scale Basketball
Pupils understand that a spreadsheet can be used to find the best scale to use in a model. They place the distances of the planets of the solar system to the Sun in one column of the spreadsheet. Students try different scales so that the...
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The Night Sky
Third graders develop questions they have about the solar system. After being read a book, they view and discuss different constellations in the sky. In groups, they are given a piece of butcher paper and glow in the dark crayons in...
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Numbers in Art
Students choose a number from one to twelve and tell a number story about it. They listen to the teacher read "Numbers in Art" by Lucy Micklethwait. Students choose three numbers from one to twelve and view works of art while looking for...
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The Big Bang Theory
Students will use scientific reasoning to formulate ideas about the formation of the universe using the Big Bang Theory. The use of critical thinking skills is part of the activity and the foundation of the scientific method will serve...
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Show Me the Way To Go Home
Students place a pencil perpendicular to the ground and trace its shadow between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. They measure the length of the shadow, periodically over several hours, in either English or Metric units. Using the data, they find...
Teach Engineering
Weather Basics
Weather — there's more to it than meets the eye of the storm. With this resource young meteorologists learn about the basics of weather, including information about the factors that influence the weather, common weather vocabulary,...
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Space: Stars and Planets
Learners observe and report that the moon can be seen sometimes at night and sometimes during the day. They describe how changes to a model can help predict how the real thing can be altered. Students explain the essential fact of the...
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Exploring Dwarf Planet Eris
In this planet Eris activity, 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...
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The Heliopause...a question of balance!
In this heliopause worksheet, learners read about the balance between the solar wind pressure and the interstellar medium pressure and the relationship between these two pressures. They are given an inquiry problem and enter the bow...
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Eagle Nebula - Close-up
In this Eagle nebula activity, students solve 4 problems including finding the size of the nebula field, determining the scale of the image, determining how large the nebula is in millimeters and determining the size of the smallest...
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IBEX Uses Fast-Moving Atoms to Map the Sky!
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...
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Magnetic Energy
In this magnetic energy worksheet, students are given the formula to calculate the magnetic energy of an object. They use the formula to solve for the magnetic energy of the Earth, a geotail, the Sun, and a solar prominence given their...
NASA
The Drake Equation
In this Drake Equation worksheet, students read about how scientists can estimate the number of intelligent civilizations that may exist in our galaxy. Students answer 7 questions about the Drake Equation and they use the internet to...
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Spotting an Approaching Asteroid or Comet
For this asteroid and comet worksheet, students read about the formula used to determine the brightness of asteroid. They apply this formula to solve 2 problems about asteroids and their brightness.
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The Drake Equation
Students use the Drake Equation to calculate the probability of sustaining life on various planets. Through the use of the equation, they determine whether intelligent and advanced civilizations can be developed on planets other than...
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IBEX Creates an Unusual Image of the Sky!
In this IBEX satellite learning exercise, students read about the Energetic Neutral Atoms that are detected by the IBEX satellite. Students use a given hypothetical data string to determine the number of particles detected and create an...
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The Comet Encke Tail Disruption Event
In this comet tail disruption worksheet, students solve 7 problems using two images from NASA's STEREO satellite showing the breakup of the comet's tail. Students analyze the diagram and use the scale to solve the problems about time,...
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Models of Planets
In this planet models activity, students use the radius of a given planet and its mass to answer questions using a model of a planet with a given radius. They determine the volume of the planet's inner core, the volume of its outer...