Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Marine Objects

For Teachers 1st - 7th
Students identify the sources of water on Earth. In this life science lesson, students list the different plants and animals that live in the ocean. They explore marine objects in the lab and draw them.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Student Experiment Flies On NASA Space Shuttle!

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students design and construct an experiment that will be launched into space aboard a NASA research shuttle. How better to gain and appreciation for (and, hopefully, a love of) scientific investigation than to do real science and be...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Orientation of the Earth in Space

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students hypothesize the location of the sun in the sky at diferent times of day and at different latitudes. They perform several experiments to provide evidence for their hypothesis. Experiments including observing the sun's position at...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physical Science: Dying for a Tan?

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students assess how much harm UV radiation can have on your skin and how much protection is provided by sunblock, sunglasses and clothing. They experiment with UV index numbers and the amount of exposure risk of skin damage for any given...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Golden Stars?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners explore the possibility that all the gold on Earth came from another source. Discussions of how the materials arrived and its source forms the basis of data used to play a review game.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Effect of Moisture on Soil Temperature

For Teachers K - 12th
Young scholars analyze the relationship between soil moisture and its effect on soil temperature.
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

The Big Meltdown

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Explore the world (our world) of melting ice caps. Why are these caps melting? What is the effect of melting ice caps? Dive into the ever-present issue of global warming with a resource that has learners looking at data and participating...
Lesson Plan
NASA

The Invisible Sun: How Hot Is It?

For Students 9th - 12th
It's getting hot in here! The first in a series of six lessons has learners model nuclear fusion with a simple lab investigation. Groups collect data and analyze results, comparing their models to the actual process along the way.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Amelia the Pigeon: As a Pigeon Flies

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students follow Amelia's adventure on a satellite image. They use measuring and math skills to determine the distance she traveled.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Do We Have Night?

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Learners engage in a fun, creative way to discover how the Earth moves. This lesson helps students explain why there is day and night. It can also create curiosity to further study the solar system and eclipses!
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Sun and Moon

For Teachers K - 1st
Students understand basic concepts about Earth, the Sun and the Moon, such as relative movement and the phases of the moon. Through discussion, looking at pictures, listening to Native American stories, observing, and building models,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seasonal cycles

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Learners understand that the rotation of the Earth is responsible for the seasons. In this seasonal cycles lesson, students learn how the rotation of the Earth affects the seasons. Learners answer questions about the rotation, the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Follow the Sun

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Learners use a simple model of the Earth and Sun as seen from space to explore the sun's apparent movement across the sky over the course of a day and year. They consider the apparent direction of movement and changes in the sun's angle.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Life Cycle of a Star

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate the life cycle of a star and make conclusions based on evidence, research, and observation.  In this lesson on space and scientific investigation, students describe the relationships between science and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Now Man Has Gone Before

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the Apollo lunar landings and past theories about the creation and structure of the Earth's Moon as a springboard for investigating missions and milestones in space exploration since the creation of NASA in 1958.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lunar Lollipops

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars work with a partner, Styrofoam ball and light source to simulate the positions of the Earth, Moon and Sun at various stages during the phases of the Moon. They describe why the Moon is visible from Earth and complete a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Foucault's Pendulum

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate how the motion of the Foucault pendulum proves that the Earth is rotating. They research the Internet about pendulums and conduct an experiment online. They view a multimedia presentation about pendulums and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Staying Up

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students will explain the Archimedes's Principle. In this lesson on plankton, students will describe three factors that can affect the buoyancy of plankton. This lesson contains extensive background information, extensions, and multiple...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF)

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students design an experiment for NASA's STEREO/IMPACT mission to measure the interplanetary magnetic field. This lesson plan includes 3 excellent hands-on and critical thinking activities in which students explore magnetism in the solar...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar System Search

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students research topics related to space and the planets using the Internet. They explore various websites, construct scale models of the solar system, and create a travel brochure using HyperStudio computer software.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Air and Water in the Environment

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students explore the traits of water condensation and evaporation. In this water cycle lesson, students develop an awareness of the importance of water for sustaining life. Students participate in a hands-on activity in which water is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's A Meteor

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners complete a webquest to find Earth's relationship to the sun.  In this webquest lesson, students complete tasks to understand the effect of the sun on weather and time. Learners create a multimedia presentation as an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mass Spectrometer

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In this mass spectrometer worksheet, students read about how a mass spectrometer determines the elements in gases around Earth. Students answer 3 questions and identify the elements in a graph found by a mass spectrometer.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cities and Seasons

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore how satellite images show seasonal changes in seven cities in North and South America. Through a sequence of images, they study the green-up and brown-down of the seasons and how seasons change over time. Afterwards,...