Preparing for an assessment? Here's an activity that will ensure that all class members have the background knowledge they need to demonstrate their skills on a performance task related to the solar system and the tools astronomers use...

The spacecraft is drifting too far off course! Two games help explain how a spacecraft can use its thrusters to maintain its position. The games have pupils be the components of vectors in order to create and counteract the...

Explore what it takes to service the Hubble telescope. In the set of three activities, groups investigate several aspects of the Hubble telescope, including robotic arms used during repairs, spacesuits, and extravehicular activity (EVA)...

Solar energy is an amazing alternative ... but, not always particularly portable! Challenge young scientists to a folding solar panel build-off with an easy-to-execute activity. Scholars brainstorm around specific design needs, construct...

An activity promotes reading comprehension. Readers analyze a text of their choice while activating prior knowledge and asking and answering questions. Scholars enforce multiple strategies to improve comprehension.

Satellites require rockets to launch, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand them. Future engineers learn about how satellites send data to Earth and how to interpret satellite images. They see how radio waves play a role...

Learn all about the Hubble Telescope and obtain vital statistics at the same time. Click on links to watch different movies about the Hubble.

At this site students can make their own telescope and see how it works with this experiment. Out of a light, a pair of glasses, a magnifying glass and wax paper.

This site has an activity to make a hand-held telescope. "The Hubble Space Telescope that's orbiting Earth right now is the size of a school bus, but you can make a model of it that you can hold in your hands!"

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about some of the objects circling the Earth. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about improvements made to the Hubble telescope. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This nonfiction piece discusses the discovery of previously unknown planets in the solar system. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies...