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Worksheet
Curated OER

October 4, 1957 - Sputnik I

For Students 7th - 8th
In this writing prompt worksheet, students learn that on October 4, 1957 Sputnik I, the first space vehicle, was launched. Kids write about traveling in space and what they would like to explore. If students don't want to space travel,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Kennedy Years

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders read text and view films about the Kennedy administration. In this preseidential administration lesson, 8th graders interview someone who lived during Sputnik, write summaries of lectures, and create posters demonstrating...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Early Cold War: 1947-1970

For Teachers 9th - 11th
With a combination of images, maps, and valuable information, this presentation is a strong resource for a history class that is coming out of a WWII unit and into a Cold War unit. Some points are outlined for students, while others are...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Space Exploration

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders identify and interpret the following: What is space?, Space Race, Living in space?, Man on the Moon, Astronaut training; students compare/contrast US and Russia space exploration. Students write a letter of application to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Memorandum of a Conference with President Eisenhower after Sputnik

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students use the National Archives to research how the United States and the Soviet Union south to maintain its supremacy after World War II.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Words in the News Solar Sail

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Bring current events into your classroom! Middle schoolers complete word work activities before reading and discussing an online article. They complete worksheets and an online quiz. They discuss the Solar Sail as radical new idea and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Vocabulary of Space

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students build their knowledge and understanding of vocabulary related to space.  In this space lesson, students discuss four categories of words and phrases related to space. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Satellites

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the history of space travel and satellites. Through a teacher demonstration, 8th graders observe how a satellite revolves another object. They identify natural and artificial satellites, explore how satellites...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Cold War Chronology

For Students 8th - 12th
In this Cold War worksheet, students examine the chronological list of important events between 1945 and 1991. Students then respond to 7 short answer questions based on the chronology.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

For Students 3rd - 4th
In these prepositional phrases worksheets, students review the definitions and examples for prepositional phrases, prepositions, and object of prepositions. Students then complete three pages of activities for prepositions.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Artificial Satellites and Space Probes

For Students 9th - 12th
In this satellites worksheet, students match the list of facts given with the artificial satellite or space probe that it describes. This worksheet has 12 matching questions.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Teaching Math & Science in Age of Sputnik

For Students 9th - 10th
Why did the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik throw the fields of mathematics and science into tremendous demand in the United States? Find the many ways this revolutionary event impacted children from the 1950s to become the...
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Website
NASA

Nasa Star Child: Space Travel (Level 1)

For Students 3rd - 8th
Learn about the history of space travel. Audio content is included as well as vocabulary words linked to a glossary of terms.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Air and Space Museum: Apollo to the Moon

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource offers an in-depth exploration of the U.S. space program and the role President John F. Kennedy took in setting the agenda for manned space flight to the moon.
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Graphic
Digital Public Library of America

Dpla: Race to the Moon

For Students 9th - 10th
In 1955, the US and the USSR each announced plans to launch a satellite into orbit. Thus began the race to the moon. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the American space program and its new classes of astronauts achieved breakthroughs in...
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Website
Other

Historic Wings: John Glenn Friendship 7

For Students 9th - 10th
The story of America's first astronaut to orbit the earth during the Mercury Space program. After launching the program click on continue or on the numbers to learn about the story of the Mercury program and the first American to orbit...
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Article
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Johnson's Task, Unify Space Program

For Students 3rd - 8th
Russia was ahead in the "space race" in 1961. In this article, the Library of Congress discusses how President Kennedy assigned Lyndon Johnson the task of uniting the different parts of the U.S. space program into NASA.