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PPT
University of Texas

Heat Transfer and Energy Balance

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learn about conduction, convection, and radiation with an illustrative presentation. It includes slides about atmospheric movement and how it affects the climate, solar radiation, and how latent heat can form storms. 
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Energy from the Sun

For Students 7th - 9th
In this energy worksheet, students complete a chart on the three types of heat transfer and their causes. Then they explain why all of the radiation directed at Earth does not reach the surface. Students also explain the factors in the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Radiation: To Worry or Not to Worry

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students distinguish safe forms of radiation from those that are dangerous. Students watch a video about sources of radiation encountered every day. Students estimate their own annual radiation exposure.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Radiation: To Worry or Not to Worry

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers distinguish safe forms of radiation from those that are dangerous. Students watch a video about sources of radiation encountered every day. High schoolers estimate their own annual radiation exposure.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Radiation: To Worry or Not to Worry

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students distinguish safe forms of radiation from those that are dangerous. Students watch a video about sources of radiation encountered every day. Students estimate their own annual radiation exposure.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Does the Earth's Energy Budget Relate to Polar Ice?

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students use satellite data to see how radiation budget relates to the ice that is present in the North.  In this energy lesson students correlate data to see a relationship. 
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Thermal Energy Flow in Materials

For Teachers 6th Standards
The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth instructional activity in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal...
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Lesson Plan
University of Waikato

Māui and the Sun

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Using a Maori legend, How Maui Tamed the Sun, youngsters are introduced to the importance of sunlight to civilization. Teach them about nuclear fusion that occurs to produce the solar energy we later receive on Earth as electromagnetic...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's Cooking?

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students investigate solar energy by making sun tea.  For this ecology and solar energy lesson, students prepare traditional tea and "sun" tea, then record and graph data comparing color, clarity, smell and taste.
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Activity
Colorado State University

How Do Long and Short EM Waves Interact with the Earth's Atmosphere?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Things are about to heat up in your classroom! A kinesthetic lesson asks learners to play the part of the gases in the earth's atmosphere and interact with the sun's radiation. The focus is to learn the impact of the increasing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sunlight and Warm Air

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners examine the different ways heat can be felt.  In this radiation and conduction lesson, students recognize that the sun radiates heat. Learners conduct three experiments to find how the sun warms the Earth and how that heat is...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's Cooking

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students complete a solar radiation activity. In this solar radiation instructional activity, students complete an experiment to learn about solar radiation. Students make solar tea by using the energy of the Sun to brew tea.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Seasons Worksheet #1

For Students 6th - 9th
First, your earth science pupils determine what season is depicted in a diagram of the tilted Earth as it receives radiation from the sun. They answer multiple choice questions about occurrences at different points on Earth in the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art: Coral Reef Ala Oil

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students investigate Australia's Great Barrier Reef and create oil paintings of it. After their research, they apply various painting techniques to depict air bubbles, sun's radiation, and color blending. For older students, the...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Earth's Global Energy Budget

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Introduce your earth science enthusiasts to the earth's energy budget. Teach them using an informative set of slides that include illuminating lecturer's notes, relevant vocabulary, embedded animations, colorful satellite maps, and a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Star Light, Star Bright

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Four modules are a part of this stellar lesson plan. Space scientists view the electromagnetic spectrum, they generate waves on a computer screen in order to measure frequency and wavelength, discover how light is related to temperature,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Variables Affecting Earth's Albedo

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study the variables that affect the Earth's albedo.  In this environmental data analysis lesson students interpret and graph information and calculate changes. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Kit Lesson #9 - Properties of Solar Radiation: Reflection, Transmission, and Absorption

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Middle school science stars observe and record data on the solar radiation reflected off or transmitted through various materials. They predict properties for various materials, and test their predictions by touch. This lesson becomes...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Big Is That Star?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Aspiring astronomers study stars. They compare stars and explain the relationship between radius, mass, and diameter. By creating a star simulation, they discover how a binary star system's orbit can cause changes in the observed...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An Overview of Solar Radiation

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine the Stefan-Boltzmann Law. Students compute basic radiative "constants" of the sun-Earth-atomosphere system. They examine the wavelength of maximum radiation emission.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Thermodynamics

For Students 9th - 12th
In this thermodynamics worksheet, students learn about insulators and conductors. Students compare the three ways thermal energy is transferred: conduction, convection, and radiation. This worksheet has 22 matching, 1 multiple choice, 3...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Thermodynamics

For Students 9th - 12th
In this thermodynamics worksheet, students read about conduction, convection and radiation. They answer 47 questions about heat transfer, thermal equilibrium, insulators, conductors and the states of matter.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scientist Tracking Network

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students correlate surface radiation with mean surface temperature of several geographic regions. They observe how these parameters change with latitude and construct an understanding of the relationship of solar radiation to seasonal...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Daily and Seasonal Cycles

For Teachers 1st
First graders identify the sun as a source of heat and light. They identify features of houses that help keep use sheltered and comfortable throughout daily and seasonal cycles. Students are told that summer is the best season to...