Students use a compass and their hands to find positions of stars and planets in the night sky or of the sun during the day.

In this first part of a two-part lesson, learners track and record the sun's azimuth using a solar panel. They graph and analyze the data to identify relationships among the time of day, the altitude and azimuth of the sun, and the...

Students study how the sun is at the center of the solar system.  In this solar lesson students measure the altitude of the sun and its size.

Students discuss the meaning of a day and what happens to the sun as it turns to night. Then they go outside and draw the view in front of them, paying close attention to the location of the sun. Every hour they return and chart the...

Students study the sun and how it moves throughout the day.  In this tracking the sun instructional activity students create a model of the celestial sphere. 

Students use SunPath in the yearly mode to investigate seasonal changes in sunrise, sunset, length of day and sun altitude at their own latitude. Sun Path JAVA applet uses equations for a spherical Earth to calculate the sunrise and...

Students describe the movement of the Earth as it relates to the sun and formulate a hypothesis for the movement and the changing length of the shadow. They express the relationship between the sun and the Earth and how that causes the...

Students close their eyes and picture the sky. They are asked to brainstorm things they may see in the course of a night and day, such as the movement of the sun, moon, and stars. Students work in groups to coduct their research. They...

Students conduct an experiment to determine dew point and use a formula to detemine altitude. They construct a chart and predict what altitude clouds would form, given the dew point on the ground.

Students track and record data on the Sun's position in the sky and on the output of a solar panel tracking the Sun. On a second day, students graph and analyze the data to identify relationships between (1) the time of day, (2) the...

Students answer questions about the altitude range of the sun over time in Barrow, Alaska.

Students determine their latitude using a protracdtor and/or cross-staff to find the altitude of Polaris.

Students create a project applying their math skills as they discuss energy conservation. In this geometry lesson, students define vocabulary relating to the environment and energy conservation. They construct a building that allow lots...

Students find the altitude of the Sun at 10 A.M., at solar noon, and at 2 P.M. by measuring the height of the gnomon and the length of the shadow at each time. They record the measurements in their notebooks for later conversion.

Students build a sundial to measure the local noon time. In this third grade science lesson plan, students build a sundial out of common materials and align to measure the local noon. This lesson plan is a hands-on tracking of the sun,...

Students measure shadows and explore the altitude of the sun.  In this sun instructional activity students will graph the length of shadows and solar altitude against time. 

The 20th activity in a 21-part series connects the wind data and expectations of a turbine to whether such devices should be built in your area. Scholars begin with estimating the wind potential at school by using long-term climate...

Eighth graders explain the relationship between the position of the sun, a city's latitude and shadow length. Ratio's, geometry, and algebra are used to determine the shadow lengths and building heights. A sun angle (altitude) charts to...

Students develop and test a unique, personally-relevant hypothesis about the consequences of exposure to UV radiation based units on a living organism, common baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).

Middle schoolers engage in a instructional activity which shows them that celestial navigation is the art and science of finding one's geographic position by means of astronomical observations, particularly by measuring altitudes of...

Students examine themselves as being part of a global community. In this global community lesson, students investigate GPS systems. Students gain knowledge on how the device works. Students discover that satellites provide information...

Young scholars design posters on the ozone to be judged. They design a board game on the depletion of the ozone and list the layers of the atmosphere. They construct a collage of the atmosphere into layers according to the way...

Pupils compare rates to altitude. They conduct a class discussion about the results.

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...