How do we interact with Earth? Scholars learn about the sun, Earth, moon, forces, gravity, and heat sources by reading a text and performing hands-on demonstrations. They also differentiate between living and non-living things using...

Help your class understand the magnitude of the distance between Earth and Mars with an activity that asks small groups to use balloons to create scale models of the Earth, Moon, and Mars. Class members figure out the distances...

How could you earn a $6,000,000 speeding ticket? This presentation uses an analogy that relates speed in the universe to the cost of a speeding ticket. Scholars ultimately understand that motion is relative. Also covered is the...

Is this the end of the world as we know it? Pupils prepare for a coronal mass ejection during a lesson from the K20 Center. The activity combines video and Internet research in a collaborative assignment that focuses on public safety...

Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to travel around the sun. In the fifth of 22 lessons, young scientists create a travel guide to a planet in our solar system. They provide tips for others on what to bring, what they see, and their...

Youngsters examine resource maps to find out which states are using solar and wind power and discuss as a class various other renewable energy sources. They use a provided data table to record pros and cons to each technology, build and...

How do satellites communicate? What types of satellites orbit Earth? Discover and mimic the way satellites communicate between two points in a hands-on activity that has pupils using mirrors, flashlights, and marbles.

Students use the GEEBITT excel model to explore how global average temperatures are affected by changes in our atmosphere in part two of this series of seven lessons. Working in groups, they discuss, analyze graphs, and enter data to...

Introduce your class to air masses and how they affect the weather with a lesson that focuses on the differences between high and low air pressure systems. The class explores actual weather data using archived weather data.

Finish or launch your unit on the solar system with a jigsaw project covering major celestial concepts such as the Milky Way Galaxy, asteroids, meteors, comets, Earth's moon, and, of course, all the planets. Learners start by...

Explore the reason for the seasons! An interactive lesson allows learners to explore the earth's rotation from the viewpoint of four cities at different latitudes. It provides descriptive information at eight points during the orbit...

Without wind, the weather man wouldn't have much to talk about! Blow away your junior meteorologists with a creative demonstration of how wind works. The activity uses an empty soda bottle and compressible Styrofoam peanuts to illustrate...

Is one type of energy inherently good or bad? Young scientists explore energy resources in a week-long unit. After extensive research, groups create powerful position statements and presentations supporting their energy resource of choice.

New Horizons set forth on a mission to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, the spacecraft is still on its way. Here, enthusiastic scholars predict what they will be like—likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.—when New Horizons arrives at its...

Logical thinking is at the forefront of this jam-packed lesson, with young mathematicians not only investigating geometric concepts but also how they "know what they know". Through each activity and worksheet, learners wrestle with...

Does your class have a bright future in the solar energy industry? Science scholars take an in-depth look at what's new in solar technology. After completing research into the solar industry, participants create and market a product in...

A timelapse video hooks learners' attention to the phases of the moon. After discussing their observations, pupils use the Moon Giant website to view the moon on their birthday and complete a bar graph. The class creates an anchor chart...

Examine an innovative approach to a large-scale model. Pupils across the state of Maine teamed up to create a model of the solar system that spans 40 miles. Put thinking skills to work within your classes as they make the calculations to...

Volition, or will-power, is the focus of a lesson that brings forth the Native symbol, the Circle of Life, to instill the importance of responsible decision-making. Scholars take part in six activities that empower them to reflect on...

Embark on a year long investigation of the seasons with this 10-lesson earth science unit. After being introduced to different types of weather and the tools used to measure it, young scientists perform fun hands-on activities that...

On September 26, 1991, four women and four men entered the scientific experiment, Biosphere 2; the doors were sealed for two years in order to study the interactions of a biosphere. In the activity, scholars explore biospheres by...

Bring the sun to your class! Young scholars analyze actual solar wind data in the second lesson plan of a five-part series. Their analysis includes speed, temperature, and density data.

Break down light into spectra. Scholars learn how atoms emit and absorb photons and come to understand how this process allows scientists to identify different atoms based on either absorption lines or emission lines. Learners then...

Learners develop a scaled down model of the solar system. In small groups, they calculate the scaled-down diameters of the planets and the sun, the scaled-down distance of the planets from the sun, complete two charts, and create a...