Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Living in the Milky Way

For Teachers 1st - 5th Standards
Get to know our galaxy with an astronomy-themed, hands-on activity. Scholars watch an informative video, answer questions, and construct a model of the Milky Way in order to examine its contents and the distance inside it.  
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Neighborhood in the Milky Way

For Teachers 9th - 11th
In this Milky Way galaxy worksheet, young scholars are given a table of distances and angles of nebulae and star clusters from the sun. Students plot each one on a piece of paper and solve 2 problems using the data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magpies across the milky way

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students make origami birds after studying about Asian legends and culture. In this Asian legends lesson plan, students also learn about Asian art, constellations, and the Milky Way Galaxy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Milky Way and Beyond

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students consider the scale of the Milky Way Galaxy. In this Milky Way lesson, students hypothesize the length of time necessary to cross the Milky Way.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Galaxies

For Teachers 4th - 6th
The first thing to note is that this lesson plan was written for use in a parochial school. Even if you are in a non-religious setting, however, the website exploration of galaxies and the accompanying worksheet make for an engaging...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Galaxies Galore, Games and More

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students practice skills used in scientific investigation while studying the three main types of galaxies. Students identify Earth as part of Milky Way galaxy, the parts of galaxies, and the types of galaxies, as well as classify...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Future of the Milky Way

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students brainstorm ideas about the future of our galaxy. In this space science instructional activity, students research the three main events happening in the Milky Way. They write a report about their findings.
Lesson Plan
NASA

Discovering Some of Your “Yardsticks” Are Actually “Meter-sticks”

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The Milky Way gets great reviews on Trip Advisor — 100 million stars. The activity allows scholars to rethink their assumptions and prior knowledge. Pupils observe a set of two lights at equal distance and brightness, but they believe...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Home in the Milky Way

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students gain appreciation of the vastness of our galaxy by viewing an applet about the Milky Way. Students hypothesize about how long it would take to get from Earth to Pluto.
Lesson Plan
NASA

Discovering the Milky Way

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What do you call a tiny collection of galaxies? A puny-verse! Young scholars graph data gathered by scientists studying Cepheids. They attempt to identify a relationship between the variables through standard and logarithmical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Types of Galaxies

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders take a quiz to review the different objects in space. As a class, they define terms related to galaxies. In groups, they make a model of the Milky Way galaxy using materials provided to them by their teacher. To end the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A CEENic Galaxy Quest!

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students research the distances between objects in the Milky Way. In this astronomy lesson, students calculate the time it would take for a robot to travel from Milky Way object to another. They create a travel package for customers...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folklore; The Story Of The Milky Way

For Teachers K - 5th
The students choose and read a Native American Folktale, analyze and sequence the story-line using a graphic organizer, then make a "woven" story blanket (from construction paper) depicting character, plot (including problem) and outcome.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth Science

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners explore the planets and celestial bodies in our solar system. In this outer space lesson, students identify the planets and record journal information about them and other celestial bodies. Learners define outer space words.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Place in Space

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders identify the different planets that make up the solar system. In this space science lesson, 3rd graders construct a scale model of the major planets. They explore their different unique features and dress up as planets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Photometry of Stars and Clusters

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Learners apply an algorithm to measure the distance to stars in the night sky. For this photometry lesson, students observe stars in the night sky as they measure the distance to them and to the cluster, The Milky Way. They apply the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Many Stars in the Milky Way?

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students perform an experiment in which they will use a statistical method called `sampling' to count to a billion (and beyond). Students practice sampling by estimating the number of characters on a page from the classified section of a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Milky Way Galaxy

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students simulate stars in the Milky Way Galaxy using newspaper prints. In this space science lesson, students compare the number of 'stars' on their page to familiar things. They calculate how many pages they need to have the same...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Structure of the Galaxy

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students infer the galaxy shape.  In this structure of the galaxy lesson students observe the distribution of objects in the sky and answer questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Estimating The Number Of Civilizations In The Milky Way Galaxy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars estimate the number of civilizations in the galaxy by first estimating the number of craters on the Moon and then by performing estimates of multiple-variable systems culminating in the use of the Drake Equation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Galaxies

For Teachers 7th - 8th
In this galaxy worksheet, students use the galaxy fact worksheet to complete 18 fill in the blank questions about galaxy shape, sizes, and number of stars.
Lesson Plan
Starry Night Education

The Stars

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Three astronomy activities in one resource! Here you will find one hands-on activity, one demonstration, both with discussion questions, and one activity worksheet. During these lessons young scientists discuss how stars are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beyond Black Holes

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research the universe, including the Milky Way and other galaxies. They investigate black holes in space. They create a replica of a galaxy on posterboard using Crayola Neon Twistables for concentric rings found in the galaxy....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stellar Resorts

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the future of "orbital vacations" and create fanciful tours of the Milky Way Galaxy. Students respond to the following prompt in their journals "Entrepreneurs are currently designing concepts for accommodating tourists...