Students complete a web-based activity to study the planets and solar system. Students complete a number of activities including a slide show that depict the true facts about planets.

Young scholars create scale models of the planets out of clay and compare them to the real planets.

Students investigate the planet Earth's infamous ring of fire and the life that thrives from it.  In this ocean environment lesson, students investigate hydrothermal vents and how organisms thrive off their heat.  Students...

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...

Take your science class on a hypothetical field trip to Mars with an engaging astronomy lesson. After first learning about NASA's Mars rover missions, young scientists plan their own scientific investigations of Earth's...

Ninth graders set up a scale model of the solar system using the same scale for distance and diameter. They calculate scale distances and sizes for modeling the solar system and relate actual distances to difficulties in discovering and...

Students examine satellite images of Earth and contrast images at different scales. In this exploring Earth from space lesson plan, students use satellite images to contrast images at different scales, calculate distances from the scale...

Fifth graders explore the solar system. In this solar system unit, 5th graders investigate numerous projects while rotating through learning centers. Students write about space and construct a space shuttle model. Students practice map...

Students examine the rotation of the Earth as it occurs in the 24 hour cycle. They use models of planets and the globe to make observations of movements made. Students brainstorm prior knowledge and then participate in a demonstration of...

Students examine the topic of the Earth's rotation, revolution, and orbit. They observe teacher-led demonstrations, explore various websites, write journal entries, conduct a demonstration of why Earth experiences day and night, and...

Learners relate meteorites to the mantle and crust of asteroids.  In this planetary lesson students complete experiments to model the separation of light.

Students investigate the Earth's crust. In this geology lesson, students identify the materials made up of the Earth's crust and investigate the different kinds of soil.

Eighth graders study the earth's surface.  In this planet structure lesson students view a PowerPoint presentation then draw and label the earths layers. 

After viewing a teacher-led demonstration on a variety of landforms of the Earth, 1st graders create an Earth book. This nicely-done hands-on lesson has students produce books that describe, in pictures and words, different aspects of...

Students explore the possibility of being on Mars and being able to identify the Earth.  In this space lesson plan students complete a set of calculations to see if this is possible. 

Students explore why when you examine the moon depends on its location in relationship to the sun and Earth. The moon never goes away or changes shape-we just see a different fraction of sunlight being reflected from the moon to Earth.

Students practice addition and estimation. They use tens models to solve the problems related to grocery bags and Earth Day. Afterwards, they complete an activity sheet and draw a large grocery bag decorated with Earth Day messages.

Students in a special education classroom are introduced to how the universe and solar system was formed. Using the internet, they research the characteristics of Earth that support human life. In groups, they compare and contrast...

Students in a special education classroom examine the role of weather and water in their lives. Each day, they add a symbol for the weather outside and identify the proper activities for the weather on that day. In groups, they...

Students use the Drake Equation to calculate the probability of sustaining life on various planets. Through the use of the equation, they determine whether intelligent and advanced civilizations can be developed on planets other than...

Young scholars explore the earth's rotation and phases of the moon. In this planets lesson plan, students rotate and revolve around a light representing the sun. Young scholars use movement and props to simulate what causes the phases of...

Students discover how distance can change how our view of an object. Students build a representative model of where their home is located from different distances. They create three drawn models of their home from various elevations as...

Students investigate glaciers. In this earth science lesson, students use sandy ice cubes to observe how glaciers change the land. Students list forces that cause changes in the Earth's surface.

Eighth graders identify the different stages in the life cycle of a star. In this astronomy lesson, 8th graders read H-R diagrams and analyze data. The describe how the Sun's evolution will affect Earth in the future.