Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Exploring the Planets

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students study robotic spacecrafts that have provided detailed information about the inner and outer planets. In this exploring the planets lesson plan, students use posters and diagrams to study the various robotic spacecraft sent to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Far Away Are the Planets?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students name nine planets in order, describe some notable characteristics of the planets, explain how distance from the sun may affect these characteristics, and create solar system models.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Planet Mars

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders gain knowledge about Mars and Earth. In this compare and contrast lesson, 5th graders use visual representations of the solar system to observe the characteristics of the planets. Students read fiction and nonfiction...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Space: Our Star, the Sun, and Its Friends, the Planets

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students examine the solar system. In this space lesson, students identify the order of the planets and their relative size to the sun. Students create a scale model of our solar system using a variety of household objects.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Physics of the Planets: How 16th and 17th Century Physicist Helped Us Understand Our Solar System

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders draw the paths of the planets in the solar system. In this astronomy lesson, 8th graders calculate speed of objects using distance and time information. They research about the work of scientists in the 16th and 17th century.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine the possible ways to recycle, reuse, and re-imagine products and objects in order to reduce pollution and waste on our planet. In this 100 things you can do to save the planet instructional activity, students take three...
Lesson Plan
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Population Connection

The Human-Made Landscape

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...
Lesson Plan
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Population Connection

The Peopling of Our Planet

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
How many people live on the planet, anyway? The first resource in a six-part series covers the topic of the world population. Scholars work in groups to conduct research and make population posters after learning about the global...
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Global Warming of the Atmosphere

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Scientists know the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today is higher than at any point in the last 800,000 years. Scholars learn about the amount of thermic radiation absorbed by air and what happens to the rest of the...
Worksheet
Rice University

Characteristics of Inner Planets

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Aspiring astronomers assess the inner planets using this handout. They read about the characteristics of each, noting that all four of them have rocky surfaces. Rotation and revolution are introduced, including Venus' retrograde...
Lesson Plan
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Baylor College

Modeling Earth's Atmosphere

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Life on Earth is made possible by the unique composition of its atmosphere. Working collaboratively, a scale model is created as young scientists learn about the different layers of gas that surround the planet. Cards are included that...
Lesson Plan
Captain Planet Foundation

Energy Flow in the Garden

For Teachers 4th
How can you tell what an owl has eaten? Study the food chain and flow of energy in an ecosystem by dissecting an owl pellet and noting the bones found inside. Additionally, the instructional activity includes a game about consumers and...
Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Looking Inside Planets

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
All of the gas giant's atmospheres consist of hydrogen and helium, the same gases that make up all stars. The third in a series of 22, the activity challenges pupils to make scale models of the interiors of planets in order to...
Activity
Education World

Every Day Edit - Pluto, the Dwarf Planet

For Students 3rd - 8th
In this everyday editing activity, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the planet Pluto. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar.
Lesson Plan
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Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

Planetary Distances on the Playground

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
There's no need to stay inside; get out of the classroom and create a scaled map of the solar system on your playground field! In collaborative groups, scholars identify the distance between the sun and other planets, place planet...
Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Planetary Distances on the Playground

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Earth is 149,600,000 km, or 92,957,130.4 miles, from the sun. Young astronauts create an interactive model to learn the distances between planets. Nine groups, each representing a different planet, are spread around at class-calculated...
Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Clay Planets

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Why do scientists use models? In the first installment of 22, groups create scale models of our solar system. They then share and discuss their models.
Lesson Plan
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Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

Charting the Progress of New Horizons

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
In 2006, New Horizons began its mission to fly to Pluto. As it continues its journey, scholars track its progress with the help of an informative website, all the while reinforcing measurement concepts with the construction of a scaled...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Lesson Two: The Earth, Introductory Activities

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Determine what young pupils already know about earth science with a brainstorming activity. After class members work together to complete a KWL chart about the Earth, they craft an acrostic poem to demonstrate their understanding.
Activity
NASA

Water Works on a Blue Planet

For Students 6th - 12th
Keep within a water budget. Learners find out that less than 2.5% of Earth's water is available to drink—and that there is a fixed amount of water. Scholars read an interesting article comparing the available water to a game of Monopoly...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Connect the Spheres: Earth Systems Interactions

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Is everything really connected? Take your class on a walk outside, where they will make observations and write them down on a worksheet. Once they are back in the classroom, learners will work to determine if and how things like birds,...
Lesson Plan
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Scholastic

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss Lesson Plan

For Teachers 1st - 2nd Standards
Celebrate the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss with a lesson that features the memorable tale of The Lorax. After listening to a riveting read-aloud, scholars take part in a grand conversation about the story and environment. Then...
Lesson Plan
Beyond Benign

The Big Melt: Arctic Ice Caps

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Are the Arctic ice caps really melting out of existence? Junior climatologists examine the statistics of ice decline through four math-based lessons. Each activity incorporates data, climate information, and environmental impact into an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Toilet Paper Solar System

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Explore the solar system with this lesson. Learners create a model of the solar system using toilet paper. With this creative approach, learners create a solar system according to distance and scale parameters, and write down a list of...

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