Curated OER
What's "In" There: A Study of the Inner Planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
First graders identify and explore the four inner planets. In this planet science lesson plan, 1st graders watch a PowerPoint about the planets. Students read the book Our Solar System and discuss the inner planets. Students create a...
Curated OER
What's "Out" There?
First graders investigate the five outer planets. In this space science lesson, 1st graders read the book Our Solar System and identify the five outer planets. Students create a booklet and write about outer planets.
Curated OER
Changing Faces: A Study of Solar and Planetary Rotation Rates
Students determine rotation rates of a variety of solar system objects using images and the Internet.
Curated OER
Understanding the Rutherford Model
In this Rutherford model worksheet, students read about Rutherford's experiment with gold foil and alpha particles which led to the discovery of subatomic particles. Students answer six analysis questions about the experiment and...
Curated OER
Scale Models to Planet Size
Learners consider the comparative sizes of the planets in the solar system. In this scale lesson, students select balls of different sizes to represent the planets in the solar system.
Curated OER
Star Systems
Learners study a star system and see how the planets move around stars. For this star system lesson students complete an activity and see what an eclipse is.
Space Awareness
Measure the Solar Diameter
Scientists could measure the diameter of the sun before they knew its distance. Scholars construct a simple mirror box to measure the diameter for themselves. They compare this measurement with the official size, listed in a...
University of Colorado
Planetary Distances on the Playground
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...
Curated OER
Exploring Mars
Students, working in small groups construct scale models of the planets and solar system. They examine images of Mars and discuss what might have caused the features. They record facts about their planetary research in their journals and...
Curated OER
The Ellipse
This is a practical sheet with the instructions to draw a set of ellipses. After following the diagrams, there are ten questions to complete, with calculations expected for alternate orbits and comparisons related to actual planets in...
Curated OER
Nine Planets
What are characteristics of a planet? With this plan, learners investigate the characteristics of the planets in our solar system. They gather research of the nine planets by using the Internet and other research tools. Then they create...
Glynn County School System
Milky Way Galaxy
There is more about the Milky Way that scientists don't know than what they do know—that leaves a lot to discover! A thorough lesson presentation explores the components of the Milky Way Galaxy and their behaviors.
NASA
Earth's Global Energy Budget
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...
Curated OER
Earth, Sun and Moon
Students explore, experiment and study how the Earth orbits the Sun once a year and how the moon takes approximately 29 days to orbit the Earth. They access an online activity to examine the process of how the Sun is at the center of the...
Curated OER
Sun Shadow Cycles
Learners use diagrams to review how the Earth rotates around the sun. In groups, they use the same diagrams to explain how the sun shadows are produced and how they differ between seasons. They describe the Earth's rotation and...
Curated OER
Warming the Earth
First graders investigate how the sun warms the Earth and examine the rotation of the Earth and the sun. They create an illustration of the sun, examine a solar system model, and listen to the book "The Sun: Our Nearest Star." They also...
Curated OER
Planets an Introduction
Fourth graders investigate one planet, enter information into a database, and print the database sorting for each of the attributes.
Curated OER
Inner Planets
Students create a booklet about the inner planets after researching the characteristics of each planet. Students research the following items for each planet: moons, size, rotation, orbit, atmosphere, an interesting fact. Their final...
Curated OER
Modeling Hot and Cold Planets
Students, in teams, design and construct models of two planets, one hot and the other cold, using a variety of materials. They attempt to create the models out of substances that will actually show the greatest temperature differences...
Curated OER
TE Activity: You're in Hot Water
Students study different ways of using solar energy. They design a solar water heater and determine how much water it can heat in a set amount of time. They examine how the heaters work by solar radiation and convection.
Curated OER
Models of Planets
In this planet models learning exercise, students use the radius of a given planet and its mass to answer questions using a model of a planet with a given radius. They determine the volume of the planet's inner core, the volume of its...
Curated OER
Pioneers of Space
Students explore how to use natural resources in the next millenium. Students create a KWL chart and then research information on our solar systsem, natural resources, and environments. Students build a model of a future community and...
Curated OER
Earth's Orbit Lesson
Tenth graders devise a computational model to explore how the orbit of the Earth might change if its velocity were different. Using accurately recorded data, 10th graders defend a scientific argument.
Curated OER
Space Science: Constellations and the Sun
Students review the zodiac signs and illustrate their movement using constellations on the wall and themselves to represent earth. Individually or in groups, they stand in the center of the room while a shadeless lamp is placed between...