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Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Cassegrain Telescope

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
How does a telescope magnify images? Learners first watch a tutorial explaining the basic construction of a telescope. Then they interact with a simulation that allows for changes in the location and diameter of the reflecting mirrors....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Telescopes Work

For Teachers 3rd - 9th
Students experiment with water and mirrors to better understand how telescopes work. In this telescopes lesson plan, students use water and mirrors to see how mirrors reflect light and create a magnified image.
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Telescoping Periscope

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Ahoy, matey! Here is an engineering expedition that mini mariners are sure to be swept away by! After reading a brief description and history of periscopes, they work in crews to construct one. Use this activity to enhance a lesson on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Explore the Characteristics of Stars with Microsoft WorldWide Telescope

For Teachers 2nd - 9th
Students explore the characteristics of stars. In this space science activity, students use the Microsoft WorldWide Telescope program to identify the properties of stars and identify the stars in the galaxy.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Online Exploration: Telescopes From the Ground Up

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore a web-based illustrated text and interactive graphics to determine the relationship between the operation of telescopes and light. optics. They work in small groups to become an expert on one of the ten eras of telescope...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sky Watching

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners explain how our knowledge of the sky has been enhanced by telescopes. They make their own night-sky observations, diagram and describe what they see, and examine pictures taken by telescopes.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The KAO Telescope

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students explore the basic principles of the operation of the NASA's KAO telescope. They construct a simplified model of it using film canisters and other everyday objects. Step by step directions are included in plan.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Make a Telescope!

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study modern astronomy and technology.  For this telescope lesson students design and build a refracting telescope then redesign for better performance.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hubble Space Telescope Webquest

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers research the Hubble Space Telescope. In this Hubble Space Telescope instructional activity, students complete a webquest about the Hubble Space Telescope.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Radio Astronomy and Radio Telescope

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students construct a simple radio telescope. In this astronomy lesson, students explain how this telescope works and what information it collects.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hubble Space Telescope

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners investigate the history and use of the Hubble Space Telescope. They take a quiz in order to establish in any prior knowledge. Students conduct research to find information in conjunction with participating in class discussion...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sky Watching

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students complete night-sky observations to understand how our knowledge of the sky has been enhanced by telescopes. Students complete a timeline worksheet giving the history of telescopes. Students then then make their own observations...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sending Messages to Space

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students interpret a message sent to space using a radio telescope and draw inferences from the interpreted message. Working with a partner, they interpret data that scientists believe is a message from aliens. They work on organizing...
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Worksheet
K12 Reader

Galileo and His Telescope

For Students 2nd - 3rd Standards
Learn about Galileo Galilei's contribution to modern science with a reading passage that focuses on reading comprehension. After kids read several paragraphs about his life, they answer five questions about the information they have just...
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Worksheet
2
2
K12 Reader

Galileo and His Telescope

For Students 6th - 7th Standards
Readers are asked to identify how a key detail reveals the main idea of a paragraph about Galileo.
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eBook
Rice University

College Physics for AP® Courses

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains multiple...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Telescoping Sums Theorem

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
In this math worksheet, students read the information and examples that progressively prove the Telescoping Sums Theorem. They work the examples on their own.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Distant View

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students investigate the essential concepts of how lenses work to magnify vision, and then build simple telescopes to demonstrate their understanding. They write a description of how their telescope could be improved and how it works.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sky Quest: Exploring the Constellations

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students examine constellations and planets through completing various activities. Students work individually and in groups to create drawings based on stars, compare and contrast the night sky with and without a telescope and learn...
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App
NASA

Space Images

For Students 3rd - 12th
As technology advances, so does our understanding of the universe around us. Thanks to the Hubble Telescope, Mars rovers, and other high-resolution cameras, there are amazing photographs of celestial bodies, planets, comets, and more...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Looking into Space

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore how telescopes work, build a model of their own, and consider how real telescopes can be used to ask-and help answer-questions about the universe.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Upgrading Hubble

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Students investigate the Hubble telescope's role in astrophysics research. They complete a Webquest, watch a video, view Hubble photographs, play online games, answer discussion questions, and evaluate newspaper articles about optics.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sky Watching

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine telescopes and understand how they have helped us better understand the sky.  In this astronomy instructional activity students complete a worksheet and a lab activity.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applied Science - Science and Math Post-Lab

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners use scientific tools. In this Applied Science lesson, students investigate the use of scientific tools to enhance observation and discovery. Learners indicate how each tool assists scientific work.