Curated OER
Asteroids
In this worksheet on asteroids, students look at a picture asteroids and read accompanying facts, along with a brief paragraph.
Curated OER
Solar System
In this space worksheet, students identify and locate vocabulary terms and names related to the Solar System. There are 23 words located in the puzzle.
Curated OER
TE Activity: Testing the Caverns
Learners make model caverns out of paper mache or clay. They bury them in a tray of sand, and test the models by dropping balls into them simulating as asteroid hitting the earth. They discuss the results of the activity in a whole class...
Curated OER
The Magic School Bus Out of this World
Students explore the craters that objects of different sizes and weights make. They use marbles, Ping-Pong balls, and aluminum-foil balls for this experiment. They investigate what would happen if they drop objects that aren't round.
Curated OER
Possible Locations
Students create maps with cutout pieces of paper that represent caverns. They develop a scale for their map and decide where the best location is to live. They discover the importance of map reading skills.
Curated OER
Scaling the Map
Students practice determining map distances using the map scales. They discover how much an area represents on the map in relation to the actual area. They decide on the best place to build their cavern.
California Institute of Technology
Cool Cosmos: Ask an Astronomer
Cool Cosmos and NASA have joined together to provide kids with the answers to their most frequently asked questions. Visit this site to learn more about asteroids.
NASA
Nasa: Asteroid 2012 Da14: Earth Flyby Reality Check
Get a reality check about a recent asteroid fly-by. Study videos, diagrams, and explanations of these near-misses.
Other
Killer Asteroid Project: Asteroids and Comets
Explains the differences between asteroids and comets. Presents a chart showing a size comparison between some known asteroids and comets.
Other
Killer Asteroid Project: Rubble Piles vs. Monoliths
Asteroids can be single large rocks, or they can be collections of rocks loosely bound by their mutual gravity "rubble piles." The difference is important to understand, so we know how to deal with these if they head towards Earth. A...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Our Solar System Lithograph Set
View these amazing high-quality images of our solar system from NASA with this lithograph set. Each lithograph contains images, facts, dates, and general information on a particular subject. Background information and teaching tips are...
Other
University of Leicester: Comets, Asteroids & Meteorites
Provides a general overview of comets, asteroids, and meteorites. Content includes ways to identify them in the night sky, as well as detailed information on each type of small body.
Smithsonian Institution
National Air and Space Museum: Exploring the Planets: Our Solar System
Take a tour of our solar system and learn fascinating details and observations about the planets.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Asteroid Impact
Asteroid Impact is an 8-10 class long (350-450 min) earth science curricular unit where student teams are posed with the scenario that an asteroid will impact earth. They must design the location and size of underground caverns to save...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Asteroids
Students learn some basic facts about asteroids in our solar system, mainly about the size of asteroids and how that relates to the potential danger of an asteroid colliding with the Earth. Students are briefly introduced to the...
NASA
Nasa Star Child: Meteoroids (Level 1)
Use this site to find out where falling stars come from. Audio content included. Vocabulary words linked to a glossary of terms. Printable version available.
Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education, Stevens Institute of Technology
Ciese: K 12 Education Curriculum: Online Classroom Projects
This site presents projects for individual classrooms and collaborative projects that can be done with other classes or schools. Most of these are science projects.
NASA
Dawn Mission: Dawn Classrooms: The History and Discovery of Asteroids
Student groups explore scientific breakthroughs and the development of technologies that eventually led to asteroid discovery aboard the Dawn space mission. Learning module components include jigsaw reading, model building, math...
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Zoom Astronomy: All About Space
A fantastic collection of information about the solar system. Includes information on all of the planets, the moon, the sun, asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and stars. Also find puzzles, a dictionary, quizzes, classroom activities, and...
Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education, Stevens Institute of Technology
Ciese: Collaborative Projects
Using a variety of science topics, these projects link your class with classes around the world in data collection and analysis. There are projects recommended for all grade levels. Begin dates and end dates are listed to help in...
NASA
Nasa: Asteroids: Overview: Ancient Space Rubble
Comprehensive look at asteroids, with many useful facts, photos, and related links. Provides a detailed account of how asteroids get their names and a timeline of significant dates.
NASA
Nasa: Our Solar System Lithograph Set
View a lithograph set that includes pictures and brief descriptions of planets, sun, asteroids, comets, meteors, and meteorites. While viewing the lithograph learn important dates and interesting facts about our solar system.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Meteor Showers
This video segment adapted from NASA uses animation to illustrate the properties of meteor showers and comets. Included is are visualizations of a comet's tail and of Earth passing through a debris stream left behind by meteoroids.
NASA
Nasa: What Is a Planet?
This lesson teaches students about the characteristics of planets, comets, asteroids, and trans-Neptunian objects. After learning about these different things, students then are to debate about a new object that is found in space.