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Lesson Plan
NASA

The Invisible Sun: How Hot Is It?

For Students 9th - 12th
It's getting hot in here! The first in a series of six lessons has learners model nuclear fusion with a simple lab investigation. Groups collect data and analyze results, comparing their models to the actual process along the way.
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Lesson Plan
Signing Time Foundation

What is the Water Cycle?

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Dive into an exploration of the water cycle cycle with this simple earth science lesson. After first discussing where rain comes from, young scientists define the terms condensation, evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation as a...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Discovering the Milky Way

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What do you call a tiny collection of galaxies? A puny-verse! Young scholars graph data gathered by scientists studying Cepheids. They attempt to identify a relationship between the variables through standard and logarithmical graphing....
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Activity
Curated OER

A Model Solar System

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
If Earth is modeled by a grapefruit, what planet could be represented by a golf ball? This activity uses everyday and not-so-everyday objects to create a model of the Solar System.
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Activity
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University of Texas

Observing the Moon

For Teachers K - 8th Standards
Why does it look like there is a man on the moon? Why does the moon look different every night? These are the focus questions of a lesson that prompts class members to observe and record the nightly changes of Earth's natural satellite.
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Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Beacon Valley Weather

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
In Beacon Valley, katabatic winds regularly knock fit adults to the ground. The lesson plan compares the actual temperatures to the wind chill after factoring in katabatic winds in Beacon Valley. Scholars learn to calculate wind chill...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading and Writing about the Solar System

For Teachers K - 2nd
A superb interdisciplinary approach highlights this lesson plan which incorporates space science knowledge and narrative skills. After reading The Magic School Bus, two excellent poems, and watching a video, all about our solar system,...
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Distance = Rate x Time

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Every year, the moon moves 3.8 cm farther from Earth. In the 11th part of 22, classes use the distance formula. They determine the distance to the moon based upon given data and then graph Galileo spacecraft data to determine its movement.
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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Microfriends

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Is there medicine found in the organisms that live deep below the surface of the ocean? The fifth lesson in a six-part series has learners team up to research bacteria and the relationship it has with nearly every living thing on Earth....
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Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

What's Your Habitat?

For Teachers K - 8th Standards
How are third graders like rabbits? They both live in habitats and require food, water, and shelter to survive! An educational science lesson encourages your learners to think about their own habitats and survival needs, before comparing...
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Punnett Squares with Piebald Deer

For Teachers 5th - 10th Standards
Explore the science behind Earth's amazing diversity of life with this lesson on genetics. Looking at specific traits in piebald deer, carnations, and roan cattle, young scientists use Punnett squares to determine the possible genotypes...
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Lesson Plan
EduGAINs

Go Eco! Ecosystems

For Teachers 7th - 10th
How is a movie theater like a desert biome? Compare systems to ecosystems with a set of activities that focuses on accessing multiple intelligences and building upon knowledge. As learners discuss the ways elements of an ecosystem depend...
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Activity
NOAA

Please Pass the Salt

For Students 3rd - 5th
Salinity is the focus of two experimenters that work to answer the question, How does salt change the physical properties of water? Super scientists compare the freezing rate of salt and fresh water, combine the two waters to observe how...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Environmental Studies: The Environment Rocks!

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Rock exploration, so exciting! After reading the book Everybody Needs a Rock, the class makes sandwiches to better understand that the Earth is made in layers. They then use a description of the 3 types of rock to conduct an observation...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dinosaur! Fossil Rush: Tale of a Bone

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Explore 1870s when a "bone rush" led to amazing discoveries, as fossil-hunters risked life and limb in their quest for dinosaur remains. The class uses the attached visual encyclopedia to prep for a discussion on early paleontology. Two...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecosystems Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research ecosystems (rainforest, desert, grassland, woodland, and arctic tundra). Students compare the seven continents and the importance of proximaty to the equator.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What are Igneous Rocks and How are They Formed?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Crystals form before your very eyes! What sixth grader wouldn't enjoy this lesson on igneous rock formation? Using hot Salol, junior geologists observe the crystal formation process as the material cools. This comprehensive lesson plan...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lunchroom Trash

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students explore the amount of waste produced by humans. In this ecology lesson, students predict which lunch bag and its contents will produce the most waste. Leftover material is examined, amounts are recorded, and a bar graph is...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth's Heavenly Treasures: Hummingbirds

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Young ornithologists watch an informative video and use the Internet to gather data about the life, size, habitat, and migration of hummingbirds. The interdisciplinary lesson includes activities that target art, science, math, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mother Earth

For Teachers K
Students compare natural and human made items and gain an awareness of the importance of Mother Earth to the Nez Perce people.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Crashed On the Moon

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students compare/contrast the environments of our moon and earth, and examine examples of how these differences would affect their daily activities on our moon. They develop lists of emergency supplies to bring if their spaceship crashed...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planet Interiors

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students compare and contrast the Earth's interior with 2 other planets by looking at images on the computer. In this planet interiors lesson plan, students write a paper about their findings.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martian Sun Times

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners become weather reporters for the Martian Sun Times newspaper to gather. interpret, and compare current weather information for Mas and Earth. Final articles be posted on-line. There are seven investigations in this unit.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling Martian Motion

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the difference between stars and planets and take on the role of these objects to simulate the relative motions of Mars and the Earth around the Sun.