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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Motion of the Sun and Earth: Using a Playground Model to Explore Rotation and Revolution

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Learners experience the rotation of the Earth and the Sun and the Earth's revolution around the Sun, using a playground mode.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar System and Planets

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students identify the main components of the solar system. In this earth science instructional activity, students order the planets according to their distances from the Sun. They differentiate planets from dwarf planets.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Drawing Ellipses Lab

For Students 9th - 11th
In this ellipse worksheet, students learn the difference between an orbit and an ellipse. They draw ellipses and calculate the distance between foci, they calculate the length of the major axis and they determine the eccentricity. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reason for the Seasons

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learners study the seasons of the Earth. In this seasons lesson, students study the science of the seasons on Earth by studying the tilt and axis of the Earth's orbit. Learners read background information and four experimental activities...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Day and Night

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders view a classroom simulation that demonstrates how the Earth's rotation creates day and night.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Think About Day and Night

For Teachers K
Students explore day and night and the relationships between the Earth, the sun and the moon. They discuss the ways in which the sun and moon help us. They watch a short video that helps illustrate these concepts.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seasons and Shadows: Investigate How Shadows Shift Throughout the Year

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Pupils examine their shadows and why they are different in the summer and winter.  In this seasons lesson students complete an activity to see how the earth's tilt on its axis changes the length of shadows. 
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Dimensions of the Solar System

For Students 7th - 11th
A set of instructions that help learners draw concentric orbital arcs to scale of each planet.  There is a table to complete with data and questions to check understanding of realistic orbits and relative sizes.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Mars Motion in 1971

For Students 9th - 10th
In this science instructional activity, students read about the summer of 1971 when the Earth passed closer to Mars than it had since 1924. Students also learn about the retrograde motion of Mars as seen from Earth.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Experience a Solar Eclipse

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Didn't catch the last solar eclipse? Now every day can be eclipse day, thanks to an interactive lesson plan from PBS' Space series for middle schoolers! The well-rounded multi-media experience includes video clips, an interactive, and...
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PPT
Curated OER

Exploring the Solar System: All About Spacecraft/Spaceflight

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Rarely do you find resources that reach high school astronomy learners. Here is something at their level! The physics of flyby missions is explained via several examples. Landing, penetrating, and roving spacecraft are examined. Diagrams...
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Worksheet
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Curated OER

Mercury

For Students 4th - 7th
After reading a short excerpt about Mercury, your class will answer four comprehension questions. The worksheet challenges them to fold over the paper and answer the questions without referring back to the excerpt. An answer sheet is...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Eclipse

For Teachers K - 3rd
Learners demonstrate the revolution of the moon around the earth and the effect of its direct alignment in between the earth and the sun.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reasons for the Seasons

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders conduct and analyze a survey that explores public perceptions about the reasons for seasonal change. They measure the changing length of days, observe shadows and discuss how the Earth's axis of rotation affects the seasons.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Phases of the Moon

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore why when you examine the moon depends on its location in relationship to the sun and Earth. The moon never goes away or changes shape-we just see a different fraction of sunlight being reflected from the moon to Earth.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cosmic Wheels

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students build a scale model of the Solar System and determine the time other planets take to travel around the Sun in comparison to the time of the Earth's revolution. The velocity of the planets are also determined in this...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Our Moon

For Students 7th - 9th
For this space science worksheet, students use the clues given at the bottom of the sheet to solve the crossword puzzle on our moon. They name another name for the moon and the moon's gravity compared to that of the earth.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth and Seasons

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders comprehend that the path Earth takes as it revolves around the sun is called its orbit. They also comprehend that the axis is an imaginary line that passes through Earth's center and its North and South Poles. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Third from the Sun

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students examine images from space.  In this third from the Sun lesson, students examine images from, Landsat, the satellite launched by NASA in 1972.   
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Day and Night

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders investigate the Earth's rotation and revolution and the moon's orbit around the Earth. They participate in a class discussion about how night and day occur, and take notes. Next, they watch a video about the solar system...
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App
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Vosonos

Interactive Minds: Solar System

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Travel through space as you learn about the galaxy, solar system, planets, and much more. An extensive resource for studying astronomy in upper-elementary and middle school classrooms.
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Activity
Illustrative Mathematics

Solar Eclipse

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Learners take on the role of astronomers, calculating conditions necessary for a total solar eclipse. Concepts of similar triangles and properties of circles come together as pupils create ratios and use real measurements in determining...
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PPT
Curated OER

Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Solar System

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Fourth and fifth graders will love showing what they know about the planets and our solar system. This game is fashioned after "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and has the class work through fifteen different solar system related...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Observation and Inference

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Assess your young scientists' understanding of the difference between observation and inference with this 20-question multiple choice quiz. It reviews a variety of physics and astronomy concepts, such as solar eclipses and sunspots, the...