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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life In Space: The International Space Station

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners learn about the International Space Station. For this space lesson, students learn about the structure, operations, and experiments that go on in the International Space Station.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Living in Space

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students identify differences between living on earth vs. living in space.  In this simulated lesson students analyze data, record observations and design exercise equipment to be used while living in space. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mississippi’s Contribution to Space Exploration

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders engage in a class discussion while going through a PowerPoint on Mississippi's contribution to space exploration. In this Space science lesson plan, the students will also participate in Brain Pop quizzes where they will...
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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

Interactions of Science and Technologies

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore how science and technology interact. They discuss important inventions, discoveries and technologies. They research a specific technological advance, or invention, and prepare a presentation that includes the...
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Lesson Plan
University of Waikato

Māui and the Sun

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Using a Maori legend, How Maui Tamed the Sun, youngsters are introduced to the importance of sunlight to civilization. Teach them about nuclear fusion that occurs to produce the solar energy we later receive on Earth as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Internet Activity: More Space About Space

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students analyze the exploration of space. In this space lesson, students discuss the space race of the 1950s and 1960s. Students identify important events in space exploration and analyze the reasons for a space station.
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Lesson Plan
Journey Through the Universe

Our Solar System

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Take your class on a journey through our solar system. Learners explore each planet, from Mercury to Pluto, and discuss various features that differentiate one from another. They complete activities related to the topics and discuss the...
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Lesson Plan
US Environmental Protection Agency

Tree Rings: Living Records of Climate

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Open with a discussion on weather and climate and then explain how tree rings can provide scientists with information about the earth's past climate. Pupils analyze graphics of simulated tree rings from various US locations for the...
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Lesson Plan
PHET

CME Plotting

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young scientists build on their previous knowledge and apply it to coronal mass ejections. By plotting the path of two different coronal mass ejections, they develop an understanding of why most don't collide with Earth.
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Planetary Distances on the Playground

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Lava Layering

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Take the old baking soda and vinegar volcano to the next level by using it to study repeated lava flows over time, examine geologic features on Earth and Mars, and speculate about some of the formations on Mars. 
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Modeling Sizes of Planets

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
The density of the huge planet of Saturn is 0.7 g/cm3, which means it could float in water! In the second part of 22, science pupils explore the size and order of the planets. They then calculate weight and/or gravity and density of...
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Terra Bagga

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Earth's magnetic poles switch positions about every 200,000—300,000 years. In the activity, groups create a planet with a magnetic field. Once made, they use a magnetometer to determine the orientation of the planet's magnetic field....
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Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

Terra Bagga

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
One way to identify possible volcanic activity on other planets is by testing the planet for magnetism. A science lesson begins with pupils constructing their own planet from a dead battery, magnets, paper, and tape before labeling...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sun and Weather

For Teachers 6th - 8th
How is the Earth's weather created? Middle schoolers will explain how the Sun's energy is transformed into different forms. They will perform mathematical calculations of volume, mass, and temperature. They they will explain the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecological Cycles Part 1

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Knowing about the hydrologic cycle is the first step to understanding the carbon cycle. Upper graders discuss the earth's water content, polar ice caps, and the concept of the ecological cycle as it applies to carbon, nitrogen, and other...
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Lesson Plan
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NOAA

Sediments

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Calcareous ooze ... what an interesting name! The 15th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on sediments found on the ocean floor. After viewing the slideshow lecture,...
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Lesson Plan
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NOAA

Plankton

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Dive into the world of plankton. The 17th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program introduces different types of plankton. Young scientists then use what they have learned to classify...
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Lesson Plan
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Workforce Solutions

A Colony for Lunar Living

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Two lessons explore the possibility of living on the moon. First, scholars read various scenarios to identify which careers would best transfer to life in space. Finally, pupils examine a website to locate items made for outer space,...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Is It Alive?

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Cosmic Microwave Background

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Begin your next class with a BANG! Pupils discuss the formation of our universe and its expansion before proceeding with an activity designed to demonstrate what most likely occurred billions of years ago. They conclude with a discussion...
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Lesson Plan
US Environmental Protection Agency

Weather and Climate: What's the Difference?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Future weather forecasters collect daily temperatures over a period of time. Afterward, they compare their data with monthly averages, as researched on national weather websites, in order to grasp the difference between weather and...
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, Let’s Compost!

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready...