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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Alien

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students listen to text read from "Hello! Anybody Out There?" and then brainstorm what aliens from outer space look like and do they exist at all. They then will describe the physical features and a special ability or quality of an alien.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Far...How Powerful

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students explore the concept of gamma ray bursts. They examine basic physics concepts about light, measure the shifts of spectral lines, and utilize Hubble's Law to deduce the velocity of an astronomical object.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teachers' Notes: Switch Gets Ready!

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students practice multiplication facts, answer simple math questions from two, five, and ten times-tables, explore concept of halves and quarters, complete worksheet containing range of shapes to make shape picture, and sort data and...
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PPT
Curated OER

Jeopardy - Earth Sciences

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Questions about water, weather, geology, astronomy, and the scientific process make up this Jeopardy game. It is a pretty well-rounded set of slides, although you may want to be aware that a few of the questions are specific to the state...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Theories

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students view a series of videos that explore the development, formation and arguments for the geocentric model of the solar system. Studenst investigate the heliocentric model of the solar system and consider how scientific theories...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WEAVING TECHNOLOGY INTO THEMATIC UNITS T.O.O.L.S. 2000

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders utilize computers and other technology to explain the solar system. Ten different stations involve students through laserdisc, research, art, GeoSafari, space toys, and the computer.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Extraterrestrial Communication: Can We Talk to Anybody Out There?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine the possibilities of communication with other living organisms within our solar system through research and hands on activities, as well as observing and analyzing teacher demonstrations.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Interstellar Medium

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students investigate the Interstellar Medium and the Local Bubble that the Sun is inside. They read and discuss a handout, answer discussion questions, observe a demonstration of light scattering, and conduct an experiment on the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paths of Electrical Currents

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the paths that electrical currents travel. They create a current of electricity using flashlights, bulbs, batteries, wires and tape. They determine how to create a closed circuit that will light the bulb. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mathematical Fingerprint of Our Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students study the beautiful mathematical model unique to our solar system.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Journal of the Stars

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students receive balloons representing the "Life Cycle of the Stars." As the attached script is read, students follow the directions for the color of balloon they are given. Students chart the results for their star. They plot data from...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar System (Lesson 2)

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify the objects that make up the solar system. They define new vocabulary and practice using them. They discover that the sun is a star.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Periodic Table

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students identify the periodic table trends and predict material properties. They also design and conduct simple experiments and test material properties. Finally, students compare and contrast material properties and that chemical...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Planet Earth

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Learners explore the planet Earth, outer space, and Earth's axis. They demonstrate reading comprehension skills, including literal meaning, inference and critical analysis.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beam Me Up Scotty#153

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students analyze population and land use data to predict future environmental problems. They use fictitious data for this exercise while pretending that they are helping aliens who have come to them for advice.
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Graphic
California Institute of Technology

Spitzer Space Telescope: Big Galaxy in Baby Universe

For Students 9th - 10th
This image, titled "Big Galaxy in Baby Universe" features an infrared picture in four parts of a distant galaxy. The text under the image details various specifics about the picture.
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Graphic
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Gallery: Structure in the Universe

For Students 9th - 10th
The Universe is very diverse and contains many unique elements that can be observed in this gallery of pictures.
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Website
PBS

Pbs: Nova Online: Galaxies, Clusters, and Superclusters

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS site explores these building blocks of the universe as well as their various types and clusters.
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Website
Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum: Our Place in the Universe

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of a larger online exhibit on the moon and space, this site deals with one's place in the universe. The topics covered include the sun and solar system, the galaxy, and the universe.
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eBook
Libre Text

Libre Texts: Physics: Dark Matter: Rotation Curve of Galaxy

For Students 9th - 10th
The universe goes beyond the sun. Scientists study the amount of mass in the universe, but they also need to measure it in the far outreaches of the universe that are in the dark. Find out how they measure the mass of the entire universe.
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Website
University of California

University of California Berkeley: Classifying Galaxies

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out how galaxies are classified and then see if you can apply that knowledge to identify the different types of galaxies. In addition to explaining Hubble's galaxy classification system, the site has links to Hubble Space Telescope...
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Unit Plan
CPALMS

Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: What's the Matter in the Galaxy?

For Students 4th - 5th
A tutorial that looks at the components within a galaxy such as gas, dust, stars and objects that orbit stars. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.
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Handout
Sonoma State University

Sonoma State University: 1938 Bruce Medalist: Edwin Hubble

For Students 9th - 10th
Site honoring the winners of the Catherine Wolf Bruce medal for lifetime contributions to astronomy. Edwin Hubble, the award winner in 1938, is highlighted in a biography.
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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: The Milky Way and Beyond: Globular Clusters

For Students 9th - 10th
Globular clusters, compact groups of about a million stars that move around together in galaxies, are among the oldest objects found in the universe. Since they are found most galaxies and since they've been around for so long, globular...