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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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Lesson Plan
Journey Through the Universe

The Voyage Scale Model Solar System

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young scientists learn how to select a scale factor for a large scale model. Then they figure the scale for each of the planets and the distance between them. Finally, they construct a giant scale model of the solar system and answer...
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Activity
It's About Time

The History and Scale of the Solar System

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Take scientists beyond our earthly reach and into the solar system. Pupils create a model of the solar system and discuss strengths and weaknesses of their model. They calculate distances in light years, discuss the nebular theory, and...
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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
Messenger Education

Exploring Solar Systems Across the Universe

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Scientists have theorized that our solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago. In this pair of activities, learners first hypothesize how our solar system was formed. Using this information, groups then determine how scientists search for...
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Lesson Plan
California Mathematics Project

Model Solar System

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The sun's diameter is 864,337 miles—challenge learners to create a scale model of the solar system that fits in your classroom. Scholars make conversions and work with scientific notation as they create the scale model. 
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Solar System Lab

For Students 8th
In this solar system instructional activity, 8th graders make a scale model of the solar system, answer 5 questions and write a conclusion.
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Lesson Plan
Journey Through the Universe

Voyage of Discovery

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Did you know that Pluto is smaller than the United States of America? It is difficult to conceptualize the size of planets and the distance between them, and the lesson addresses those exact issues. After a discussion, pupils create...
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Activity
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Teach Engineering

An Inflated Impression of Mars

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Help your class understand the magnitude of the distance between Earth and Mars with an activity that asks small groups to use balloons to create scale models of the Earth, Moon, and Mars. Class members figure out the distances between...
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Lesson Plan
Journey Through the Universe

A Scale Model Solar System

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Between the time scientists discovered Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf planet, it did not even make one full revolution around the sun. In two activities, scholars investigate scale models and their properties. Pupils find that it...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Night Here, Day There

For Students 3rd - 5th
Explore astronomy with a lab sheet for fifth grade scientists. After reading a short explanation about the earth's rotation, they solve a word problem about the differences in times across the world. Next, they make a model of the solar...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Solar System

For Students 9th - 12th
In this solar system instructional activity, students complete a word puzzle by determining the terms associated with the 10 statements about the planets.
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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

Lab Activity: Model of the Planets

For Students 7th - 10th
This worksheet leads the class through the calculations needed to construct circles to represent the planets of our Solar System. The actual values are provided, as are suggested calculations to create the scale diameters. The ten...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Orbits Worksheet #1

For Students 4th - 8th
A diagram of Earth's path around the sun, including the position of the moon, is displayed at the top of the worksheet. Five multiple questions get astronomers to analyze the diagram considering what is going on in the solar system. Use...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Solar Systems Models Foldable Question Sheet

For Students 7th - 10th
For this solar system worksheet, students use foldable models they made of the planets to answer questions about each planet. They answer questions about the theories and predictions made in our history about the solar system and answer...
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Lesson Plan
Journey Through the Universe

Impact Craters: A Look at the Past

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
The Galle crater on Mars is also known as the Happy Face crater because of its appearance. First, scholars use pebbles and flour to simulate craters and study their properties. They then apply this knowledge to help decipher the history...
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Activity
It's About Time

The Earth-Moon System

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Explore the earth-moon system with blossoming astronomers in this fun-filled activity. They begin by investigating lunar phases and differentiating between each. They continue the activity by learning about tidal forces and how these are...
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Activity
Curated OER

Scale Activities

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed Standards
How do you put something as large as the universe in perspective? Use a series of scale experiments. Classmates collaborate around four experiments to examine the scale of the earth-moon system, our solar system, the Milky Way galaxy,...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Scavenger Hunt: Who am I?

For Students 7th - 9th
In this solar system learning exercise, students use an on line source to find the names of the people who discovered the planets, comets, asteroids, black holes and the idea of the big bang theory.
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Lesson Plan
Journey Through the Universe

Comets: Bringers of Life?

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Young scientists investigate the elements found in our solar system and then construct a model of a comet. They apply their new knowledge to the formation of the solar system. 
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Lesson Plan
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Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

Planetary Distances on the Playground

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
There's no need to stay inside; get out of the classroom and create a scaled map of the solar system on your playground field! In collaborative groups, scholars identify the distance between the sun and other planets, place planet...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Solar System

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this solar system worksheet, students will name the two models of the solar system and compare their differences. Students will state the hypothesis behind the formation of the sun and planets. Students will compare and contrast the...
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Activity
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Lake Afton Public Observatory

Shadows, Angles, and the Seasons

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Shine some light on the topic of seasonal change with this collection of activities. Whether it's by measuring the change in the length of their shadows, or modeling the earth's orbit around the sun using a lamp and a globe, these simple...

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