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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do We Explore Strange Environments?

For Teachers K - 4th
Students identify and label the different parts of a robot, rover, or a spacecraft. They discuss and record all of the features their robot will need to accomplish its mission and be able to explain why they chose these features to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Hometown

For Teachers K - 4th
Students identify the basic requirements needed for survival and identify the resouces needed for survival that are found within their own community. They use craft materials to create a model of it and then. create a color key to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Drake Equation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use the Drake Equation to calculate the probability of sustaining life on various planets. Through the use of the equation, they determine whether intelligent and advanced civilizations can be developed on planets other than...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Algebra: Mirror, Mirror on the Universe

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young scholars assess how algebra, telescopes, space exploration and optics are so important in astronomy. They encounter studies on the Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Deep Field and how algebra helps to determine the effects of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A View Of Home From The Front Door and From Space

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students discover how distance can change how our view of an object. Students build a representative model of where their home is located from different distances. They create three drawn models of their home from various elevations as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Causes and Effects of ENSO

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze monthly sea surface temperature data from the Pacific Ocean to determine if the period is an El Nino or a normal year. They recognize signs to see if there are any patterns that signal either occurrence. Satellite images...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth System Science

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students investigate the age of the earth by using accepted scientific methods. They conduct research about the use of radioactive dating and there is a simulation activity of the process. Finally, students measure the radioactive decay...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Space Science: Journey Through the Solar System

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the Solar System and examine the characteristics of al the planets. Through research and discussion, they create catalogs of the Solar System's components. Next, students use their findings to create Powerpoint...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

soil, Water, and Plants

For Teachers K - 4th
Students examine the relationship between water retention and plant growth by conducting two experiments. They first compare the water retention qualities of clay, sand and loam soil types. Then they use the data from the first...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Taking a Voyage away from Home

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students experience and participate in a journey through a "Voyage" exhibition of the Solar System and the frontier it covers. They build a dynamic model of the Earth and Sun. Descriptions are given on the relative sizes of the Sun and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Voyage of Discovery

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students develop a sense of the scale of our solar system by creating a one to ten billion scale model. They calculate the relative sizes and distances for the planets and asteroid belt using a guiding worksheet. To create the model they...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Voyage: A Journey through our Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Young scholars build the Voyage scale model of the Solar System on a playground and "travel" to each planet. They recognize that the Sun and planets are tiny worlds in a vast space, giving them a new perspective on the Solar System, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Resources

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study water resources that are important to the people of North American and Africa. They use satellite images and data to explore how human actions can degrade, improve, or maintain water resources. They analyze and interpret...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ethics of Exploration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine space exploration and its domination by governments as well as the fact that some private businesses want to explore space too. They investigate the ethical questions surrounding a space exploration through research and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics: Movin' and Shakin'

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars are introduced to the causes of plate movements and the hazards they present. They plot the location of 50 earthquakes and 50 volcanic eruptions on a map and explore the relationships between plate tectonics, earthquakes,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rust Never Sleeps

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate oxidation-reduction reactions involving iron by conducting an experiment in which they expose iron filings to different atmospheric and ocean conditions. They relate the results to the oxidation banding patterns seen...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The STEREO Mission: Getting The Message Across

For Students 9th - 11th
In this STEREO satellites worksheet, students are given a chart with the intensity of the signals from the satellites received on Earth and the distances of the satellite from Earth. Students convert the intensity at each distance to...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Planetary Conjunctions

For Students 8th - 10th
In this planetary conjunctions worksheet, students read about planetary alignments and they solve 2 problems. They determine the location of 3 planets given their orbit time after 1, 2 , 3 and 4 years and they determine when three given...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Indirectly Direct

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Student form and test hyptheses using indirect and direct observation. They launch marbles to determine the shape of a hidden object.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Project X-35

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars demonstrate rocketry principles through a cooperative, problem solving simulation. They work in teams to simulate the development of a commercial proposal to design, build, and launch a rocket.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering The Power Of Sunlight

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students participate in a lesson that looks at the potential for energy from sunlight. Students conduct research from a variety of resources and construct an object that is used to measure the energy of sunlight and calculate the amounts...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Spectral Classification of Stars

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
For this spectral composition of stars worksheet, students use data collected by a spectroscope to compare the stellar spectra to a standard for 5 stars. Students compare the spectral lines to the temperatures of the stars.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling Hot and Cold Planets

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students, in teams, design and construct models of two planets, one hot and the other cold, using a variety of materials. They attempt to create the models out of substances that will actually show the greatest temperature differences...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Moon's Density-What's Inside?

For Students 9th - 11th
In this moon's density worksheet, students solve 4 problems about the Moon and a model planet. They find the Moon's density and they find its volume. They make a model of a planet's interior and use its mass and radius to find the...