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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

There's More to Light than Meets the Eye

For Teachers K - 4th
Students explore the concept that not all light is visible to the human eye. Although UV light is not visible, it can still be harmful, causing sunburns or skin cancer. They use special beads to detect UV light around the school....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magnetic Field

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore how compass and Gauss meter detect a magnetic field. In this physics lesson plan, students build their own Gauss meter and sensor based on given procedure. They cite real world applications of magnetism.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Voyage: A Journey through our Solar System

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Learners 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

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

Rust Never Sleeps

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers 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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Three Clouds Activity

For Teachers K - 4th
Students understand how clouds are formed. In this cloud lesson, students participate in three experiments to make clouds. Students complete activity sheets for each experiment.
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Lesson Plan
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The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF)

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students design an experiment for NASA's STEREO/IMPACT mission to measure the interplanetary magnetic field. This lesson plan includes 3 excellent hands-on and critical thinking activities in which students explore magnetism in the solar...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Air Is there

For Teachers K - 5th
Learners experiment to observe air and its mass.  In this air lesson, students use the scientific method to complete experiments that demonstrate the properties of air. Learners view a video as follow-up.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Air

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students conduct an experiment to determine whether plants need air in order to survive and grow. They discuss natural resources, analyze slides, and observe and record data from the experiment.
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Lesson Plan
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Plate Tectonics: Movin' and Shakin'

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students 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, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water Planet

For Teachers K - 4th
Students use NASA photographs and hands-on activities to compare the amounts of land and water on our planet. They discover that the world has five oceans and that they cover seventy percent of Earth's surface. Students learn how this...
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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

Cooler in the Shadows

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore Earth science by creating a scale model in class. In this shadow lesson, students research the impact the sun has on Earth shadows and complete a space science worksheet. Students create models of the Sun and Earth and...
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Lesson Plan
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What's Air Got to Do with It?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students use M&M's to create a pie graph that expresses their understanding of the composition of air. They watch and conduct several simple experiments to develop an understanding of the properties of air (it has mass, it takes up...
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Lesson Plan
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Capillary Action and Adhesion

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students perform classroom experiments to observe adhesion. They perform a second experiment using sand, salt, water, and a heat lamp to observe the principle of capillary action. They also experiment with adhesion in plants.
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Lesson Plan
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The Lost Hydroponics Chamber Lesson

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students understand the definition of hydroponics. In this space hydroponics less, students simulate the experiment conducted in space. Students answer questions based on their experiment.
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Lesson Plan
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Gravity Launch

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students examine how gravity affects launching rockets into space. In this physical science lesson, students review the concept of gravity and use an interactive online site, "Gravity Launch," to simulate a rocket launch.
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Lesson Plan
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Planetary Diversity

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore the infrared radiation and the part of the spectrum that is not always visible.  In this electromagnetic lesson plan students complete a lab activity on the different wavelengths.
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Lesson Plan
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Soil Properties

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students explore the porosity of soil. In this soil instructional activity, students conduct an experiment which shows the porosity of different types of soil. They use sand, silt, and clay to see how soil particles are more or less...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling the Big Bang and the Formation of the Universe

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders conduct an experiment to understand the Big Bang Theory.  In this Big Bang Theory lesson, 6th graders will observe a balloon with confetti popping to emulate and analyze information related tot he Big Bang theory. Students...
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Lesson Plan
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Graham's Law Of Diffusion

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers demonstrate Graham's Law by observing a gaseous diffusion. After a lecture/demo, students perform an experiment then complete a write up activity which is imbedded in this plan to reinforce what they have observed during...
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Lesson Plan
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Magnify It!

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners view objects of various sizes from several viewing distances to discover that their visual field is limited. They record what they see and compare their observations with classmates. They conduct more structured experiments.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Climate Change Challenge

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students participate in a demonstration in which they role-play polar bears and habitat components to demonstrate the impacts of climate change on the Arctic Ocean ecosystem.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moon

For Teachers K - 4th
Students discover scientific facts about the Moon and how some American Indian Tribes used the moon to measure time. They accomplish this by listening to stories and poetry, writing stories, communicating with an astronaut,...