Scholastic
Lesson Three: The Earth, Movement in Space
If you feel like you're standing still, you're wrong! The Earth is constantly rotating and orbiting under our feet. Demonstrate the Earth's movement within the solar system with a collaborative activity. With a candle or lamp in the...
Messenger Education
Mission: Possible—How Can We Plan an Exploration of Another World?
An astronaut's spacesuit weighs 280 pounds and takes 45 minutes to put on — that's a serious suit! The second activity of a three-part series allows pupils to see all that goes into space exploration. Through simulations, groups analyze...
Curated OER
Destination Red Planet
Students explore reasons why people are interested in exploring other planets. After reading an article, they identify developments in the mission to Mars. Using the internet, they research the history of exploring Mars and create a...
Journey Through the Universe
Voyage of Discovery
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 instructional activity addresses those exact issues. After a discussion,...
Growing Classroom
Space Travelers
Groups of three scientists from the rocky planet Zog investigate the composition of soil so that they can take the information back to their home, create soil there, and begin to grow food.
Curated OER
THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT SPACE
Ninth graders set up a scale model of the solar system using the same scale for distance and diameter. They calculate scale distances and sizes for modeling the solar system and relate actual distances to difficulties in discovering and...
University of Colorado
Clay Planets
Why do scientists use models? In the first installment of 22, groups create scale models of our solar system. They then share and discuss their models.
Kelly's Kindergarten
Kelly's Kindergarten: Names of Planets
Need some helpful images for your astronomy unit? Check out a slide show that hosts several pictures of planets with their names.
PHET
Planet Designer: Retro Planet Red
What does the atmosphere on Mars look like? This fourth lesson plan in the series of five is designed for high schoolers. Scholars apply previous knowledge to add atmosphere to Mars in an online simulation. This comprehensive lesson plan...
Curated OER
Exploring the Planets
Students study robotic spacecrafts that have provided detailed information about the inner and outer planets. In this exploring the planets lesson plan, students use posters and diagrams to study the various robotic spacecraft sent to...
Curated OER
A View Of Home From The Front Door and From Space
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...
Curated OER
Make a Mission
Students discuss the terms exploration and technology. They read about the MESSENGER, Mission to Mercury, and answer questions. Next, they design and plan the technology for a space mission using an online interactive activity.
Space Awareness
The Engine of Life
There is a specific zone, or distance from a star, that a planet must be in order to have water in a liquid form. The activity demonstrates how flux density depends on its distance from the source. A photovoltaic cell gets power to...
Curated OER
Using a Graphic Organizer to Research a Question
Is Pluto still a planet? Using this popular question, kids are introduced to graphic organizers as a writing tool. As a class, they watch a demonstration on how to use them and work together with a partner to research whether Pluto is a...
Teach Engineering
Get Me Off This Planet
What do Newton's Laws have to do with getting from Earth to Mars?The activities in this resource show how Newton's Laws work with rockets to get them into space. Background information includes facts about orbits and how orbits...
Curated OER
Strange New Planet
Young scholars choose a spherical object to decorate with stickers, scents, etc to make it interesting. They write a key to the features for future explorers. Students use viewers to observe mystery planets. Young scholars simulate NASA ...
Curated OER
NASA Plans Moon Base
Students react to statements about the moon, then read a news article about NASA's plans to build a permanent base on the moon. In this space science and current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and a...
Curated OER
Taking Outer Space to Cyber Space
Use the Internet, write an expository text, and have learners share their knowledge of the planets in our solar system. They compose an expository writing piece and publish it to a web page.
NASA
Mystery Planet
What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them.
Virginia Department of Education
Solar System Model
How many planets can you name? Did you get all 13 in our solar system, including the dwarf planets, or were you surprised when you read there are 13 planets? The lesson plan helps scholars understand the scale of the universe including...
Curated OER
Space Science: Adventure is Waiting
These full-color handouts feature two activities. The first is a reading on comets, meteors, and meteoroids. Your space science learners will examine ten phrases and determine which of the three each characterizes. The second activity...
Curated OER
Planet Impact!
An amazing information-packed lesson plan allows your space scientists to crash a virtual comet into Jupiter and learn how the angle, distance, speed, and mass influence the outcome. Click on "Back to the Lesson" to access the...
Curated OER
Space: Our Star, the Sun, and Its Friends, the Planets
Students examine the solar system. In this space lesson, students identify the order of the planets and their relative size to the sun. Students create a scale model of our solar system using a variety of household objects.
Journey Through the Universe
Our Solar System
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...