Curated OER
Sundials and Shadows - What Can They Teach Us About Seasons?
Students collect and analyze data relating to seasonal changes. They view a video, research web sites and build a sundial to collect their data.
University of Colorado
Phases of Charon
Charon, the largest of Pluto's moons, was discovered in 1978. Lesson is a walk through of how to solve for the phases of Charon. It uses two different points on Pluto and takes into account the tilt of the pole, the rotational axis, and...
Curated OER
Cosmic Mobiles: Recycled Art
If you have a little left over tinsel and aluminum foil, your class can create these fun moon and star mobiles. Poster board or recycled cardboard become your moon and stars; the tinsel gives them sparkle. This would be a great...
Curated OER
A Look At Rocks
Young scholars write letters to organizations, such as United States Geological Society, to find out more about rocks. Students write about a pretend time they found a magic pebble. Young scholars calculate distances to travel to see...
Curated OER
Earthquake!
Learners gain an understanding of earthquakes. They examine vocabulary associated with earthquakes, how earthquakes happen, and preventive measures taken to diminish damage or harm in the event that an earthquake should happen.
Curated OER
Gravity Gets You Down
Young scholars investigate the force of gravity and how it effects different objects that are put into acceleration when applied the experiment of free falling. They drop different objects that have a variety of masses and some that...
Curated OER
Planets in Proportion
Students apply estimation strategies and proportional reasoning to determine a scale comparing the planetary bodies to Earth. They convert measurements of time and distance using scientific notation. Both the metric and customary units...
Curated OER
Stardust Delivers Comet's Clues
Students explore the NASA test center and comet facts through an interactive program. They examine the idea if comets are predictable. They finally analyze the materials that combine to make a comet.
Curated OER
Path to Mars
Students compare Earth and Mars to find similarities between the two planets using given websites. They collect and download pictures of geological features of both planets from print and non-print sources. Descriptions of the...
Curated OER
I, Robot: Chapter Four- Catch That Rabbit
Sixth graders explore the development of technology in the 20th century. For this chapter lesson, 6th graders read and discuss the literary content of chapter four, I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. They research the technology that was...
Curated OER
The Drake Equation
High schoolers 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...
Curated OER
Motion Experiment
Students experiment with the laws of motion. For this motion lesson, students explore Newton's Laws of Motion. Students work in groups experimenting with different objects and observing different types of motion.
Curated OER
Rock Cycles, Crayon Cycles
Learners examine the rock cycle and the path that rocks go through to rearranged in different ways. They define key vocabulary terms, then in small groups conduct a variety of experiments using crayon shavings as simulated rocks and...
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
Origins: Earth Is Born
Students develop a timeline of all the major events involved in the formation of the Earth and the emergence of humans. In groups, they focus on a specific topic by watching a PBS program and taking notes. After the video, they list...
Curated OER
The Space Cadet's Laboratory: Using Electromagnetic Energy to Study Astronomy
Students build their own spectrophotometer to study light. In this physics lesson, students explain the dual nature of light. They calculate the angle of incidence and refraction using Snell's law equation.
NASA
The Invisible Sun: How Hot Is It?
It's getting hot in here! The first in a series of six lessons has learners model nuclear fusion with a simple lab investigation. Groups collect data and analyze results, comparing their models to the actual process along the way.
NASA
Analyzing Tiny Samples Using a Search for the Beginning Mass Spectrometry
Teach the basics of mass spectrometry with a hands-on lesson. The fourth in a series of six lessons explores how mass spectrometry measures the ionic composition of an element. Learners then compare and contrast relative abundance and...
Space Awareness
Star in a Box
What happens to stars as they get older? A simulation takes pupils through the life cycle of stars based on their masses. The resource introduces the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and the common relationships and life cycle patterns observed.
Mascil Project
Closed Greenhouses
Controlling the efficiency of a greenhouse is a mathematical task. A collaborative project challenges learners to create an efficiency plan for a closed greenhouse. Using algebraic equations, they consider a set of constraints, design...
Curated OER
Mercury, Venus, and Earth
Students learn information about the planets Mercury, Venus, and Earth by playing a trivia game.
Curated OER
Space: Stars and Planets
Learners observe and report that the moon can be seen sometimes at night and sometimes during the day. They describe how changes to a model can help predict how the real thing can be altered. Students explain the essential fact of the...
Curated OER
Astronomy
Students complete a series of activities to better understand space studies. In this space science lesson, the teacher is provided with a number of activities for students to complete such as finding words that begin with the prefix...
Curated OER
Reading to Learn
Students complete story maps in this instructional activity. Students read "The Magic School Bus", and get into groups to choose their story element. Each group shares their information with the class. They then complete a story map...