Curated OER
Four Seasons
First graders examine and describe the characteristics of the four seasons. Using a computer, they write one sentence about each of the four seasons and draws an illustration to accompany it. They present each drawing and sentence to the...
Curated OER
Earth to Saturn, Earth to Saturn!
Pupils compare and contrast the characteristics of Earth and Saturn. They practice writing analogies using those characteristics. They complete a worksheet to end the lesson plan.
Curated OER
Cloud Observations using GLOBE Protocols
Students observe which of ten types of clouds are visible and how much of the sky is cloud covered. They see that by observing clouds, we can get information about temperature, moisture, and wind conditions in different places in the...
Curated OER
Using Vegetation, Precipitation, and Surface Temperature to Study Climate Zones
Students begin their examination of the climate zones found around the world. Using a software program, they identify the relationship between the vegetation, climate and temperatures of the different zones. They also plot coordinates...
Curated OER
Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change Course
Learners explain the impact of glacial melting to global climate change. In this environmental science lesson, students design an experiment to investigate the effect of salinity change to melting glaciers. They share their results to...
Curated OER
The Power of Compounding
Sixth graders examine the concept of compounding interest on invested money. They explore how much interest their money would earn through compounded interest. Students conclude that they should invest early and often.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Build a Solar System
Make a scale model of the Solar System and learn the REAL definition of "space." You tell it how large to make the sun (in inches or millimeters) and the page will do all of the calculations for your scale model solar system and provide...
Science Struck
Science Struck: 5 Creative Solar System Project Ideas Kids Can Try
Detailed descriptions of five solar system science projects for students.
BBC
Bbc: Space Race
There are galaxies far, far away, but just how big is our own solar system? Scroll through this interactive to quickly observe just how much we know and have learned about our solar system.
NASA
Nasa: Solar System Exploration
A website with various activities for different grade levels covering the subject of space exploration. Activities include building your own solar system, coloring pages, making models, and even a solar system cookbook.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Experimenting With Angular Diameter and Distance (Study of Outer Space)
In studying the solar system, students compare the relative sizes of the sun and the moon, and experiment with angular diameter, apparent diameter and distance.
University of Maryland
University of Maryland: The Astronomy Workshop
Find tools to calculate astronomical distances and sizes, to view various Solar System models, to compare gravity's affect on weight, and more. A good place to find interesting facts, simple animations, and astronomy links to physics and...
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: A Guide to Astronomy Resources
A portal to resources on the sun, the Earth's neighboring planets, and the weather in space. Find out why Saturn is the "jewel of the Solar System" and explore what happens when Venus and Mercury make their rare transits across the sun.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Activity: Scale of the Universe on a String
This activity will help your students comprehend the huge scales of time and space by using familiar objects. You can explore the massive distances of our Solar System using scale models made out of string. Included is a scale model of...
NASA
Nasa: Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for Afterschool
This set of activities teaches students about the big picture of science using Mars as an example: how to collect data, use evidence, and look at models.
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Zoom Astronomy
Where is our Solar System? How far away is the sun? What makes up the sun? Find out all you want to know about our solar system. This is a comprehensive on-line site about space and astronomy. Check out all of the excitement!
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Classroom Planetarium
Create a classroom model of the solar system while teaching about relative size of all the planets, and each planet's distance from the sun.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Daylighting Design
Students explore the many different ways that engineers provide natural lighting to interior spaces. They analyze various methods of daylighting by constructing model houses from foam core board and simulating the sun with a desk lamp....
NASA
Nasa: Astronomy Picture of the Day: Jupiter's Clouds 3 D
Every day is a cloudy day on Jupiter, the Solar System's reigning gas giant. This 3-dimensional visualization presents a simplified model view from between Jovian cloud decks based on imaging and spectral data recorded by the Galileo...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: The Wind Swe Home Page
This is a technical site from MIT. It provides data and information from satellites which observe solar winds. Provide 3-D models of the heliosphere and uptodate plots of solar wind data.
Other
Paper Plate Education: Serving the Universe on a Paper Plate
Excellent resource for "paper-plate" activities that help simplify various astronomy topics. Learn how to build a "Moon Finder" and "Planet Pointer," and create a paper-plate model that explains the Transit of Venus.