NASA
Mapping the Watery Hills and Dales
How does GPS know where everything is located? Pupils read about satellites that are mapping the ocean and the question on how satellites know where they are. Readers discover the workings of the Global Positioning System and create...
NASA
Chasing Down a Satellite
Calculate the speed of the International Space Station. By reading the article, pupils learn about the concept of orbits. Scholars work through a formula to determine how fast the International Space Station is traveling to stay in...
NASA
Watering Your Plants
Make sure plants have water to drink regularly. Learners investigate the parts of a watering system for plants. They design and create a watering system for a lunar plant growth chamber before explaining why it is important to have water...
NASA
Exploring the Moon
Can plants grow on the moon? The second instructional activity in a five-part series has pupils explore the resources available on the moon to determine if plant life is possible. They use lava rocks as their soil and draw conclusions...
NASA
Natural Resources on Earth
Natural resources do not always occur so naturally. Lead classes through a thorough set of lessons investigating the natural resources important for plants. Learners complete a series of worksheets as they explore the information and...
NASA
Blinded by the Light!
Pupils learn of multiple ways astronomers look for planets outside of the solar system. By completing a hands-on activity, scholars discover that trying to see the planets directly because of the glare from the nearby star is nearly...
NASA
Speaking in Phases
Hear from deep space. Pupils learn how satellites transfer information back to Earth. They learn about three different ways to modulate radio waves and how a satellite sends information with only 0s and 1s. Using sound, class members...
NASA
Water Works on a Blue Planet
Keep within a water budget. Learners find out that less than 2.5% of Earth's water is available to drink—and that there is a fixed amount of water. Scholars read an interesting article comparing the available water to a game of Monopoly...
NASA
Keeping Nine Eyes on the Weather
Take a look at climate change from another angle. Readers learn about the MISR instrument on the Terra satellite and how it studies Earth. Pupils experience how the multiple cameras give scientists multiple views so they can better study...
NASA
Taking a Cold, Clear Look at the Universe
Take a look with another perspective. Pupils read to find out what portion of the electromagnetic spectrum a space telescope sees and the difficulties of viewing infrared radiation from other objects in space. Individuals discover how...
NASA
Packing for a L-o-o-o-ng Trip to Mars
Pack just enough to fit. Crews determine what personal items to take with them on a trip to Mars. Each team must decide what to take with them on a two-and-a-half year trip to Mars and whether their items will fit within the allotted...
NASA
Catch a Gravitational Wave, Dude!
It is cowabunga time! Pupils read an article about the NASA LISA mission on gravitational waves and conduct additional research on them. The class participates in a science bowl type competition about gravitational waves. Panels of four...
NASA
Taking Apart the Light
Break down light into spectra. Scholars learn how atoms emit and absorb photons and come to understand how this process allows scientists to identify different atoms based on either absorption lines or emission lines. Learners then...
NASA
Write the Book on Weather Metrics
It's not easy to measure the weather. Pupils learn about what all weather has in common—the atmosphere. Scholars discover how a meteorologists must be able to measure aspects of the atmosphere and decipher the data. They then create a...
NASA
The Saturn System Through the Eyes of Cassini
Get a close-up view of Saturn. Pupils read a NASA eBook filled with images of the Saturn system, including the rings and moons of Saturn along with images of the planet itself. Learners become familiar with the planet's system as they...
NASA
Designing and Building the Lunar Plant Growth Chamber
Build a place for the plants. Using information learned from the previous lesson in the unit, learners design a lunar plant growth chamber and build a paper model of it. Given strips of paper that represent different sizes of planting...
NASA
Providing Light for Your Plants
Using a guided lesson, pupils learn about what it takes to make a circuit along with a switch. They build a complete circuit under the direction from the teacher and identify each of the elements of the circuit. Scholars then learn to...
NASA
Christa's Lost Lesson: Newton’s Laws
How do the laws of motion work in space? Learners explore Newton's laws of motion in different experiments as part of the Christa's Lost Lessons series. They rotate around the room in three stations to experience each law in action using...
NASA
Christa's Lost Lesson: Effervescence
How are chemical reactions affected by gravity? Learners explore the phenomenon of effervescence as part of the Christa's Lost Lessons series. They compare findings in an experiment on effervescence to a video of a similar experiment in...
NASA
Atoms, Elements, and Isotopes
Rings and golden nuggets contain the element gold, but how small can you break it down before it is no longer considered gold? A helpful presentation explains the basics about atoms, elements, and isotopes through a presentation.
NASA
Planning Time
Ever feel there's just not enough hours in the day? Young adults explore an important part of personal development using a group of activities. After comparing how they actually spend their time with how they would like to, scholars...
NASA
Modeling the Periodic Table
Imagine a race to complete a puzzle where each person has the same 50 pieces, knows they are missing other pieces, and must figure out how everything fits together. The winner gets fame, listed in books for years to come, and a financial...
NASA
Connecting Models and Critical Questions
Scholars use data to analyze and determine which sets of information need to be counted. They create a model to explain differences among chemical elements using graphs to prove concept mastery.
NASA
The Search for Critical Questions
A puzzle isn't about the individual pieces, but how they work together. Scholars assemble a puzzle and discover missing pieces. They write a description of what they expect these pieces to look like, including as many details as...