Why does it take Pluto 90,000 days to orbit the sun, but it only takes Mercury 88 days? An interactive lesson helps pupils find a connection between the speed of orbit and distance a planet is from the sun. The simulation allows for...

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...

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...

Students name nine planets in order, describe some notable characteristics of the planets, explain how distance from the sun may affect these characteristics, and create solar system models.

Students identify the main components of the solar system. For this earth science lesson, students order the planets according to their distances from the Sun. They differentiate planets from dwarf planets.

Students study the solar system by researching the planets.  In this exploratory lesson students divide into teams and create mobiles.

Students work together to develop a classification system for planets. They take a class vote and read an article about an astronomer's classification system. They write an essay on how scientists make decisions for the general public.

Students create a model of the distances of the planets in the solar system using sheets of toilet paper and markers. Generally accepted orbital parameters are applied.

Students explore space science by reviewing scientific vocabulary terms. In this planet identification lesson, students identify the nine planets in our solar system and discuss which ones could potentially harbor life at some point....

Third graders identify the different planets that make up the solar system. In this space science lesson, 3rd graders construct a scale model of the major planets. They explore their different unique features and dress up as planets.

A unique lesson on the solar system, and some of the mathematics associated with it, is here for your high schoolers. Pupils are put into groups of four, and each group is assigned one of the planets from our solar system. They must...

Eighth graders define a planet by the orbit around the sun, have a large enough gravitational force to hold a sphere shape and needs to clear the neighboorhood of it own orbital zone. They describe comets, meteoroids, meteor, meteorites...

Young scholars consider the scale of the Milky Way Galaxy. In this Milky Way lesson, students hypothesize the length of time necessary to cross the Milky Way.

Students classify the planets in the solar system, study planetary objects, and measure the relative distance between planets. In this solar system lesson, students use toilet paper to complete a scale model of the distance between the...

Eighth graders take a quiz to review the different objects in space. As a class, they define terms related to galaxies. In groups, they make a model of the Milky Way galaxy using materials provided to them by their teacher. To end the...

Young scholars examine the different theories on how our solar system was formed. They discover the order of the nine planets. They also identify the surface features of each planet.

Students describe the different bodies that make up our solar system, explain the place of our solar system within the Milky Way Galaxy and the universe, explain day and night and the Earth's movement, and describe the relationship...

High schoolers explore physics by completing measurement problems in class. In this speed of light lesson, students discuss the importance of knowing the speed of light and how it affects many aspects of human life on Earth. High...

Students explore the main concepts of astronomy through the eleven lessons of this unit. The past, present, and future methods of studying the science are examined in this unit.

Students are introduced to the challenges involved in understanding the space travel distances and the time involved to do so through the use of an interactive fable. The modeling and comparisons deal with specific distances at different...