This OER is an expansion on the Introduction to Constellations. It contains both an activity as well as resources for further exploration. It is a product of the OU Academy of the Lynx, developed in conjunction with the Galileo's World Exhibition at the University of Oklahoma.
In this video segment adapted from NASA, students in Matsuyama City, Japan, interview Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Science Officer Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri about life and work aboard the International Space Station.
This is an activity on apparent sizes and apparent angles, related to understanding how distance affects what we observe in outer space (the sun, moon, stars, or planets).
This guided inquiry activity has students using models to create variations of alignment of the Earth, Moon, and Sun. By varying their arrangement, students will discover how the positions of the Earth, Moon and Sun interact, how shadows can be cast on the Moon and on the Earth, and how Earth's view of the lit portion of the Moon changes.
Many people hold preconceptions about the reasons behind the phases of the Moon. Many think the phases are caused by the shadow of the Earth on the Moon or by shadows passing in front of the Moon. This activity creates a model with the real Moon and Sun in the sky to help participants discover the real reason for the lunar phases.
This lesson allows students to construct solar system models showing the comparative sizes of the planets to a scale. The students will also use their models to carry out an investigation to analyze and interpret the distances between planets in the Solar System. This lesson uses common objects easily obtained by teachers. This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
This is an activity about the solar activity cycle. Learners will construct a graph to identify a pattern of the number of observed sunspots and the number of coronal mass ejections emitted by the Sun over a fifteen year time span. A graphing calculator is recommended, but not required, for this activity. This is the second activity in the Solar Storms and You: Exploring the Wind from the Sun educator guide.
Children work together in a group to create an Earth landscape, compare different environments on Earth, and talk about what makes Earth special.
In this video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA, astronaut John Young experiences extreme temperatures on the Moon that are a result of the Moon's low gravity and lack of atmosphere.
These astronauts aren't just cool because they took a trip of a lifetime, they also hold some famous firsts in history.
This module provides an introdcution to the concepts of fats and proteins. The basic chemical structure of fats as triglycerides is reviewed, and an introduction to protein structure, including the peptide bond is given.
This activity is an interactive “out-of-the-seat” demo that allows the students to become involved in learning about fibre optic cables by imitating the way that one basically functions. While enjoying the physicality of the demo the children will pick up basic details of light, reflection, optical properties, and applications to technology. Additionally, the activity will go into details of how fibre optics are used in astronomy technology and how it is used to improve our understanding of the universe. An emphasis should be placed on asking direct questions to the children about how these concepts can influence technology, astronomy, and our world to reinforce the concepts that they are learning about.
Students will participate in a discussion of the Moon's habitability. The students will create a plan for the design and creation of a self-sustaining ecosystem within a lunar station. This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
The Fifth Grade Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects,Earth and Space: Patterns in the Sky, uses the phenomena of perceived sun and moon movements that seem to move around the Earth to explore stars, Earth orbit and rotation and moon orbit around Earth. It is part of Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects project, a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, North Central ESD, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons. Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) pnenomena based, focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.
Students learn how CCD cameras use color filters to create astronomical images in this Moveable Museum unit. The four-page PDF guide includes suggested general background readings for educators, activity notes, and step-by-step directions. Students look at black-and-white photos to understand gray scale and construct simple red and green cellophane filters and observe magazine images through them.
How the indigenous Australians used fire to change their environment. Created by Sal Khan.
The First Grade Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects, Sky Explorers uses observation of the sun and moon in the sky as a phenomena for exploring patterns of objects in the sky. It is part of Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects project, a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, North Central ESD, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons. Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) pnenomena based, focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.
First living things on land clarification (This video copyrighted under Create Commons Attribution and Share-Alike CC-BY-SA license). Created by Sal Khan.
In this activity, students critically analyze prior conceptions and textbook visuals of the relative sizes and orbiting distance of the Earth-moon system (and other bodies in our solar system), search out sources for this data, and construct scale models by using balls of various sizes. There are tips for helping learners understand the large scales (i.e., millions rather than thousands) that characterize our solar system, and examples are provided of scaling using different sizes of athletic balls.
Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding, originally from China and now practiced all over the world. In this activity, create an origami star. Introduce children to both geometry and analytical skills in a creative way.