This set of activities is designed to help students develop an understanding …
This set of activities is designed to help students develop an understanding of scale/distance and ordering the planets from the sun, understanding Earth's position in the solar system, and developing new ways of determining "order."
This is a classroom activity in which students will observe, question, and …
This is a classroom activity in which students will observe, question, and investigate the relationship between the sun and the earth and how that relationship causes day and night.
Planetary data are used to investigate and evaluate the Nebular Hypothesis. (Note: …
Planetary data are used to investigate and evaluate the Nebular Hypothesis.
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In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a scientist explains the unexpected …
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a scientist explains the unexpected heat source fueling widespread volcanic activity on Io, a moon of Jupiter that many had previously assumed to be frozen.
In this activity, students identify spirals and other shapes present in nature …
In this activity, students identify spirals and other shapes present in nature and discuss at what sizes or scales these shapes exist. Examples include a hurricane, foraminifera, nautilus, and a galaxy. They will discuss the differences and similarities of each of these spirals and investigate the powers of ten that identify the scales at which these different examples exist.
This experiment uses the heating of water to explore the concepts of …
This experiment uses the heating of water to explore the concepts of density and volume. Students learn about the transfer of heat energy within the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and Earth's interior, and connect this transfer to differences in density, which in turn result in motion. As part of the investigation, students will also become familiar with the Celsius and Fahrenheit temperature scales.
There are billions of galaxies filled with billions of stars. Each star …
There are billions of galaxies filled with billions of stars. Each star has the potential to have planets orbiting it. Does life exist on some of those planets? Explore the question, “Is there life in space?” Discover how scientists find planets and other astronomical bodies through the wobble (also known as Doppler spectroscopy or radial-velocity) and transit methods. Compare zones of habitability around different star types, discovering the zone of liquid water possibility around each star type. Explore how scientists use spectroscopy to learn about atmospheres on distant planets. You will not be able to answer the module's framing question at the end of the module, but you will be able to explain how scientists find distant planets and moons and how they determine whether those astronomical bodies could be habitable.
In this activity, students organize a set of fossils chronologically and learn …
In this activity, students organize a set of fossils chronologically and learn to correlate, based on fossil evidence, the stratigraphy of one location with that of an adjacent location. Earth Science Reference Tables are used to identify the epoch of occurrence and the age of each of the fossil specimens. Students will become familiar with the concept of index fossils and understand what makes a good index fossil.
Our Solar SystemThis is a YouTube video/link of a unit I created …
Our Solar SystemThis is a YouTube video/link of a unit I created using Canva. The video is a read aloud of Pluto and the Planets. There are 5 student led activities at the end with ways to assess each activty. Essential questions are included in addition to possible student questions, and teacher inquiry questions. Also, there are additional texts that can be incorporated into the lessons as well.
This article sets an historic context for Jules Verne's novel Captain Hatteras …
This article sets an historic context for Jules Verne's novel Captain Hatteras (1866), and presents an overview of day-to-day survival on the typical 19th century arctic voyage portrayed in this fictional account.
This lesson helps students explore the functions of the kidney and its …
This lesson helps students explore the functions of the kidney and its place in the urinary system. Students learn how engineers design instruments to help people when kidneys are not functioning properly or when environmental conditions change, such as kidney function in space.
In this final lesson of the Dancing Lights curriculum, students will reflect …
In this final lesson of the Dancing Lights curriculum, students will reflect on and discuss what they learned about the aurora. First, students will compare what they know now with what they knew at the beginning of the program, and discuss their answers with a partner using Think, Pair, Share. The entire class will create a new KWL (Know/Want-to-know/Learned) chart on the board before turning in their individual work.
This 2-page color fact sheet briefly describes NASA's Kepler mission, its instruments, …
This 2-page color fact sheet briefly describes NASA's Kepler mission, its instruments, and ground system. Also included are tables listing the instrument parameters and the major institutions involved. Kepler is a spaceborne telescope specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to detect and characterize hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone. The habitable zone encompasses the distances from a star where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface. Note: The fact sheets states that the Kepler Telescope was launched in 2007 but did not launch until 2009.
In this video from Science City, Kerri-Ann Richard, an environmental engineer, describes …
In this video from Science City, Kerri-Ann Richard, an environmental engineer, describes how she became interested in the field and why it is important to clean up the environment by removing contaminants from soil and ground water.
In this activity, students will model the time after the Big Bang …
In this activity, students will model the time after the Big Bang when the first nuclei of hydrogen and helium were created. The students will move and display cards that show the elements that are formed. This activity requires a large area - e.g., an outside location, a large classroom with seats moved back, or a gym. This activity is part of the "What is Your Cosmic Connection to the Elements" activity and information booklet. The booklet includes teacher notes and instructions as well as follow-up questions.
Utilizing online and traditional resources students will collect data on planets and …
Utilizing online and traditional resources students will collect data on planets and moons in our solar system. Working collaboratively students will generate a spreadsheet of the data. After verifying one another's information, they will then use the spreadsheet to try and determine ways in which the Earth is unique amongst the objects in our solar system, including, but not limited to, the reasons behind Earth's ability to support life.
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In this physical geography lab, students examine the relationship between solar altitude, …
In this physical geography lab, students examine the relationship between solar altitude, solar declination, and temperature regimes. Using data collected in the field, mathematical relationships, and temperature records available on the Internet, students compare the insolation and climate in their location to that of other locations.
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In this video profile produced for Teachers' Domain, meet La'ona DeWilde, an …
In this video profile produced for Teachers' Domain, meet La'ona DeWilde, an environmental biologist who integrates her Athabascan heritage and her Western scientific training to help remote Alaskan villages address environmental issues.
Isaac Newton's famous thought experiment about what would happen if you launched …
Isaac Newton's famous thought experiment about what would happen if you launched a cannon from a mountaintop at a high velocity comes to life with an interactive computer model. You are charged with the task of launching a satellite into space. Control the angle and speed at which the satellite is launched, and see the results to gain a basic understanding of escape velocity.
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