Big Idea 5: Earth in Space and Time

This grain of salt has been magnified. Magnification makes the salt grain look very different.

Type: Image/Photograph

Students will observe the night sky and keep an observation log of what they see and what questions they develop. The teacher will guide the students to use an organizational chart. Students will write what they learned about stars with a drawing of the night sky. Nonfiction texts and websites are used as sources of information throughout the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson allows students to explore and learn about the Law of Gravity. In this lesson, students will discover how gravity affects different household objects. Students will also discuss with the class and teacher to explain what gravity is and how it correlates to the world around us. This lesson should take two science blocks of 45 minutes each to complete.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will explore the stars in the sky using observations with our eyes and observations with hand lenses. Students will also explore folktales of how the shapes in the stars came to be.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson allows students to explore constellations, starting with Gemini. Students will learn about constellations and learn that there are more stars in the sky than anyone can easily count. Students will create a constellation of their own using the outline of their hand. At the end of the lesson, the students will understand that constellations can be viewed differently by others. A worksheet will be completed as a summative assessment.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson plan is an introductory lesson for first graders on the objects seen in the night sky and stars.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this two-session lesson, students will use a real telescope to observe how objects appear closer in an artificial night sky. Students will also create a telescope model that will represent how a specific constellation looks in the night sky. The students will be using a Science Journal or "My Space Book" to make a pictorial record of their findings.

Type: Lesson Plan

In the lesson Falling Down? students will explore why objects fall. They will explore the meaning of gravity and the invisible pull to the center of the Earth. They will also explore why objects don't fall.

Type: Lesson Plan

This project engages students in data collection as they record their observations of the stars over a month-long period. Teachers keep a class journal (recording their own observations) and students will record their observations each night in their journals by drawing what they saw. Discussion and a follow-up activity involving marshmallows emphasize the multitude and placement of stars.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students explore the force of gravity by testing gravity's pull with parachutes. The students will investigate the idea of gravity pulling objects to the ground unless something holds it up.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will view objects of various sizes from several viewing distances to discover that their visual field is limited. Students will record what they see and will compare their observations with classmates in an open, nonjudgmental forum. They will have the opportunity to speculate about and experiment freely with magnifying glasses and will also conduct more structured experiments.

Type: Lesson Plan

Learn about magnification, how it works, and different types of magnifiers with this interactive tutorial!

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Look at the effect gravity has on objects as you complete this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Look at how the Sun is helpful and harmful in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore stars in outer space (including our own Sun) in this interactive tutorial. You'll learn what they're made of, how many there are, and how magnifiers can help us see them.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

The Sunwise School Program aims to teach children and their caregivers how to protect themselves from the sun. The specific resources, the "Sunwise K-2 Introductory Lesson PowerPoint," and the "Speaker Notes for the K-2 Introductory Lesson," describe both the beneficial and harmful properties of the sun in a manner understandable for primary grades students. The PowerPoint presentation also has slides that demonstrate to children how various animals protect themselves from the sun's harmful rays.

Type: Presentation/Slideshow

These two lesson plans provide projects that allow students to 1) design, create, and test shade structures using given materials (connecting to the engineering design process) and 2) explore harmful and beneficial properties of the Sun through observing the effects of exposure or non-exposure of certain materials to sunlight and heat.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

These lessons allow students to explore how magnifiers work by using different types of magnifiers to observe classroom objects and their own creations.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

In this unit, students use different objects and observations to explore what factors influence an objects' motion.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

This series of activities was developed by the Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida. The purpose of this unit is to create an awareness of the power of solar energy, the importance of it in our lives, and its impact on the future of energy development.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence