Arizona Mars K-12 Education Guide
The Department of Geology at Arizona State University offers this
guide to help educators integrate Mars exploration into their curriculum.
Previous editions and additional teaching aides can be found on the department's
website. (Grades K-12, $5.00 for hard copy.)
Source = Arizona Mars K-12 Education Program.
Astronomy for Schools
Revised and enlarged edition of a select bibliography on astronomy
for secondary education. (Free.)
Science and Technology Division
Library of Congress
Washington DC 20540-5580
Phone: 202-707-5664
Cassini Teacher Guide
This guide includes teacher resources and student lessons concerning Saturn
and the Cassini mission.
Source = JPL.
Center for Image Processing in Education
Provides workshops, curriculum materials, and activity units related to image
processing. Packages for both teachers and students are available, and there
are lessons that use planetary images, such as Eruption Plumes of Io.
Source = CIPE.
Educator's Guide to NEAR
This site contains lesson plans covering science and math topics
related to the NEAR mission, selected to provide a better understanding
of the mission, the function of its instruments, and how data will be
obtained. (Middle to high school.)
Source = Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
Exploring Mars Teaching Materials
This site includes classroom activities, image collections and slide
sets, descriptive text, and references for further study on the subject
of Mars exploration. (General level, free via downloading.)
Source = LPI.
Exploring Meteorite Mysteries (EG-104)
A teacher's guide with activities exploring the characteristics of
different classifications of meteorites. Contains material to be used
in conjunction with the
Meteorite Sample Education Disk
and the "Exploring Meteorite Mysteries" slide set.
Contact the Educator Resource Center at the
NASA field center
serving your area. Also available for downloading from
SpaceLink.
Exploring the Moon (EP-306)
A teacher's guide with activities for Earth and space sciences for
grades 4-12. Includes material to be used in conjunction with the
Lunar Sample Education Disk
and the "Exploring the Moon" slide set.
Contact the Educator Resource Center at the
NASA field center
serving your area. Also available for downloading from
SpaceLink.
Exploring the Planets in the Classroom
More than 25 hands-on science activities are provided in classroom-ready
pages for both teachers and students for exploring the subjects of geology,
the Earth, the planets, and space sciences. (Grades K-12, free via
downloading.)
Source = Hawai'i Space Grant Consortium.
Galileo K-12 Educator's Resources
This site offers a wide variety of educational materials related to the
Galileo mission, including background material, curriculum modules,
slide sets, links to other online resources, and a poster. (Grades K-12.)
Source = Galileo Educational Outreach Office.
Lunar Prospector Teacher Guide
This site provides teacher resources related to the Lunar Prospector mission.
Includes background information, a sample activity, and links to other resources
for information and lesson plans. (Grades 6-12.)
Source = NASA's Observatorium.
Mars Exploration Education Program Curriculum
This site offers Mars-related curriculum modules. Currently available are modules
entitled Exploring Mars: The Great Martian Floods and Pathfinder Landing Site
and The Grand Canyon of Mars and How it Formed. (Grades 4-12.)
Source = JPL.
Online from Jupiter
This site provides a variety of teaching materials and resources related
to the Galileo mission investigation of Jupiter and the jovian system.
Includes curriculum modules and slide sets. (Middle and high school.)
Source = NASA Quest Program.
Our Mission to Planet Earth (EP-292)
A guide to teaching Earth-system science for grades K-3. A four-unit
curriculum guide that includes a list of other related NASA educational
materials. Contact the Educator Resource Center at the
NASA field center
serving your area. Also available for downloading from
SpaceLink.
Planetary Geology
This educator's guide features exercises for grades 5 through college, grouped
into five units: introduction to geologic processes, impact cratering, planetary
atmospheres, planetary surfaces, and geologic mapping.
Contact the Educator Resource Center at the
NASA field center
serving your area. Also available for downloading from
SpaceLink.
Reaching for the Red Planet
A multipurpose curriculum for grades 4-6 based on planning a Mars Colony. Contains
lesson plans, experiments, activities, and teacher guides including one on Life on Mars.
Source = Mary Urquhart Curriculum.
Solar Storms and You!
Contains 19 activities illustrating how solar activity affects human activities in
space and on the ground. Topics include solar cycles, the solar wind, magnetic storms,
the aurora, and the ionosphere.
Source = IMAGE/POETRY.
Space Scientists Online
This site is set up to provide access to information about current (and some recent)
space missions. Features include journals of project personnel, online chats with
various experts, other live events, and question-and-answer archives. Background
information and links to educator resources are also provided. (Middle school.)
Source = NASA Quest Program.
StarDate Teachers Guide
The guide offers suggestions for integrating StarDate programs into the classroom.
Includes lessons and activities for teaching astronomy to students from grades K-12.
The multicultural and cross-cultural components may be of particular interest.
Source = McDonald Observatory.
The Universe at Your Fingertips: An Astronomy Activity and Resource
Notebook
Contains 90 hands-on activities for teachers along with many resource
locations for readings, software, organizations, and education projects.
Additional Information. (Grades 4-9, $24.95.)
Source = ASP.
Educator's Guides
These are a group of single-topic lesson plans on planetary science subjects including
comets, impact craters, life in the universe, micrometeorites, and Moon phases.
Source = JPL Learning Link.
Bringing Jupiter to Earth
A collection of student activities related to the Galileo mission to Jupiter.
Activities include image interpretation, orbit analysis, gravity effects, and
more. (Middle school.)
Source = Galileo SSI Education.
Europa Curriculum Module
This module contains several activities designed to introduce concepts related to
properties of matter, deformation, and Europa's icy crust. (Middle school.)
Source = Galileo SSI Education.
Exploring the Surface of Mars
In this activity, the idea of designing a spacesuit for working on Mars
is used to analyze the martian environment and to investigate methods
of scientific research on the surface of Mars. (Grades 5-8; free via
downloading.)
Source = Challenger Center OnLine.
Galileo Curriculum Module (Volume 1)
Contains classroom material related to the cruise phase and the arrival
of the Galileo mission at Jupiter. More to come as the mission progresses.
Additional Information. (Free via downloading.)
Source = JPL Educator Resource Center.
The Jovian System: A Scale Model
An exercise designed to give students an idea of the size and scale of the
jovian system and also to illustrate the Galileo spacecraft's arrival-day
trajectory.
Additional Information. (Free via downloading.)
Source = JPL Educator Resource Center.
Mars Mission Design Lesson Plan
This activity has students designing and planning a mission to Mars. Students
have to consider the science goals, the technical aspects, and cost constraints.
Includes design kits and other support materials.
Source = U. Hawaii.
Navigating the Solar System
This teaching module exposes students to basic concepts in solar system
exploration using three activities to demonstrate concepts such as
basic physics and analyzing and drawing conclusions from data. (Grades
6-9; free via downloading.)
Source = Galileo SSI Education.
Planets and Satellites
This curriculum module focuses on the science of comparative planetology
and how this information can be used to make deductions about such things
as the structure and composition of planets and how the solar system formed.
(Grades 6-9; free via downloading.)
Source = Galileo SSI Education.
Scale Model Saturn
This activity provides students with instructions for creating a 3-D model of
Saturn and its rings. Suggestions for using the model for classroom instruction
are included. (Grades 4-8.)
Source = Mary Urquhart Curriculum.
Scale-Model Demonstrations of the Solar System
These demonstrations are designed to help students visualize sizes and
distances in the solar system. There are three activities: "The Size of the
Solar System," "The Sizes of the Planets," and "The Distance from the Earth
to the Moon." (Grade 5; free via downloading.)
Source = LPI.
Surfaces: Focus on Impacts
This series of activities describes how scientists study the surface of
planets. The focus is on cratering and what the analysis of craters and
their characteristics can tell us about a planet. (Grades 6-9; free via
downloading.)
Source = Galileo SSI Education.
Titan in a Fish Tank
This activity supplies instructions for creating a simulation of the atmosphere
of Titan in the classroom. Suggestions for using the simulation for classroom
instruction are also provided. (Grades 3-8.)
Source = Mary Urquhart Curriculum.
Venus Topography Box
In this exercise, students learn how to use altimetry to map the topography of
a "planet" whose surface is hidden from view as in the case of Venus.
JPL Learning Link.
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