Big Idea 5: Earth in Space and Time

This is a series of interactive modules on Engineering Interact, a free resource developed by the University of Cambridge Engineering department. It is a great whole group, small group, or individual interactive activity to explain a variety of concepts related to the solar system, including the rotation of the earth, what gives us our calendar, what causes the changes in seasons, how the planets are classified, and the phases of the moon.

Type: Educational Game

In this printable lesson, K-2 Students create a model of the Sun and Earth. They also put together a simple puzzle of the solar system.

Type: Educational Game

The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite, into space in 1957. Americans watched the Soviet satellite beeping and blinking across the American night sky. Sputnik I weighed only 184 pounds and could do little more than beep, but many people worried that this meant the United States was losing the race to develop space technology.

Pressure exploded from United States politicians and the American public demanding that the country catch up and increase investment in rocket technology and aeronautics. In this lesson students will analyze the film Florida: Moonport USA to describe the effect of the United States space program on Florida's economy, growth and culture.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is the final lesson in the Moon Phase unit. In this lesson, students will complete an algorithm sheet to understand how they can connect the flowchart model to real-world programming. It also gives an insight to various blocks used in Scratch and their significance. This lesson allows students to program in Scratch based on the flowchart model made in the previous lesson and switch the costumes based on the operational conditions placed on the sprite. The final product in this lesson will showcase the students' conceptual understanding of the Moon phases in a computer science medium.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is lesson 2 of 3 in the Moon Phase unit. This lesson will help students design a flowchart model to find the phase of the Moon by making decisions based on certain conditions. This lesson also gives students insight into working with the design model made earlier and an opportunity to upload/draw costumes of different lunar phases in Scratch.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is lesson 1 of 3 in the Moon Phase Unit. This lesson introduces students to the eight Moon phases and their names in a counter-clockwise sequential order starting with the New Moon as phase 1. Students will also be introduced to how a flowchart can help make decisions, in this case whether or not the Moon is full.

Type: Lesson Plan

This activity asks students to use models of Earth, the Sun, and the Moon system to discover why moon phases occur. Students use a Styrofoam ball to represent the Moon, which will be lit by a single light source in the classroom, to observe how different portions of the ball are illuminated as they hold it in various positions.

Type: Lesson Plan

Professional Partiers, Inc. is having a difficult time setting a date for a client's Halloween party. The client has specific criteria they like would to have included in deciding on a good date. This project will familiarize students with the phases of the moon. It allows students an opportunity to interpret data from charts and collaborate with one another to provide a thoughtful written response for the company.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This MEA is designed to help students create a process for selecting a Space Shuttle to send to the moon given the particular criteria provided. Students will master the Science Standard SC.4.E.5.2: Describe the changes in the observable shape of the moon over the course of about a month . Students will also practice and reinforce the Math Standard MAFS.4.MD.1.2: Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals. Represent fractional quantities of distance and intervals of time using linear models. Students will also practice ELA Standard LAFS.4.W.2.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

There are many connections between the Earth and other heavenly bodies. The Earth's rotation creates night and day. The moon's rotation and revolution around the Earth creates the moon phases.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will model and draw the phases of the moon from the perspective of both the Earth and the Sun using 3-dimensional foam balls. Students will learn the reason for the moon's phases and that the moon is always illuminated on one side by the sun.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students learn about the Moon's changing appearance and its pattern of movement. Through class discussion, activities, and multimedia resources, students explore the phases of the Moon and are introduced to the concept of orbital motion. The Moon, Earth's only natural satellite, is easily observed with the naked eye. Over the course of one month, students observe and investigate its full range of appearances and its pattern of movement in the sky. Students then model the sun, earth and moon system in the classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students learn about the creation, time-line, and impact of the "space race" and consequent space industry in Florida.

Type: Lesson Plan

In part one of this activity, students are introduced to day and night through a whole class reading. In the second part of this lesson, a kinesthetic modeling of day and night allows students to experience the spinning Earth and the day/night cycle.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson demonstrates how the earth rotates creating nights and days. It also demonstrates the revolution of the earth around the sun. The earth and the sun's movements are connected.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will work in small groups to arrange moon phase cards into the correct sequence.

Type: Lesson Plan

The phases of the moon occur because of the revolution of the moon around the Earth. The amount that one sees of the moon depends on where the moon is in its revolution around the Earth. The time it takes for the moon to rotate/revolve around the earth is about 28 days.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson teaches students why the stars seem to move across the night sky. The lesson also teaches why we see different stars during different times of the year and why constellations are in different positions in the sky during different times of the year.

Type: Lesson Plan

Learn about the impact of the growth and development of space exploration on the culture and economy of Florida and how the inclusion of private partners helped reach new goals with this interactive tutorial.

This is part 3 in a three-part series. Click below to view the other tutorials in the series.

• Part 1: To the Moon - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 2: The Space Shuttle Era - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 3: Partners in Exploration - Space and the Florida Frontier

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn how the Space Shuttle program revived the area near Cape Canaveral, Florida, and how the possibility of living in space on the Space Station brought new jobs and excitement with this interactive tutorial.

This is part 2 in a three-part series. Click below to view the other tutorials in the series.

• Part 1: To the Moon - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 2: The Space Shuttle Era - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 3: Partners in Exploration - Space and the Florida Frontier

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn about the early days of NASA, the work at Cape Canaveral during the Moon missions, and how this work affected the people and economy of Florida with this interactive tutorial.

This is part 1 in a three-part series. Click below to view the other tutorials in the series.

• Part 1: To the Moon - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 2: The Space Shuttle Era - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 3: Partners in Exploration - Space and the Florida Frontier

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Use observations to discover how the moon's appearance changes during a lunar cycle and learn the names of the moon's phases in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore how Earth rotates (spins) on its axis as it moves through space in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore how Earth revolves around the Sun in this interactive tutorial.

This is part 1 in a two-part series. Click  to open Part 2.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore the motion of objects in the sky like the Sun, Moon and stars and their connection to the rotating Earth in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

This website can be used to show students views of the moon. The Earth can also be viewed.

Type: Teaching Idea

The students work in teams of two to discover the relative positions of the Earth, Sun and Moon that produce the different phases of the Moon.

Type: Teaching Idea

As a result of this activity, students will be able to identify different constellations and the myths associated with them. Students will also have a better understanding of why the stars appear to move across the sky and why different constellations can be seen in different seasons.

Type: Teaching Idea

In this resource scientist Dr. Marc answers 6 interesting questions about space technology, the Earth and the Moon. There is an option to have Dr. Marc read the answers by simply clicking on the speaker icon beside each question.

Type: Text Resource

This Youtube video provides a continuous time lapse sequence video of the lunar phases.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

This video segment produced for Teachers' Domain features a time-lapse video of clouds forming, changing, and moving across the sky from day to night.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Seasons, the periodic climate changes that occur throughout the year, are the result of Earth orbiting around the Sun, and the tilt of its axis. A variety of climate changes occur throughout the world; some have extreme changes in temperature, while others have rainy and dry seasons, yet little change in temperature.

Type: Virtual Manipulative