This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 6th Grade Science. 

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 6th Grade Science. 

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team and is aligned to the NC Standards for 6th Grade Science.

This activity is about planetary distances. Learners will create a model of the solar system using beads and string, and compare planetary sizes using common types of fruit and seeds. The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes and vocabulary.

This is an animated and narrated storybook about the Sun and its effects on Earth. Learners will read or hear about characteristics of the Sun and Earth that influence their interaction. Topics touched upon include star sizes, star life cycle, stellar core nuclear processes, plasma, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, solar wind, electromagnetic spectrum, Earth’s magnetosphere, and electromagnetic energy.

This is a collection of mathematical problems about transits in the solar system. Learners can work problems created to be authentic glimpses of modern science and engineering issues, often involving actual research data.

This is an activity about the Venus Transit and how it helped astronomers determine the scale of the solar system. Learners will use measurement, ratios, and graphing to construct a model of the solar system and determine the relationship of each planet to the Sun. They will explore the scales needed to represent the size of the planets and the distances to the Sun. This activity corresponds to the NASA CONNECT video, titled Venus Transit, and has supplemental questions to support the video viewing.

This is an activity about what individuals already know about the Sun. Learners will brainstorm and share with the group their prior knowledge about the Sun. This is Activity 1 of the Sun As a Star afterschool curriculum.

This is a unit in 6 sessions about the seasons on earth. Learners will investigate the reason for seasons on earth. They will look at the circular orbit of earth, year-long temperature and daylight hours across different latitudes, compare models of the earth with and without tilt, investigate angle and intensity of sunlight, and ends with a discussion to solidify their understanding of the reason for seasons. It supports the process of modeling to determine an answer to a question. This is Unit 2 of the GEMS Space Science Sequence for Grades 6-8, which is available for purchase (see related link).