Resources
Teacher Resources
Note: Specific resources will be found on their respective pages under Lesson Plans.
- Adler Planetarium Curriculum Guides and Plans
- Provides resources prepared by the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.
- Amazing Space: Homepage for educators and curriculum developers
- http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/eds/ Provides links to astronomy teaching tools and astronomy basic facts.
- Astronomical Society of the Pacific
- Provides numerous resources, activities, and links to other astronomy material available on the web.
- Astronomy Notes
- Excellent source of information for teachers to get background information on any astronomical topic. Complete online textbook for an “Astronomy 101*#8221; type of class.
- California State Science Content Standards (PDF)
- This page on the California State Board of Education's website has links to individual pages for each grade in grades K to 8 and then links to science areas (e.g., Physics, Earth Sciences, etc.) for grades 9 to 12. Use this in conjunction with the National Science Education Standards site (link below).
- Hubble Space Telescope:
- The place to download HST images.
- Imagine the Universe Lesson Plans (grades 6-12)
- Lesson plans are categorized by subject and grade level with a general description of the standards that are covered in the lesson.
- KidsAstronomy.com Teacher's Corner:
- This site contains lesson plans and activities for students broken down into two age groupings.
- National Science Education Standards: Science Content Standards (chapter 6)
- This chapter from the NSES book outlines what students should know, understand, and be able to do in natural science. Select the "Next" link at the bottom of each webpage to go to the pages specifically for grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12.
- Our Place In Space: A study guide produced by the staff at Craigmont Planetarium
- Contains puzzles, word searches, constellation stories, solar system facts and activities, and more. The solar system song is really cute.
- Cassini Solstice Mission
- Cassini is dedicated to bringing the excitement of space exploration to students of all ages. Offers standards-based classroom materials as well as opportunities for students to interact with scientists and engineers from the Mission. All materials are available free of charge.
- SEGway: Science Education Gateway
- A list of some astronomy related lessons organized by grade level.
- StarChild Teacher's Center (Elementary grades)
- Standards are not indicated on the lesson plans. There are two levels for the plans, lower elementary and upper elementary. There are many good lesson plans here.
- Windows to the Universe:
- Contains documents, images, movies, data sets, lessons and activities, games and more on all kinds of topics about any part of the universe. You can select to read text in English or Spanish and you can select wether you want info at the beginner, intermediate or advanced level.
- Zoom Astronomy:
- This site has activities, crafts, and lots of information that students could use for research purposes.
Student Resources
- Amazing Space:
- Provides links to astronomy activities, astronomy basic facts, homework help and more.
- KidsAstronomy.com:
- Astronomy for children, students, and kids of all ages. KidsAstronomy.com, part of the KidsKnowIt Network, is the absolutely free astronomy resource designed to teach children about the exciting world of outer space
- Imagine the Universe! (For ages 14 and up)
- This site is intended for students age 14 and up, and for anyone interested in learning about our universe.
- StarChild: A Learning Center for Young Astronomers (Elementary school age)
- This website can be viewed in Italian, Portuguese, German and English. A Spanish language version is in the works.
- NASA Space Place:
- This is a great place for kids to start exploring space with games, projects, information images and more. You can also view this site in Spanish.
- Windows to the Universe:
- Contains documents, images, movies, data sets, activities, games and more on all kinds of topics about any part of the universe. You can select to read text in English or Spanish and you can select wether you want info at the beginner, intermediate or advanced level.
- Zoom Astronomy:
- This site has activities, crafts, and lots of information for research purposes.
*Credits exceeding 15 will not be charged the non-resident fee. The California enrollment fee is applied to all credits for all students including non-resident students.
