After reading aloud a text on life in extreme environments, students will discuss what life is and the requirements of life. Groups of students will conduct an experiment of their choosing on chia seeds to explore how extreme environments affect the... (View More) growth of the plant. After conducting their experiments, they will write and illustrate a fictional story about an imaginary life form on Mars. This lesson is from "Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!" which uses literacy, art, and creative expression as a vehicle for learning about Mars science and exploration. Includes alignment to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts. (View Less)

This is a lesson about the definition of life. Learners will compare real and fake or live and dead objects and brainstorm ideas about what life is; refine the definition by playing 20 Questions to identify an object or organism; and test the... (View More) definition by comparing "mystery" samples. Includes background reading for teachers, student pages, reflection questions, and blackline masters. This is activity 1 of 5 and sets the stage for subsequent activities in this educator resource guide - Astrobiology in your Classroom: Life on Earth..and Elsewhere? (View Less)

This is a lesson about organisms living under extreme conditions on Earth serving as analogs for extraterrestrial life. Learners will play a card game to create a set by matching an extremophile, an extreme habitat on Earth, and an extraterrestrial... (View More) habitat that may be similar to an Earth habitat. They will assemble a crew of extremophiles and target them to specific locations on a planet or moon. The activity concludes with a debate on the ethics of sending Earth life to other worlds. Includes background reading for teachers, student pages, reflection questions, and blackline masters. This is activity 4 in the educators guide, Astrobiology in your Classroom: Life on Earth..and Elsewhere? (View Less)

This is the concluding lesson in the Astro-Venture Biology Unit. Learners will draw and explain concept maps that show how the members of the food web interact with many different systems to support human habitability and write a report of their... (View More) findings explaining how astronomical, atmospheric, geological, and biological features work together as a system to support human habitability and how this balance can be maintained. The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes, prerequisite concepts, common misconceptions, student journal and reading. This is lesson 7 in the Astro-Venture Biology Training Unit that was developed to increase students' awareness of and interest in astrobiology and related STEM career opportunities. The lessons are designed to be used with the Astro-Venture multimedia modules. (View Less)

in this concluding lesson, learners review astronomy and atmosphere systems and draw connections to geological processes and structures. They then summarize their learning from this unit in a final project. The lesson models scientific inquiry using... (View More) the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes, prerequisite concepts, common misconceptions, student journal and reading. This is lesson eight in the Astro-Venture Geology Training Unit that were developed to increase students' awareness of and interest in astrobiology and the many career opportunities that utilize science, math and technology skills. The lessons are designed for educators to use with the Astro-Venture multimedia modules. (View Less)

This is a lesson about the basic requirements for human survival. Learners will use an online, multimedia module, in which they make changes to the ecosystem and draw conclusions about the biologic conditions that are necessary for human survival.... (View More) The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes, prerequisite concepts, common misconceptions, student journal and reading. This is lesson 1 in the Astro-Venture Biology Training Unit that was developed to increase students' awareness of and interest in astrobiology and related STEM careers. The lessons are designed to be used with the Astro-Venture multimedia modules. (View Less)