The Sun

NASA has the latest information about current solar exploration and scientists' newest discoveries in their study of the Sun, complete with photographs and videos taken from satellites. Its Solar Exploration page features a terrific image gallery, a historical timeline, and news about heliophysics missions.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the sun constantly. You and your students may have a hard time leaving these pages. Click on "SDO: the Sun Right Now" for amazing photos and videos of the most recent solar flares and eruptions.

You'll want to spend some time exploring NASA's site for educators.

Stanford's Solar Center has an award-winning website with many multi-disciplinary, interactive activities and lessons based on the sun and solar science, for grades 2-8. Click on "For Educators".

NASA's Eclipse Site has some great resources for teachers and students celebrating our nearest star. Younger students can make an edible model of the Sun, while older students can download and play with real-time solar data. Check this one out!

SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, studies the Sun from its core to its corona and solar wind. The SOHO classroom has activities, lesson plans, and interactive presentations about the Sun for grades 3 and up. Click on "Students and Teachers" for more.

The Center for Science Education at UC Berkeley Space Science Laboratory sponsors Solar Week twice each year. Its website has online facts, games, activities, and live discussions with solar scientists.

Windows to the Universe, sponsored by the National Earth Science Teachers Association, has an excellent webpage for facts about the Sun and many links to more in-depth information. A good site for student research.

NASA's Space Place has abundant resources, including facts, activities, and photos, for you and your students to learn more about the Sun.

Younger students may have fun acting out One-On-One With The Sun from the American Museum of Natural History's website. Stanford Solar Center also has an Interview with Mr. Sol for older students.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute offers facts and simple activities for young children that teachers can use.

PBS Learning Media has a series of short videos, including "Characteristics of the Sun" and "Solar Eclipses." Support materials accompany each video.

NASA's brief Sun For Kids video features students, teachers, and scientists introducing topics including solar weather, sunspots, coronal mass ejections, and solar satellites.

A series of Crash Course videos provide brief, engaging presentations on characteristics of the Sun, its life-giving influence on Earth, rotation and revolution, what we learn from observing shadows, and the way the Sun causes day, night, and seasons on the Earth.

Teachers will want to consider these video resources for classroom use. Scroll down to the "Science Videos and Lessons" section and take a look.

Take a look at NASA's Science of the Sun educator's guide, with lessons on the size and scale of the Sun, the Earth's revolution around the Sun and the reason for seasons, and understanding the Sun's energy. For grades 3-5.

Multiverse, sponsored by the Center for Science Education at UC Berkeley's Space Science Laboratory, posts lesson plans for educators. Of particular interest are those about auroras and solar flares.

See the following links for complete lessons on these topics:

• The Apparent Movement of the Sun
• Sunspots
• The Size of the Sun
• Eclipses