Review and adapt these ideas to develop instruction before and after your planned ARISS contact. 

Contact us at ariss@arrl.org if you would like to share lessons and activities you have successfully implemented as part of your ARISS education plan.

Here are some activities and lesson plans shared by Rita Wright retired teacher and host of the very first ARISS contact with astronaut Bill Shepherd at Luther Burbank Elementary School in Burbank, IL in December 2000. Valesare and SuitSat/ARISSat (Grades K-4) Introduction to unit

• ARISSat title page
• National Standards
• Content page K-4
• The story of SuitSat
• Look Carefully activity to be used with Look Carefuly Story
   

Valesare

• Look Carefully story

 Atmosphere

• Why Does an Astronaut need a spacesuit?
• Background Earth Atmosphere

 Spacesuit activities

• Activities 2,3,4
• Color this Spacesuit
• My Orlan Spacesuit
• Orlan Spacesuit 2
• Answer sheet

 Kite Activities

• Lets Fly a Kite 2
• Lets Fly a Kite TP
• Kite Vocab
• Delta Wing
• Adelino Instructions
• Adelino Kite Instructions 2
• 20 Kites 

Can You Hear Me?

• Can you hear me now activity
• Grid

   Communications Unit (Grades 5-7) Communications

• A Patient Waiter is No Loser - story
• How do we communicate – image page
• National and state learning standards
• Communication Index of material
• How do we communicate – opening lesson

 Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Electromagnetic Spectrum
• ElectroMag SpecDraw1
• ElectroMag Activity
• WaveCharacActiv1
• Wave Prop Rope
• Wavepro Act2 activity
• Spectrum of light activity

 Exploring Circuits

• Exploring Circuits

 Morse Code Oscillator

• Burbank Code Diagram
• Burbank wiring diagram
• Wiring Diagram activity
• Wiring diagram answer key
• Sending and Receiving a message
• Hamfesters Morse code

  Suggested Activities

• Adopt an Astronaut Intro
• Adopt an Astronaut Research
  

  Humans & Space (Grades 8-9) Introduction to unit

• National and State Learning Standards
• Unit Cover Page
• Unit Intro

  If Humans Could Fly?

• If Humans were meant to fly – Intro
• Human Flight activity

  Motion

• Guiding Questions
• Guiding Questions activity 1
• Guiding Questions activity 2

  Momentum and Friction

• Guiding Questions activity 3
• Guiding Questions activity 4
• Wheeled Vehicle project

  Force and Newton

• Guiding Questions activity 5
• Soaring with Newton

  Rocket pattern and Altitude tools

• Rocket pattern

  Gravity and Solar Energy

• Guiding Questions activity 6
• Guiding Questions activity 7

  ARISSat

• ARISSat activity

Tommy Gober, N5DUX developed this lesson for teaching the concept of azimuth and how we use azimuth to find satellites in space.
Learn More

As part of preparation for an Amateur Radio contact in September 2010 with Col. Doug Wheelock on the ISS, Kopernik Observatory welcomed students from neighboring middle and high schools to participate in the activities outlined here.

Chart of Activity Topics

Sample activities/lessons:

     Listening to Space Sounds/ Listening to Light

     Electricity, Electronics and Ham Radio