Rocketry Lesson Plans

A pop rocket blasts off. Image Credit: NASA

Rockets by Size (Grades Pre-K-2)
NASA education specialist Ota Lutz describes a lesson plan for young children.

Rockets by Size Lesson Plan (Grades Pre-K-2)
Young students sequence objects by height.

3...2...1...Liftoff Educator Guide (Grades Pre-K-2)
These activities are about the International Space Station and the role rockets play in its construction.

Space Place -- Bubble Rocket  (Grades K-5)
In this activity, students build their own rocket by using paper and fizzing tablets.

Rockets Educator Guide (Grades K-12)
This guide contains new and updated lessons and activities to teach hands-on science and mathematics with practical applications.

Adventures in Rocket Science Educator Guide (Grades K-12 and Informal)
Explore physical science concepts and the laws of motion with participants as they design, build and launch a variety of rockets.

Speed It Up Activity  (Grades 3-5)
This lesson simulates how different propellant systems affect the velocity, or speed, of a rocket by measuring the height to which the rocket is launched.

Students color, cut out and paste rockets onto paper in the Rockets by Size activity. Image Credit: NASA

Launch It! Activity  (Grades 3-8 and Informal)
Design an air-powered rocket that can hit a distant target.

The Courage to Soar Higher Educator Guide (Grades 4-6)
Students build and test airplanes and rockets and create a Mars colony as they learn about NASA's accomplishments and plans for the future.

How to Build and Launch a Foam Rocket (Grades 4-12)
Download this activity guide and watch a how-to video for students about designing and launching rubber-band-powered rockets.

Engineering Design Challenges -- Space Craft Structures Educator Guide (Grades 6-9)
Students use science, mathematics and critical thinking skills to design, build and test a model thrust structure for a spacecraft.

Engineering Design Challenges -- Thermal Protection Systems Educator Guide (Grades 6-9)
Students design, build and test a system that will protect their simulated rocket from heat.

Kennedy Launch Academy Simulation System (KLASS) Curriculum (Grades 6-10)
The KLASS Program is more then 40 hours of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lesson plans, an assessment system, and software to set up and run a networked space shuttle simulation.

Cub Scouts can work on achievements and electives at NASA's Space Place. Image Credit: NASA's Space Place

Space Place for Cub Scouts (Grades 1-5)

   --Earn a Webelos badge for Technology Group: Scientist.
   Build a bubble-powered rocket and describe Newton’s third law of motion.
   http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/rocket.shtml

   --Academics: Earn an Academics pin for Communicating.
   Read how to play "Let's Go to Mars!" and explain to a family member or friend
   how to play it.
   http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/mars_rocket.shtml