“Challenger Center, in partnership with NASA and STEM on Station, worked to complete several of the lessons Christa McAuliffe had planned for the Challenger STS 51L Teacher in Space mission. Working with Astronauts Ricky Arnold and Joe Acaba, the demonstrations were filmed aboard the International Space Station and corresponding lessons were developed for classrooms.

Lesson topics include chromatography, effervescence, liquids in microgravity and Newton’s law. Several of the lessons were completed as originally planned by Christa and a few were reimagined based on materials available aboard the Space Station.” -- from Lost Lessons home page

All of the lesson plans follow the BSCS 5E Instructional Model, an instructional approach that “…brings coherence to different teaching strategies, provides connections among educational activities, and helps science teachers make decisions about interactions with students.” The phases and purpose of each include:

• “Engagement - students' prior knowledge accessed and interest engaged in the phenomenon
• Exploration - students participate in an activity that facilitates conceptual change
• Explanation - students generate an explanation of the phenomenon
• Elaboration - students' understanding of the phenomenon challenged and deepened through new experiences
• Evaluation - students assess their understanding of the phenomenon”

Lesson plans align to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and include all instructional support, student handouts, videos, and a materials list. Many of the materials use common household items allowing students to complete the activities at home.

In a math class, this resource could be tied in to lessons on expressions and equations, geometry and measurement. Some suggested pairings include:

• NYSED/CUNY Fast Track GRASP Math Learning Modules, written by Mark Trushkowsky and Eric Appleton (CUNY Adult Literacy/HSE Program)
  • Tools of Algebra: Expressions, Equations, and Inequalities, Part 1
  • Density: Volume & Density of Matter (Part 2)

Some other supporting resources include:

• Newton's Laws: Crash Course Physics #5
  • This 11-minute video gives a brief overview of Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion.
• Physical Science Prep
  • Section 10:  Newton’s Laws of Motion. This resource is a CK-12 FlexLet, a summer prep course designed to cover all the major concepts in physical science.