The Mars Education lesson plans section is here to serve as a resource for educators, grades K-12 to download and utilize in formal classroom settings.
For questions on the Mars Education Lessons please contact us.
All of the Mars Education Program lesson plans include elements of inquiry-based learning that are aligned to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as well as problem-based learning and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5-E instructional model.
The STEM lessons included in this section of the website are the very lessons that we apply throughout our educator conferences and professional development training sessions.
To get a more thorough understanding and deeper knowledge of these lessons as an in classroom instructional tool, educators may want to consider attending an ASU Mars Education Conference.

Welcome video  This chapter will introduce greetings and introductions.  It will also introduce basic vocabulary such as numbers, the alphabet, time and weather and classroom vocabulary and commands.

ResponDog (by ChemVantage LLC) is an LTI app that works with your learning management system to create in-class audience response polls for posing quiz questions or gauging participants' opinions. Polls are useful for showing participants how their answers compare to their peers. They're also handy for taking attendance and discouraging tardiness. Scores on ResponDog polls are returned to your LMS grade book automatically, saving you work. ResponDog is free for educational use by non-profit schools and universities.

This game is designed to test, reinforce, and enhance students' understanding of Social Security Law. I've used it in several different ways: as a game that students play in class, with a prize for the winning student or team (playing the game and discussing the correct answers takes about one hour of class time); as a closed-book quiz that students take in class, followed by discussion of the correct answers (again, about one hour of class time); and as an open-book assignment that students complete before class, followed by discussion of the correct answers in class (about 30 minutes of class time).

This game is designed to test, reinforce, and enhance students' understanding of Special Education Law. I've used it in several different ways: as a game that students play in class, with a prize for the winning student or team (playing the game and discussing the correct answers takes about one hour of class time); as a closed-book quiz that students take in class, followed by discussion of the correct answers (again, about one hour of class time); and as an open-book assignment that students complete before class, followed by discussion of the correct answers in class (about 30 minutes of class time).

Authors: Daniel Schunk, Eva Berger, Henning Hermes, Kirsten Winkel, and Ernst Fehr.  In 2022, we published a study on teaching self-regulation to primary school children in Nature Human Behavior. By publishing the materials developed for our study as an OER, we hope to contribute to open science policy and to promote  the transfer between research and school practice.  

This tiered task involves interpretive reading of an authentic school schedule and presentational writing to compare the schedule to students’ own schedules. This task is tiered by complexity of product (how students show what they know).

These learning activities are designed to be used in a large introductory chemistry course, each as part of a larger module of learning activities that include a prior reading of a short background information document. By working in small groups to discuss the presented information and question prompts, students will apply concepts seen in earlier coursework to explore a topic of societal or environmental relevance. No new conceptual information is delivered in these activities; rather they provide an opportunity to show students how the chemistry concepts they have developed support a detailed scientific understanding of a significant issue.Instructional resources for each activity  include 1) background information (.docx and .pdf) 2) the learning activity (.docx and .pdf) 3) the learning objects (.docx and .pdf) and 4) the slide deck (.pptx).These activities include exploration of:Methyl Transferase EnzymesNitrogen CycleOzone and Chlorofluorocarbons Mechanism of Penicillin Interior Salish Pit Cooking

This learning activity is designed to be used in a large introductory chemistry course, as part of a larger module of learning activities that includes prior viewing of an interactive instructional video. Instructional videos are to be viewed before class meetings. During class time, students work in small groups and discuss the presented information and question prompts, and will build upon the concepts discussed in that video in order to develop a new, extended concept.Students should be tasked with working together to complete the prompts in each section of the activity by a set time limit. After each section is completed, the entire class can share their answers via a personal response system, and the instructor can review and explain the correct responses, using the accompanying slide deck, which translates the problems into multiple-choice prompts.Instructional resources include 1) interactive instructional videos (these can be embedded directly into the learning management system) 2) the learning activity (.docx and .pdf) 3) the learning objectives (.docx and .pdf) and 4) the slide deck (.pptx). - Chemical Bonding- Resonance - Intermolecular Forces- Collision Theory- Equilibrium- Nucleophiles and Electrophiles

This guided inquiry learning activity is designed to be used in a large introductory chemistry course. By working in small groups to discuss the presented information and question prompts, students will engage in cycles of exploring and analyzing data, inventing new conceptual understandings, and applying those concepts. Students should be tasked with working together to complete the prompts in each section by a set time limit. After each section is completed, the entire class can share their answers via a personal response system, and the instructor can review and explain the correct responses, using the accompanying slide deck, which translates the problems into multiple-choice prompts.Instructional resources include 1) the learning activity (.docx and .pdf) 2) the learning objects (.docx and .pdf) and 3) the slide deck (.pptx).- Atomic Orbitals- Chemical Fuels- Gas Laws- Intermolecular Forces- pKa Trends- VSEPR

eComma is a social reading tool teachers can install in their Learning Management System (LMS). It allows students and teachers to read and annotate texts together, pooling their knowledge and perspectives for a deeper understanding and analysis of what they are reading. The eComma website linked here explains how to explain the tool in an LMS and has a user guide and case studies with ideas for how to use it in a class.