Free meteorite lesson plans and resources for teachers
Free, complete lesson plans that use meteorites, meteors and craters to teach the science National Curriculum for England, from Year 1 to GCSE. Every plan sets out objectives tied to the curriculum, timings, resources, a starter, main activity and plenary, differentiation, a risk assessment and assessment questions with answers, and comes with a worksheet you can print.
Scheme of work by key stage30 school project ideasFree courses for pupils
Key Stage 1 2
Heavy for its size: what is it made of?
Pupils name the materials that same-sized objects are made from, predict which feel heaviest, check with a balance, and learn why meteorite hunters notice a stone that feels too heavy for its size.
Year 2 · 60 minutesA safe home for a meteorite: choosing the best materials
A precious meteorite must travel safely to a museum. Pupils test everyday materials for cushioning, keeping water out and letting you see inside, then design a box and give a reason for every material they choose.
Key Stage 2 4
Rocks that soak up water: why meteorites last longest in deserts and ice
Pupils test rocks to find out which soak up water and which are easily scratched, group them by what they find, and use the results to explain why more than half of all known meteorites have been collected in Antarctica.
Year 3 · 60 minutesShadows on the Moon: why craters show up best at half Moon
Pupils measure how a shadow changes as a torch is lowered, then shine light across model craters to discover why the Moon's craters stand out along the line between day and night and almost vanish at full Moon.
Year 5 · 60 minutesSeparating space dust: a micrometeorite hunt with sieves, magnets and filters
Pupils plan and carry out the separation of a model roof-dust mixture of gravel, sand, salt and iron filings, recover the salt by evaporation, and find out how scientists search for real micrometeorites and why a magnet alone is not proof.
Year 5 · 60 minutesWhy more shooting stars are seen before dawn
Pupils model the Earth spinning and travelling around the Sun, use it to explain day and night, and discover with a confetti model why the hours before dawn, when we face the way Earth is moving, bring more meteors.
Key Stage 3 1
Key Stage 4 1
What every plan includes
- Learning objectives and the National Curriculum statements they cover.
- Timings, a resource list and background science for the teacher.
- A starter, main activity and plenary, with support, core and challenge.
- A risk assessment table to check against your employer's own.
- Assessment questions with answers, homework with answer guidance, and a printable worksheet.
These eight lessons are a free starter pack, written specially for this site. The full set of 25 lesson plans, with worksheets, end-of-unit tests and mark schemes, is in the Corvanelle book Teaching Meteorites. The lessons in the book are different lessons, so the starter pack and the book work together rather than repeating each other.
Using real meteorites in school
Handling a real meteorite is unforgettable. Many museums and universities lend meteorite boxes to schools. Keep specimens on a soft tray, handle them with clean, dry hands, and never cut, heat, scratch, wash or put acid on them. If a pupil brings in a rock they think is a meteorite, use the rock checker and the meteor-wrongs gallery together, and see how to get a find confirmed.