Galaxies Station Lab - MS

This modular, student-led activity will keep your middle school students engaged while exploring galaxies, light years, and gravity’s role in cosmic motion. With everything included, you’ll save a ton of prep time while giving students ownership of their learning.

In this interactive lab, students will develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system. Perfect for both in-class and virtual learning, this resource blends hands-on, visual, and digital learning.

Texas Teachers: This resource aligns with the 2017 TEKS (not updated for the 2021 TEKS).

Differentiated, Modular, and Student-Centered

Each station lab includes eight core activities plus a bonus challenge station, ensuring a personalized learning experience. Teachers serve as facilitators while students work independently or in small groups.

All signage, readings, and task cards are included. The Explore It! station may require a few simple classroom supplies you likely already have.

The Stations

Input Stations – Learn the Concepts

• Explore It! – Hands-on demo or digital drag-and-drop in PowerPoint/Google Slides

• Read It! – Differentiated passages (English & Spanish) with vocabulary and comprehension questions

• Research It! – Website-based activity with guiding questions

• Watch It! – Short video with response prompts

Output Stations – Show Understanding

• Organize It! – Printable or digital card sorts/manipulatives

• Illustrate It! – Sketches or diagrams of galaxies, light years, and gravitational motion

• Write It! – Short-answer responses in complete sentences

• Assess It! – Task cards + vocabulary-in-context writing

Bonus Station – Challenge It!
Extension activities for early finishers, such as crosswords, games, and mini-projects

Flexible for Any Classroom

This resource is fully compatible with Google Slides and PowerPoint, making it easy to use in both traditional and online classrooms.

Why Teachers Love It:

• Differentiated for diverse learning needs

• Multimodal design to keep students engaged

• Flexible for print or digital instruction

• Minimal prep required

This station lab is also included in the Galaxies and Light Years 5E Lesson Plan, which expands into editable presentations, interactive notebooks, assessments, projects, and more.

This is a finished product; it will be updated with formatting or corrections as needed. Future improvements and new features will be sold as a separate product.