Classifying Stars Complete Science Lesson - New TEKS 8.9A

Everything you need for an engaging, ready-to-teach unit on the life cycle of stars and the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram is included in this resource! Students will explore how stars form, evolve, and die—and how the H-R Diagram helps scientists classify stars by luminosity and temperature. With editable presentations, worksheets, student-choice projects, and assessments, this multiday lesson is both comprehensive and low-prep.

Through differentiated, student-led activities, your middle schoolers will stay engaged while you focus on guiding their success.

Essential Questions

• Can you describe the life cycle of a star?

• How do we use the H-R Diagram to compare and classify stars?

Aligned with 2021 TEKS Standard 8.9A

Why Teachers Love This Lesson

• Differentiated materials to support a variety of learners

• Multimodal activities to keep students interested

• Maximum flexibility—works in print or digital formats

• Editable PowerPoints for classroom customization

• Spanish translations for vocabulary, passages, and interactive notebook pages

This lesson follows the 5E Instructional Model (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, Evaluation), giving you both structure and flexibility.

What’s Included

Engagement

• Lesson objectives and Word Wall Cards (English & Spanish)

• Teacher guide with discussion prompts, activities, and common misconceptions

Exploration – Student-Led Station Lab
Nine differentiated stations help students investigate the life cycle of stars and the H-R Diagram:

Input Stations (absorb content)

• Explore It! – Hands-on demo or experiment

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

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

• Watch It! – Short video with reflection prompts

Output Stations (show understanding)

• Organize It! – Printable or digital card sorts

• Write It! – Open-ended short-answer responses

• Illustrate It! – Sketches or diagrams of stellar stages and classification

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

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

Explanation

• Editable PowerPoints (standard & interactive versions)

• Interactive notebook templates (digital & print, English & Spanish)

• Guided note-taking templates

Elaboration

• Student-choice projects on stellar evolution and star classification with the H-R Diagram

Evaluation

• STAAR 2.0–style assessments (standard & modified versions)

• Review worksheet for homework, practice, or discussion

Flexible for Any Classroom

This resource is perfect for both in-person and virtual learning. Station labs, interactive notebooks, and presentations are fully compatible with Google Slides and PowerPoint.

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