NASA Wavelength is your pathway into a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels – from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs. Landsat related educational materials from Wavelength
Featured Landsat Activities | Description | Keywords |
| Grades K-12 | ||
Landsat Math | These math activity worksheets – organized by math skills involved – explore the importance, practical value, technology, and science of remote sensing with Landsat. They are a subset of a larger collection of math problems by Dr. Sten Odenwald. Credit: Space Math @ NASA | 3-4: Patterns, geometry, graph analysis 4-6: Technology, scale drawings. 6-8: Technology, scale drawings, time, speed, unit conversion, geometry, graph analysis, modeling, percentages. 6-9: Averages, unit conversions, percentages. 9-12: Averages, unit conversions, percentages, geometry, fractions, solving for X, scientific notation, graph analysis, evaluating functions. |
Take the Landform Quiz! | Match Landsat images to the landforms they depict. Also available as a PowerPoint. Forms are provided for people to make their guesses and an answer sheet is available for finding the right answer. | land cover, shapes, patterns, colors, remote sensing |
| Grades K- 4 | ||
The Adventures of Amelia the Pigeon | Teacher’s Guide, classroom activities, and a book support student mapping skills, understanding of perspective, and animal habitats; and provide a basic introduction to remote sensing. | introduction to remote sensing; mapping, perspective, neighborhoods; shapes, patterns, and colors; habitat, New York City |
Echo the Bat | Teacher’s Guide, classroom activities, and a book enable students to learn about remote sensing. They use satellite images to help them find Echo, who has been separated from his mother. | remote sensing, electromagnetic spectrum, light, radiation, color, biodiversity, ecology, habitat, Arizona |
| Grades 5 – 8 and 9-12 | ||
Finding Impact Craters with Landsat | When an extraterrestrial object strikes Earth, there is a sudden release of tremendous kinetic energy. In this activity students learn about effects that such a collision can have on Earth’s land, atmosphere, water and living things. They then use the knowledge they have gained to figure out if a meteor or some other force created a series of craters shown in Landsat imagery. | craters, meteors, landsat, impact, earth science |
Tracking Change Over Time | A USGS publication that explains remote sensing basics and introduces users to Landsat data and free image processing software. Students can track changes to the landscape over time. | land use, land cover change, remote sensing, geography, map reading, earth science |
Quantifying Changes in the Land Over Time | Students analyze land cover change over time to help them grasp the extent, significance, and consequences of such change; and to learn the value of space-based observations. This activity is print-based. | land use change, impervious surfaces, urban growth |
| Grades 9-12 | ||
Annotating Change in Satellite Images (Earth Exploration Toolbook)(external link) | Students examine a series of Landsat images from 1988, 1992, and 1995 showing an area of rapid urbanization in southeast Asia, then use image processing software to make a map documenting how human activities have changed the coastline over time. | human effects on land cover change, urbanization |
More Than a Pretty Picture | Presentation that explains Landsat orbits, pixels, spectral and spatial resolution, and how people use Landsat. | pixel, orbit, electromagnetic spectrum, band combination |
Make Your Own Landsat Image | Follow the instructions in these printable tutorials to make your own images. | Landsat data, image processing, layers, remote sensing |
| Grades 12 – 14 (Lower Level Undergraduate) | ||
Integrated Geospatial Education and Technology Training (iGETT)(external link) | An extensive archive of introductory, intermediate, and advanced modules for learning and teaching remote sensing and for integrating remote sensing with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to solve problems of societal concern. | Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, community college |
Additional NASA Education Resources
The Space Place
The Space Place is a multi-faceted NASA outreach program. It creates unique educational products in a variety of media for a broad range of audiences. You can find word puzzles, scrambled pictures, crazy quizzes, a board game and more on this site made especially for elementary aged children.
The Globe Program
The Globe Program is an exciting, worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based education and science program.
Earth Science For Kids Only
See how NASA studies air, land, natural hazards and water and how people affect the Earth. You can also find fun links to contests, activities and games.
Earthscience@nasa
This website elaborates on the purpose of NASA’s Earth science program. The program strives to develop a scientific understanding of Earth’s system and its response to natural or human-induced changes, and to improve prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards.
