Space for Schools: Tennessee
Tennessee's space standards, from 1.ESS1.1 up to the high school Earth and Space Science course, lined up with free lessons, live tools and worksheets.
Last updated . Curriculum links last reviewed November 2026.
What Tennessee uses
Checked November 2026The Tennessee Academic Standards for Science, approved by the state board in October 2022 and in classrooms from 2025-26. Codes read grade, core idea and number, so 5.ESS1.3 is Grade 5, Earth's Place in the Universe, standard 3, while high school courses start with a tag, for example ESS.ESS1.4. Space turns up in Grades 1, 3, 5 and 8 and in the Earth and Space Science and Geology courses, with gravity in Physics I and Physical World Concepts.
How to use this page
Find your code in the tables below. The lesson page has a lesson sequence, common misconceptions and questions with answers; the live tools and the worksheet open straight from the same row.
Grade 1
Sky watching| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.ESS1.1 | Forecast Sun, Moon and star motions | 1-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Moonrise Tonight, What's that light in the sky? Moon diary |
| 1.ESS1.2 | Naked-eye sky objects and what a telescope adds | Live tools only | Space telescopes, What's that light in the sky? |
| 1.ESS1.3 | Sunrise and sunset times through the seasons | 1-ESS1-2 | Live ISS tracker, ISS Visible Tonight |
Grade 3
Our solar system| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.ESS1.1 | Sort planets, moons and small bodies by traits | MS-ESS1-3 | Deep Space: light-time, Worlds, Mars globe Voyager 1 light-time |
Grade 5
Earth, Sun, Moon and gravity| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.PS2.3 | Which direction Earth pulls things | 5-PS2-1 | Worlds, Re-entry tracker, Live ISS tracker Weight on other worlds |
| 5.ESS1.1 | Distance and star brightness | 5-ESS1-1 | The Sun in 3D, Deep Space: light-time, What's that light in the sky? |
| 5.ESS1.2 | Our place in the Milky Way | MS-ESS1-2 | Deep Space, Live Globe, Near-Earth objects |
| 5.ESS1.3 | Earth's orbit, day and night, shadows | 5-ESS1-2 | Live ISS tracker, What's that light in the sky? How many sunrises do astronauts see? |
| 5.ESS1.4 | Eclipses, tides and phases from Sun-Earth-Moon positions | MS-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary |
| 5.ESS1.5 | Earth's tilt, sunlight and seasons | MS-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary |
| 5.ESS1.6 | Constellations moving through the seasons | 5-ESS1-2 | Live ISS tracker, What's that light in the sky? How many sunrises do astronauts see? |
Grade 8
Universe and gravity| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.ESS1.1 | Expansion of the universe and its evidence | HS-ESS1-2 | Space telescopes, JWST tracker, Hubble tracker |
| 8.PS2.3 | Gravity between huge masses and distances | MS-PS2-4 | Worlds, Moon globe, Deep Space Weight on other worlds |
High school
Earth and Space Science, Physics| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESS.ESS1.1 | Light and galaxy motion point to expansion | HS-ESS1-2 | Space telescopes, JWST tracker, Hubble tracker |
| ESS.ESS1.2 | Distances between planets, stars and galaxies | Live tools only | Deep Space: light-time, Space telescopes |
| ESS.ESS1.3 | Star mass sets life cycle and light output | HS-ESS1-1 | The Sun in 3D, Aurora forecast, Space telescopes |
| ESS.ESS1.4 | Fusion building elements inside stars | HS-ESS1-3 | Space telescopes, The Sun in 3D, JWST tracker |
| ESS.ESS1.5 | Compare telescope images across wavelengths | Live tools only | Space telescopes, JWST tracker |
| ESS.ESS1.6 | How new space instruments changed our view | Live tools only | Hubble tracker, JWST tracker |
| ESS.ESS1.7 | Compare mass, gravity and size of solar system bodies | MS-ESS1-3 | Deep Space: light-time, Worlds, Mars globe Voyager 1 light-time |
| ESS.ESS1.8 | Predict motion of planets, comets and satellites | HS-ESS1-4 | Satellite directory, Types of orbits, Live ISS tracker Kepler's third law |
| ESS.ESS1.9 | Gravity and heat in Earth's formation | HS-ESS1-6 | Near-Earth objects, Moon globe, Meteor tracker |
| ESS.ESS1.10 | Solar system data that explain how Earth formed | HS-ESS1-6 | Near-Earth objects, Moon globe, Meteor tracker |
| GEO.ESS1.1 | Ways to reconstruct Earth's early history | HS-ESS1-6 | Near-Earth objects, Moon globe, Meteor tracker |
| PHYS1.PS2.9 | Calculate gravity with the universal law | HS-PS2-4 | Worlds, Satellite directory, Live ISS tracker Weight on other worlds |
| PWC.PS2.11 | Predict how gravity shifts with mass or distance | HS-PS2-4 | Worlds, Satellite directory, Live ISS tracker Weight on other worlds |
About these codes
These are our suggestions for where each tool fits. Always preview a page before using it with a class: some tools show ads, these school pages do not.
Codes: Tennessee Academic Standards for Science (Tennessee Department of Education). Activities and lesson pages are our own words. Orbital Radar is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Tennessee Department of Education.
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Pick a style, then copy it or download it for your reference manager.Orbital Radar. (2026, November 7). Space for Schools: Tennessee. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/tennessee
“Space for Schools: Tennessee.” Orbital Radar, 7 Nov. 2026, orbitalradar.com/schools/us/tennessee. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.
Orbital Radar (2026) Space for Schools: Tennessee. Available at: https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/tennessee (Accessed: 7 November 2026).
Orbital Radar. “Space for Schools: Tennessee.” Last modified November 7, 2026. https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/tennessee.
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title = {Space for Schools: Tennessee},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
howpublished = {\url{https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/tennessee}},
url = {https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/tennessee},
urldate = {2026-11-07},
note = {Accessed 2026-11-07}
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Live figures change, so keep the date you accessed the page. How to cite Orbital Radar