Space for Schools: Virginia
Virginia's own Standards of Learning for space, from Kindergarten sunlight to the new Astronomy course, each paired with a lesson page, live data and printable worksheets.
Last updated . Curriculum links last reviewed November 2026.
What Virginia uses
Checked November 2026The Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools, adopted by the Board of Education in October 2018, with the 2025 Expanded High School Science Standards of Learning added on December 11, 2025. Virginia writes its own standards, numbered by grade or course and position, such as 6.3 or ES.2, with lettered key ideas inside each one, as in 6.3c, and 2025 course codes such as AS.3. Space appears in Kindergarten and Grades 1, 2, 4 and 6, in Earth Science and Physics, and in the new Astronomy, Earth Science II, Oceanography and Physics II courses.
Hampton is home to NASA's Langley Research Center, and rockets launch from Wallops Island at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.
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.
Kindergarten
Sunlight, day and night| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| K.8 | Compare sunny and shady spots for warmth | Live tools only | The Sun in 3D |
| K.9b | Notice how the seasons change through a year | 1-ESS1-2 | Live ISS tracker, ISS Visible Tonight |
| K.9c | Observe day turning into night | 1-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Moonrise Tonight, What's that light in the sky? Moon diary |
Grade 1
The Sun and seasons| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.6a | Learn that the Sun lights and warms Earth | Live tools only | The Sun in 3D |
| 1.6b | Watch the Sun's place in the sky change | 1-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Moonrise Tonight, What's that light in the sky? Moon diary |
| 1.7a | Track changes in light and temperature over time | 1-ESS1-2 | Live ISS tracker, ISS Visible Tonight |
Grade 2
Forces| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2b | Observe gravity acting without touching | 5-PS2-1 | Worlds, Re-entry tracker, Live ISS tracker Weight on other worlds |
Grade 4
Planets, Earth and Moon| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.5 | Put the planets in order and compare sizes | MS-ESS1-3 | Deep Space: light-time, Worlds, Mars globe Voyager 1 light-time |
| 4.6 | Explain Moon phases, seasons and tides from motion | MS-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary |
Grade 6
Solar system and Sun-Earth-Moon| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.2a | Find where the solar system keeps its material | MS-ESS1-3 | Deep Space: light-time, Worlds, Mars globe Voyager 1 light-time |
| 6.2b | Compare planet sizes and orbit distances | MS-ESS1-3 | Deep Space: light-time, Worlds, Mars globe Voyager 1 light-time |
| 6.2c | Show how gravity keeps worlds in orbit | MS-ESS1-2 | Deep Space, Live Globe, Near-Earth objects |
| 6.2d | Follow how ideas about the solar system changed | Live tools only | Space telescopes, Deep Space: light-time |
| 6.3a | Explain day and night from Earth spinning | 5-ESS1-2 | Live ISS tracker, What's that light in the sky? How many sunrises do astronauts see? |
| 6.3b | Model why the Moon has phases | MS-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary |
| 6.3c | Show how Earth's tilt makes the seasons | MS-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary |
| 6.3d | Link the Moon to the tides | MS-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary |
High school
Earth Science and Physics| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| ES.2a | Show why scientists accept the Big Bang | HS-ESS1-2 | Space telescopes, JWST tracker, Hubble tracker |
| ES.2b | Describe the slow change of stars and galaxies | HS-ESS1-1 | The Sun in 3D, Aurora forecast, Space telescopes |
| ES.2c | Compare the Sun, planets, moons and small bodies | MS-ESS1-3 | Deep Space: light-time, Worlds, Mars globe Voyager 1 light-time |
| ES.2d | See what space missions taught us about the universe | Live tools only | Deep Space: light-time, Space telescopes |
| ES.3a | Explain why Earth is the right distance for life | Live tools only | Worlds, The Sun in 3D |
| ES.3b | Explain eclipses, tides and the seasons as one system | MS-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary |
| PH.2c | Use circular motion to understand orbits | HS-ESS1-4 | Satellite directory, Types of orbits, Live ISS tracker Kepler's third law |
| PH.3b | Calculate gravitational pull with Newton's law | HS-PS2-4 | Worlds, Satellite directory, Live ISS tracker Weight on other worlds |
| PH.7 | Map gravity as a field that weakens with distance | HS-PS2-4 | Worlds, Satellite directory, Live ISS tracker Weight on other worlds |
High school 2025 courses
Astronomy and Level II courses| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS.2 | Trace ancient ideas through Kepler to Newton | HS-ESS1-4 | Satellite directory, Types of orbits, Live ISS tracker Kepler's third law |
| AS.3 | Use telescopes and light to study stars and galaxies | HS-ESS1-3 | Space telescopes, The Sun in 3D, JWST tracker |
| AS.4 | Use meteorites and asteroids to date the solar system | HS-ESS1-6 | Near-Earth objects, Moon globe, Meteor tracker |
| AS.5 | Predict daily and seasonal paths of Sun, Moon and stars | MS-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary |
| ESII.5 | Connect the Sun's energy and storms to Earth systems | Live tools only | The Sun in 3D, Aurora forecast |
| OC.5 | Model how the Sun and Moon drive tides | MS-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary |
| PHII.2 | Compare motion in gravitational and electric fields | 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: Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools (Virginia Department of Education). Activities and lesson pages are our own words. Orbital Radar is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Virginia Department of Education.
Suggest a link
Know a better fit for your class, or a topic we have missed? Tell us and we will add it.
Share this page with one link: orbitalradar.com/schools/us/virginia
Cite this page
Pick a style, then copy it or download it for your reference manager.Orbital Radar. (2026, November 7). Space for Schools: Virginia. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/virginia
“Space for Schools: Virginia.” Orbital Radar, 7 Nov. 2026, orbitalradar.com/schools/us/virginia. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.
Orbital Radar (2026) Space for Schools: Virginia. Available at: https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/virginia (Accessed: 7 November 2026).
Orbital Radar. “Space for Schools: Virginia.” Last modified November 7, 2026. https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/virginia.
@misc{orbitalradar_schools_us_virginia,
author = {{Orbital Radar}},
title = {Space for Schools: Virginia},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
howpublished = {\url{https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/virginia}},
url = {https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/virginia},
urldate = {2026-11-07},
note = {Accessed 2026-11-07}
}TY - ELEC AU - Orbital Radar, TI - Space for Schools: Virginia PY - 2026 DA - 2026/11/07 PB - Orbital Radar UR - https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/virginia Y2 - 2026/11/07 LA - en-US ER -
Live figures change, so keep the date you accessed the page. How to cite Orbital Radar