Space for Schools: West Virginia
West Virginia's own space standards, from Grade 1 sky patterns to Earth and Space Science, each tied to a lesson page you can open with live tools and worksheets.
Last updated . Curriculum links last reviewed November 2026.
What West Virginia uses
Checked November 2026The West Virginia College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science (Policy 2520.3C), approved by the State Board of Education in August 2021, effective July 1, 2022. West Virginia numbers its own standards with an S, the grade or course and a position, so S.5.13 is Grade 5, standard 13, and S.ESS.4 is the fourth Earth and Space Science standard. Space appears in Kindergarten and Grades 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7, and in the Earth and Space Science, Physical Science and Physics courses.
Fairmont is home to NASA's Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation 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| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.K.9 | Observe how sunlight warms the ground | Live tools only | The Sun in 3D |
Grade 1
Sky patterns| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.1.8 | Describe predictable patterns of the Sun, Moon and stars | 1-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Moonrise Tonight, What's that light in the sky? Moon diary |
| S.1.9 | Match daylight length to the season | 1-ESS1-2 | Live ISS tracker, ISS Visible Tonight |
Grade 3
Gravity| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.3.5 | Argue that gravity pulls toward Earth's center | 5-PS2-1 | Worlds, Re-entry tracker, Live ISS tracker Weight on other worlds |
Grade 5
Stars and shadows| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.5.13 | Argue that nearness makes the Sun look brightest | 5-ESS1-1 | The Sun in 3D, Deep Space: light-time, What's that light in the sky? |
| S.5.14 | Chart shadow changes, daylight, darkness and seasonal stars | 5-ESS1-2 | Live ISS tracker, What's that light in the sky? How many sunrises do astronauts see? |
Grade 6
The solar system| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.6.13 | Build a model of phases, eclipses and seasons | MS-ESS1-1 | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary |
| S.6.14 | Show gravity at work in galaxies and our solar system | MS-ESS1-2 | Deep Space, Live Globe, Near-Earth objects |
| S.6.15 | Use data to find the scale of solar system objects | MS-ESS1-3 | Deep Space: light-time, Worlds, Mars globe Voyager 1 light-time |
Grade 7
Gravity and mass| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.7.13 | Argue that mass controls how strongly gravity attracts | MS-PS2-4 | Worlds, Moon globe, Deep Space Weight on other worlds |
High school
Earth, physical and space science| Code | What students do | Lesson page | Live tools and worksheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.ESS.1 | Model the Sun's life and what powers its core | HS-ESS1-1 | The Sun in 3D, Aurora forecast, Space telescopes |
| S.ESS.2 | Explain the Big Bang using galaxy and light evidence | HS-ESS1-2 | Space telescopes, JWST tracker, Hubble tracker |
| S.ESS.3 | Explain how stars make elements over their lives | HS-ESS1-3 | Space telescopes, The Sun in 3D, JWST tracker |
| S.ESS.4 | Predict orbital motion with Kepler and Newton | HS-ESS1-4 | Satellite directory, Types of orbits, Live ISS tracker Kepler's third law |
| S.ESS.6 | Piece together early Earth from meteorites and craters | HS-ESS1-6 | Near-Earth objects, Moon globe, Meteor tracker |
| S.PS.25 | Link gravity to mass and distance with a formula | HS-PS2-4 | Worlds, Satellite directory, Live ISS tracker Weight on other worlds |
| S.P.9 | Apply Newton's gravitation law to mass and 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: West Virginia College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science (West Virginia Department of Education). Activities and lesson pages are our own words. Orbital Radar is not affiliated with or endorsed by the West Virginia 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: West Virginia. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/west-virginia
“Space for Schools: West Virginia.” Orbital Radar, 7 Nov. 2026, orbitalradar.com/schools/us/west-virginia. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.
Orbital Radar (2026) Space for Schools: West Virginia. Available at: https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/west-virginia (Accessed: 7 November 2026).
Orbital Radar. “Space for Schools: West Virginia.” Last modified November 7, 2026. https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/west-virginia.
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Live figures change, so keep the date you accessed the page. How to cite Orbital Radar