The Space Weather Compendium: Trials and Tribulations to Aligning Existing Lessons with the National Standards

A major challenge facing successful programs in solar and space physics education is finding appropriate standards-based lessons at the elementary, middle and high school levels. High-quality lessons follow a specific set of criteria to facilitate science literacy in solar and space physics within a defined scope and sequence. Without this, students fail to grasp the interconnectedness of the science and lack a sense of the bigger picture. Because teachers often have limited familiarity with the science of solar and space physics, finding solar and space physics lessons that align with state and national standards can be a challenge. CU-LASP's Space Weather Compendium is a compilation of existing lessons and activities from a wide range of sources that we have aligned to national and Colorado state standards and placed within a grade- appropriate scope and sequence. Here, we explore the challenges involved in creating a compendium of activities that align with national standards, and how to successfully meet space physics literacy goals at the elementary, middle and high school levels. In addition, we outline the additional supporting materials that we have found teachers need in order to bring the excitement of solar and space physics into the classroom effectively.