LESSON PLAN OUTLINE JMU Elementary Education Program

A. INTRODUCTION TO PHASES OF THE MOON B. CONTEXT OF LESSON AND UNWRAPPING OF THE STANDARD

Cover unknown vocabulary:

- Phases of the moon

- First quarter moon

- Full moon

- Last quarter moon

- New moon

- Waxing crescent

- Waxing gibbous

- Waning gibbous

- Waxing crescent

It is always a good time to observe and learn about the moon cycle, since it occurs every

month! This is something they can do every night and it costs no money. They will be

able to observe that the moon does look like it takes on different shapes, and looks

different at the beginning and the end of the month.

Pre-assessment:

- It is a unit that they are most likely unfamiliar with, so I will ask

the students to list what they know about the phases of the moon

or they could draw pictures of the phases. Any prior knowledge

should be revealed here. My cooperating teacher seems to think

that many (if not all) of the students will have little prior

knowledge about the phases.

This activity is appropriate for the students because it is a third grade science standard

and they are at the point where they show curiosity about the moon and outer space. They

may not know the causes for the phases or the actual phases, but they have some

knowledge about the moon. Talking about the moon will be a good starting point for the

3.8 SOL because the earth, sun, and moon cause the phases of the moon, seasonal

changes, day and night, and the tides. By having a basic understanding of the moon and

the phases, the class will be able to recall this knowledge and apply it to the other topics.

Children learn by doing and they draw what they are learning from prior experiences. I

know that every student has seen the moon in the sky, so they should have some interest

in the topic. By using a book to illustrate the phases, the students will have something to

look at and can compare it to their experiences.

C. UNWRAPPING THE VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SEE ATTACHED)

D. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand – what are the broad

generalizations the students

should begin to develop? (These

are typically difficult to assess in

one lesson.)

Know – what are the facts, rules,

specific data the students will

gain through this lesson? (These

“knows” must be assessed in

your lesson.)

Do – what are the specific

thinking behaviors students will

be able to do through this lesson?

(These will also be assessed in

your lesson.)

The student will

demonstrate, model, and

illustrate the different phases

of the moon.

The student will be able to

explain that a cycle is a

repeated pattern and that a

sequence is a series of events

occurring in a natural order.

E. ASSESSING LEARNING

Objective Assessment Data Collected

The student will

demonstrate, model, and

illustrate the different

phases of the moon.

Students will draw pictures

that correspond with the Mole

Moon story (6 images).

Collect the Mole Moon

worksheets to see if the

students understand that there

are different types of moon

phases.

The student will

demonstrate, model, and

illustrate the different

phases of the moon.

Observe students and their

willingness to take part in the

group activity. Make sure to

ask different students

questions (not the same). Have

all students use hands-on

approach in the demonstration,

Observation chart to see if all

students are participating and

to identify those that still have

questions.

The student will

demonstrate, model, and

illustrate the different

phases of the moon.

Turn-tos Observation of students

interacting with peers and

discussing what the moon

looked like from another

person’s perspective.

The student will be able to

explain that a cycle is a

repeated pattern and that a

sequence is a series of events

occurring in a natural order.

Think-pair-share Students interacting with

peers discussing moon phases

and how often the cycle and

sequence occur. Students

should know that the cycle

lasts roughly one month.

F. MATERIALS NEEDED

Student

- Flip books

- Pencils

- Sheet on phases of the moon

- Story “Mole Moon”

Teacher

- Round object (moon)

- The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons (pgs on Moon rotation to phases of the

moon; causes)

- Example of flip-book

G. MISCONCEPTIONS or ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTIONS

i. The Moon can only be seen at night

1. Have you ever seen the moon during the day?

2. Can you always see the moon at night? What if there are clouds?

ii. The Moon makes its own light, instead of reflecting sunlight

iii. The Moon’s phases are caused by the Earth’s shadow (Shadow at night?)

iv. The Moon’s phases are caused by clouds

v. The Moon’s phases are caused by Earth’s rotation on its axis

vi. The Moon’s phases are caused by the Moon’s rotation on its axis

vii. The Moon takes one day to orbit the Earth (about a month)

viii. The Moon orbits the Sun instead of the Earth

ix. There is a side of the moon that is always dark, the “dark side of the

moon”.

x. Different countries see different phases of the moon on the same day

Depending on what a student’s prior knowledge is, they may or may not have

misconceptions about the phases of the moon. Children may have difficulty grasping the

concept of what causes the phases of the moon. This is where using some kind of a

hands-on activity or visual representation would be beneficial.

H. PROCEDURE

(Include a DETAILED description of each step. Write what you will SAY and DO.)

Before/ During

Teacher should have all the copies made

Read Mole Moon

Stop on page 35

“bright and round and peaceful”

-have students fill out first description of moon

Stop

“bright and squashed on one side and peaceful”

-have students fill out 2nd

view

Stop

“it’s bright and half a circle and peaceful”

-have students fill out 3rd

view

Stop on page 36

“it is not bright, and only a crescent, but it is very

peaceful”

-have students fill out 4th view

Who is right? Which is the correct moon?

Stop

“nobody can see the moon tonight”

-have students draw 5th image

Student:

-have one student fill out what the moon looks like

on the teacher’s copy or show their own

Teacher:

-do you think it matters which side it is squashed?

-did anyone draw the moon another way? opposite

of this image?

Who has ever looked up at the moon at night?

Have you ever noticed that the moon looks

different from night to night? Some nights there

doesn’t appear to be a moon?

Ask students:

Does anyone know what the phases of the moon

are?

How often do the phases occur?

What causes the different phases?

Well let’s investigate this!

Teacher:

-the teacher should try and uncover all

misconceptions that the students have, in the

beginning of the lesson. Some may unfold as the

lesson progresses, but for now, these should be

addressed.

- If students are close: since the moon revolves

around the Earth (the Earth revolves) and this

causes the shape of the moon to appear to change.

Students participate in visual demonstration of the

moon’s phases using a globe that is half black and

half white. Chalk board represents the sun,

students at desks represent the Earth, while globe

represents the moon.

- Have sun on the front board.

- Talk about the Earth’s rotation and the

moon’s rotation

- The light is always facing the sun, because

the light comes from the sun

- Address all phases of the moon. Start with

the most basic

- Have students hold the moon from their

positioning (include multiple students)

Have students return to desks, talk about the

different phases of the moon. What did the moon

look like from their position?

Pass out small flip books for the students to have

(they have already been stapled together)

Show the The Moon Book and the associated pages

on phases of the moon…but what causes these

phases?

Read the pages from the book.

How long does it take for the moon to cycle

through the different phases?

Teacher:

- make sure that students from different sides of the

circle share what they see (what the shadow looks

like)

Teacher:

-what causes the phases?

-since the moon revolves around the Earth (the

Earth revolves) and this causes the shape of the

moon to appear to change.

Student:

-students should now know from the short story

Sequence

Pattern

Teacher:

-It takes 28 days, which is about a month

After

Students will have a think-pair-share with their

peers about the different phases of the moon. Here

they should discuss the different phases

If there is extra time I will show a youtube video on

the phases of the moon and the full cycle (about 1

month)

I. DIFFERENTIATION

Describe how you have planned to meet the needs of all students in your classroom with

varied interest and learning readiness, English language proficiency, health, physical

ability, etc. How will you extend and enrich the learning of students who finish early?

How will you support the learning of children struggling with your objectives?

Content Process Product

Interest

Acknowledge the

phases of the moon in

the correct order.

Illustrate or draw- blind

sort.

Label the phases of

the moon on a

blank sheet.

Students can even

draw and label the

phases without a

specific worksheet.

Drawing and labeled

diagram of the phases

of the moon.

Readiness

Provide vocabulary

cards for students that

are unfamiliar with

these new terms. Post

on board the

definitions.

Have different

students take part in

the activities. Make

sure to call on

different students,

not the same. Refer

to definitions

throughout the

lesson.

Ask students: What

does waxing/waning

mean? Ask throughout

the lesson and listen for

verbal responses

J. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO

ABOUT IT?

Run out of time- Teacher would have to pick up lesson and finish it the next day.

I will try to hit the main points, but it will be more important that the students

understand the topic in-depth. If needed, the lesson can be finished the next day.

Extra time- If there is time after I complete the planned activities. I will have a

youtube video already picked out. We will watch the moon over a one-month

period, so the students can see all of the phases within a month since they are not

completing nightly moon observations.

Students may not grasp the causes of the phases of the moon. I would read The

Moon Book and accommodate the student based on their learning style.

Students might have a hard time believing that the moon doesn’t change shape.

They will most likely look at the different images and decide that they look

different so they must be a different shape. To correct this, I will demonstrate

with the flashlight/ball activity.

Misconceptions might not be completely erased. I will have to demonstrate with

concrete evidence; hopefully the flashlight activity will help with this.

Sources:

www.lpi.usra.edu/education/pre_servoce_edu/PhasesMisconceptions.shtml

www.wral.com/weather/blogspot/1799018/

moon.nasa.gov/moonmisconceptions.ofm