Design for Learning

Instructor: Annie Walker

Grade Level: 4th grade
Lesson Title: Cant Phase Me: Phases of the Moon Date: March 8th, 2016
Curriculum Area: Science
Estimated Time: 45 minutes
Standards Connection:

9.) Describe the appearance and movement of Earth and its moon.
Identifying the waxing and waning of the moon in the night sky
Identifying lunar and solar eclipses
Learning Objective(s):

When given the name of a phase, students will correctly draw the representation of the
moon during that phase for at least 6 phases. The students will also correctly identify
where the moon is in relationship to the Sun and Earth when given a diagram with 75%
accuracy.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:

After this lesson, students will:

1. Know the phases of the moon, and be able to draw them
2. Know the position of the moon in relation to the Earth and the Sun, and be able to
label it on a diagram.
Evaluation of Learning Objective(s):

This will be a two-part assessment. The first part will be identifying the phases of the
moon. The teacher will call out a phase of the moon, and the students will draw it on their
paper. Their paper will be divided into squares with each phase labeled, and they will be
responsible for drawing the correct phase of the moon.. Next, the students will label a
diagram where each phase is in relation to the Sun and the Earth. There are 8 positions,
and the students must label and draw 6 correctly on both parts. If the students label 8-6
correctly, they can go to BrainPops on their ChromeBooks and explore the Moon tab. If
they score between and 3 and a 5, they will complete a Phases of the Moon extra
practice worksheet. If they scored lower than a 3, they will work with the teacher
individually.
Engagement:

Alright, so today, we are going to be talking about the MOON. Weve been talking a lot
about Outer Space and the planets, but today we are going to focus on the Moon. So,

with the people at your table or by yourself, I want you to think about what you know
about the Moon. Talk or brainstorm for 1 minute at your table. Wait and listen to what
you hear. I heard some really great ideas! Who can share some of those with me? As the
students share with you, write their facts down on the board. Those are excellent facts.
Now, I want you to think for another minute about what puzzles you about the Moon.
What questions do you have? Is there anything you have wondered about the Moon, but
cannot figure out? Let the students talk for another minute, and then write down what
they say. Finally, for this last minute, I want you to explore some possible solutions to
your questions. What could some answers be? Share with the class! Write down the
answers, and then transition to teaching.
Learning Design:

I.

Teaching:
Wow, those are excellent ideas and thoughts! We are actually going to answer
some of them today. Before we do that, though, I am going to pass out a
graphic organizer for us. While I am teaching you about the moon phases, I
want you to fill this out. It will help you later in our activity. Pass out note
taking guide and set up PowerPoint. Now, we are about to talk about the
different phases of the Moon. Who knows what a phase is? Good answers. A
phase is sort of like a stage, or a distinct period. The Moon has 8 phases, and
we are going to learn all about those today. How has ever looked at the night
sky, and either seen a very bright moon, or not seen the Moon at all? Yeah, me
too! Well, I wonder why sometimes the Moon is bright, and other times it is
not. This is due to its phases! So why does the moon have phases? What do we
know about how the moon revolves? Thats right, it revolves around the Earth.
However, the Moons light actually comes from You guessed it, the Sun! It
reflects off the Moon, and shines onto our Earth for us to see! That being said,
one half of the Moons light is always illuminated by the Sun. We do not
always see the lit part, however. What we see is the different fractions of the
moons lighted half as the moon circles the Earth. These are the different
phases. Demonstrate this principle with a flashlight and ball. The flashlight
represents the sun, and the globe is the Earth. The ball is the moon. Do you
see as the moon moves, the sun casts different shapes of light onto the moon?
And that is what we see from Earth! Okay, get your pencils out and get ready
for notes! Our first phase of the moon is the new moon. In this phase, the
side of the moon that we see is not lit at all by the Sun. Therefore the moon is
not visible. Why do you think it is not lit? Its actually because the moon is
right between Earth and the Sun, and so we see the dark, unlit part of the
Moon! On your note-taking guide, make sure you draw a dark moon for the
drawing. For your positions, you can also draw a picture. Make sure you
label the Sun and the Earth clearly, so you can tell where the Moon is and
which is which. The next phase is the waxing crescent. Who has ever heard
the word waxing before?? Wonder what that means? It actually means
getting larger! A waxing crescent is just a sliver of the moon. This sliver
will continue to get larger and larger, however. This sliver is sometimes called
a thumb-nail moon or the Cheshire Cat Grin. Have yall ever heard of

those before? Now, as we move to the next slide, draw your waxing crescent.
In this phase, the crescent is slightly lower than where we were with the new
moon. The moon is barely reflecting light, but there is some. In the next phase,
the moon is reflecting a good bit of light! Phase Three is the First Quarter
Moon. In this phase, the moon is halfway lit up. The Moon looks to be
below the Earth in the picture, but it is only reflecting half of the sunlight,
and that is what we see on Earth. If necessary, demonstrate using the ball and
flashlight again. Our next phase is the waxing gibbous. s of the moons
surface is reflecting the sunlight. The shape is continuing to get larger
because it is waxing. Lets look at the picture to see where the moon is in
relationship to the sun and Earth. Okay, time to move on. Next, we have my
favorite phase. This is the one where the moon is the prettiest. The entire
moon is illuminated by the Sun, and it makes a Full Moon. This is also the
best time to view the moon. Lets act out the Full Moon with the flashlight!
Then move on to the next phase. Who thinks they can guess what our next
phase is called? Thats a good guess! Our next phase is called waning
gibbous. Starting at this stage, our moon is getting smaller. Waning means to
get smaller. The moon has reached its greatest time, and now it is getting
smaller and smaller. In this phase, the moon is 75% lit again. However, this
time, instead of getting larger, it will get smaller. Lets look at both the
pictures to help us see what it looks like, and where it is! Okay, next, we have
phase seven, The Third Quarter Moon. This Moon also looks like half, but
remember, it is getting smaller this time, and not larger. Lets examine this
picture. What do we notice? Is it similar to any other stage? Why do you think
that is? What about its position? How can you compare this position to the
First Quarter Moon? The Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth, thats
right! Its the same as the First Quarter Moon, but as the Moon gets closer to
Sun, its light will get smaller and smaller. You guys are doing great! Okay,
last one! Who thinks they know what our last phase is? Its called the drum
roll please Waning Crescent! What does this sound like? Thats right, the
waxing crescent. This is very similar to the waxing crescent, except that
instead of getting bigger, the Moons light is getting smaller. What do you
think it looks like? Lets look at the next slide and find out! After examining
the last slide, ask some follow up questions. What phase do you think comes
next, after the last one? Thats right, it starts all over again!!! The cycle is
about 28 days. What else do we know that is about 28 days? Thats right, a
month! So the moon rotates in this pattern a full month. What does the word
waxing mean? What about waning? Good job! Now, we are going to do a fun
practice activity.

II.

Opportunity for Practice:

Divide the students into groups for this activity. For this activity, they will
have 8 Oreos. They must make their Oreo match the phase of the moon by
scraping off the icing. I want you to work with your tables on this assignment.
I am passing out plates, first. The first step that we are going to do is to label
our note-taking guide will help us with that. We are going to pretend that our
plate is the Moons orbit. The wall behind Mr. Addisons desk is the Sun. Put a
dot in the VERY middle of your plate. That is Earth! Now, where would we put
the Full Moon? Thats right, in between the Sun and the Earth. So, on your
plate, label Full Moon where it should go. Whats next? Thats right, waxing
crescent. Where should that go on our plate? Thats right, under the new
moon. Lets keep labeling the phases until we are done. Work with the
students as they label First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning
Gibbous, Third Quarter Moon, and Waning Crescent on their plates. Now, I
am giving each group 8 Oreos. What you are going to do is to make your
Oreo match the correct way the moon looks at each phase. So, for a new
moon, what does it look like? Right, not visible, so you would take your fork,
scrape off the icing, and place the Oreo by the New Moon label. Continue to
do this for each of the phases, and when you are done, you can check yours
with mine. Give time for the students to complete this activity with the help of
their GO. When they are done, they can each eat 2 Oreos, and then transition
to assessment.

III.

Assessment:
The students will have a two-part assessment. First, they will have a blank
piece of paper that is divided into 8 squares. Each square will represent a
different phase of the moon. The students will draw and label the different
phases of the moon on the sheet of paper. Then, the students will complete a
diagram where they must write the phase of the moon next to its position, and
then draw its shape in the moon.
Now, I want you all to return to your seats, and clean up your area. I am
passing out a blank piece of paper that is divided into 8 squares. As a class,
we are going to label these squares with the phases of the moon that we just
talked about, and then individually, you will draw what the moon looks like in
that phase. Lets begin by labeling the first square. What should that be
labeled? Continue with this technique until all 8 squares are labeled. Now that
you have the names, I want you to work silently to draw the shape of the
Moon in each different phase, just like we did with the Oreos. Once you have
finished this part, raise your hand, and I will give you the second part. For
this portion, you will be filling out a diagram. Display diagram on projector.
The middle circle is the Earth. The 8 circles around the Earth represent the
eight phases of the moon. The arrows represent where the sunlight is coming
from. This time, you will be drawing the phases of the moon in the correct
order according to how the Sun and Earth are aligned, as well as labeling
them correctly. Does anyone have any questions? Alright, you may begin.

Closure:
Once the students have finished their assessment, they will refer back to what
we talked about at the beginning (Think-Puzzle-Explore). We will discuss any
further questions that they have, and talk about if we answered their questions
or not. I want you to think about the first activity that we did. What were your
questions? Allow students to answer. Facilitate conversation based on their
answers. Did we answer them? Let the answers guide the following
conversation. Do you have any more questions? Use this as another way to
gauge student understanding and a way to formatively assess students.

Materials and Resources:

Flashlight
Ball
Globe
Oreos
Plates
Forks
PowerPoint
Whiteboard
Markers
Note-taking Guide

Diagram for assessment

Blank Paper for Assessment

Differentiation Strategies (including plans for individual learners):

There are 8 positions, and the students must label and draw 6 correctly on both parts. If
the students label 8-6 correctly, they can go to BrainPops on their ChromeBooks and
explore the Moon tab. If they score between and 3 and a 5, they will complete a Phases
of the Moon extra practice worksheet. If they scored lower than a 3, they will work with
the teacher individually.
Data Analysis:
The students were not able to complete the assessment portion of this lesson due to time
constraints. However, they did complete the practice portion with the Oreos, as well as
complete their graphic organizers. The graphic organizers helped the students to take the
bulk of information that we learned, and break it down into 4 small, easy to remember
categories. I should have filled it out with them on the board for better note-taking
purposes, however. For the most part, the students filled it out well by themselves, with
the exception of the ELL students. I attempted to walk around and help those students fill

out their organizers, but this did not go very well, as the rest of the class was rowdy when
I did this. For their practice, the students worked in groups to complete this portion. I
think it would have been better to have them do it individually, in hindsight. The groups
were distracting and the students did not fully get to practice their knowledge, because
they had to share the Oreos with other students. I also should have had the plates labeled
ahead of time, because the students got lost when they were labeling the 8 different
phases, and we never fully recovered. It would have also been helpful to have an example
of how their plate was supposed to look. From observation of how the students did, there
were still misunderstandings of the stages. The students understood whole and new
moon, as well as 1st quarter and 3rd quarter. However, they need more practice with
waning and waxing crescent and gibbous. I believe that this material was a lot to cover in
one day, and it would have been better to split it up into separate days. However, when
the students came for Space Day, they did the same thing in one of the rooms, and they
were experts!
Reflection:
This lesson did not go as well as I had hoped it would, but I do no think it was a complete
disaster. The biggest problem was that the lesson was too long and covered too much
material. I should have broken it down into at least 2, if not 3 different lessons. The
engagement went very well, and it got the students thinking about the moon and space. It
warmed up their brains for the rest of the lesson. The students participated very well and
were eager to answer questions. For the lesson, I was very prepared. It was interactive, as
the students were taking notes while I was teaching. I was asking questions instead of just
lecturing and I created a 22 slide PowerPoint for the students to view while I was
teaching. However, it was too much material and I was not 100% confident in what I was
teaching. 8 phases of the moon is too much for 1 class period. I should have only focused
on the first 4, and we could have delved deeper into understanding the first four phases.
Then, the next day, the students could have learned the next 4. The lesson was also
extremely long, and I think splitting it up would have taken care of that issue as well. The
students began to lose interest and their short attention span ended when the lesson went
for so long. Once that happened, and then behavior issues began to occur. Because of
this, the class got out of hand and I could never regain control. By the time it got to the
Oreo carving part, they were very rowdy. I think it would have been better to have them
do it individually, in hindsight. If each student had had only 4 Oreos to carve, then they
could have done it individually and it would have been much better. The groups were
distracting and the students did not fully get to practice their knowledge, because they
had to share the Oreos with other students. I also should have had the plates labeled
ahead of time, because the students got lost when they were labeling the 8 different
phases, and we never fully recovered. It would have also been helpful to have an example
of how their plate was supposed to look. From observation of how the students did, there
were still misunderstandings of the stages. I also should have included an activity for
Jasolomon to do, because he was sitting there the whole time by himself. My main issue
was the amount of material and the time, so if I fixed these issues, then the other issues
would have gotten better, as well.

Samford University
Design for Learning

Moon Phases Organizer

Phase

Description

Drawing

Positions

Diagram for Assessment:

Moon Carving Activity