Learning Objectives

Students will:

Be encouraged to incorporate grade appropriate science vocabulary into their informational writing pieces and narratives

Add to a class word wall as new vocabulary is introduced/discovered

Dramatize specific lines from a poem, draw them, or use as spin-offs for creating their own poems

Add to the class timeline

Keep a moon science journal, in which they draw moon phases each night for a month

Be asked to share their informational writing pieces and narratives

Write their own poem, starting with a six-word poem, and progressing to a longer one

Optional extensions:

Create their own word list

Create a timetoast timeline as a class using 3-5 images and their dates from history

Add text/short sentences to an animoto creation as a class [perhaps their poems or factoids about the moon; this exercise could be performed in pairs, small groups, or as a class] Students could also add information and images to animoto as the unit goes along.

Standards Addressed

CCSS ELA:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1c Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some  facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.3 Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.

Next Generation Science Standards

K-PS2-1 Cause and Effect: Simple tests can be designed to gather evidence to support or refute student ideas about causes

1-ESS1-1 Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted

Lesson 3, Part 1:  Introduction

Materials Needed

Anchor Text: The Moon, from Robert Merry’s Museum: http://www.merrycoz.org/museum/MOON.HTM

Image of Buzz Aldrin on the moon: http://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/kippsphotos/5875.jpg  

Magnifying glasses (either one each or enough for groups to share)

Students’ observation journals

Procedures

a.  Give each group of 3-4 students a printed copy of the image of Buzz Aldrin on the moon.

b.  Armed with a magnifying glass, each group gets 3-5 minutes to look at the picture and write down [or circle on the image] things they see. If desired, use the Library of Congress Analysis Tool. This can help students [and teacher] to keep the process moving forward: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/guides.html [Remind students to sound out the words and we can edit them later for spelling, just get their words down for now, as they are important.]

c.  After time is up, ask students: "What do you see?"  Teacher writes these down on the board. [ex. "I see a flag, I see someone in a big white suit]. At this time, teacher also chooses words that students identify and writes them on the word wall around the classroom [e.g. moon, sky, flag, astronaut].

d.  Next the teacher asks: "What do you THINK you see?" [Things in the picture that they may not be sure they can identify] Activate students’ prior knowledge. [ex. I see the American flag, I see a space man]. Continue compiling words.

e.  Teacher asks: "What do you wonder about this picture?" Teacher needs to explain that now is the time for students to begin forming their own questions or wonderings about what they are looking at?  The teacher should give an example of a wondering: “I wonder where this might be?”, as a wondering that is connected to the image at hand.  [Also give a non-example: The teacher should state to students that although they might be wondering, “What the man in the funny suit had for lunch,” that would be a less relevant wondering than the question, “How can someone eat with that suit on?" Other examples of  student wonderings topics might be, "I wonder where they are" and "how did they get there?"]  

f.  Teacher then says: "Looking at all our words and our wonderings... ask your group: "What do you think this picture is about?"

g.  Students talk amongst themselves and then they share out. Teacher monitors students’ ability to ask questions and pose wonderings about what they are looking at.

h.  Teacher says: You have begun to become detectives. Your job is to find out more about this picture and why it's important to our history. We will be studying the moon, and then we will come back to this picture. Let’s add “I wonder” words to our journal. You can add other things as you think of them. This is also when teacher helps students write down the highlighted words in their journals.

i.  IF they haven't determined that it's the moon, teacher can bring it out through discussion. Next, post the picture on the wall and move instruction into moon phases.

Note:  See an example of how to set up a ‘Wonderings’ structure in your classroom: http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-many-school-lunches-are-served-each-day/ ]

Using the anchor text and text dependent questions

Close this series of activities by asking students to read, “The Moon,” the anchor text from the previous lesson with you again. Instruct them that this time we read the text/poem, we are going to focus on what we know about the moon and the stars.  

Text dependent questions

Text dependent questions are used to help guide students' “wonderings." These questions prompt student discussion that will support deeper thinking about the content.  Some suggested text dependent questions (TDQs) for this part of the lesson include:

Do all objects seem larger the closer you get to them?  Why or why not?  Give examples.

How do the stars seem different from the moon?

The poem mentions that the moon resembles green cheese?  Do you agree?  Why or why not?

What else does the moon look like?  Give an example of what it makes you think of?

How does the moon ‘hide’ behind the Earth?

Do you know what a telescope is?  If so, how is it used to look at the moon?

Do the stars ever ‘hide’ from us?

Does the poem suggest that life on Earth depends on our moon?  Why or why not?

Guided Practice

A teacher could stop at key places in the poem and ask, "What do you wonder now?"  This can help the teacher create categories of student questions. Some of the imagery asks for scientific knowledge [ebbing and flowing and tides] while other images recall art or observations [the landscape is lovely]. Why does a dog bark at the moon? Why does the moon hide? Ultimately, the poem asks the wondering question: Can we ever get to the moon?

The point of helping your students to create, “I wonder” questions is to guide them to the focus of this lesson, which is the phases of the moon . Students become 'researchers' answering their moon questions that the poem brings up. For example: If students ask, “Can we get to the moon?” The teacher can say "I wonder... let's think about that" and help them refer to the previous lesson about the actual moon landing.  The teacher can continue on by guiding the students to scientific studies about the moon and how the telescope gives us more detailed observations.)

Lesson 3, Part 2

Materials Needed

NASA video of the actual moon phases

Moon phases calendar

Students’ observation journals

Procedures

a.  Show the NASA video of the actual moon phases: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/2013-moon-phases.html#.UiPYFT-nd8E

b.  Next, introduce and explain how students will be keep their own observation journal

c.  Over the course of the unit, in the mornings, project this map on the wall: http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases_calendar.phtml. 

d.  Starting with the current date, have students draw the day’s moon shape in their journals. Show them the whole map and highlight how the moon changes. Emphasize the word “change” in relation to the moon’s phases.

e.  Each day, for the duration of the unit, have students draw the new shape  and discuss what is happening [the position of the earth in relation to the moon and sun]. Make a phase drawing along the class timeline to match what they’re putting in their journals.  

f.  Encourage students to look at the moon in the evening - or early morning/evening - and write down what they actually see. They can add this to their journal the next day. Be sure to have them note what time it was when they looked at the moon. Some students may not be able to go out to see the moon. Use personal observation as a way to extend the discussion.

g.  About half way through the moon phase accounting, and using an earth / sun / moon model, demonstrate how the moon and earth move in relationship to each other. Ask students to speculate what they see when they look up at the moon as the earth turns. Help them to connect what they might see, with the actual image on the moon phase chart.  

Note: http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_facts.phtml = is a list of fun facts to share with students.

Possible Extension Activity

Show this image: http://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/kippsphotos/apollo.html.  Ask students what they see. What do they think this is? [It’s a picture of the earth from the moon - 1969].  Discuss this as an interesting aside not only about point of view, but how the earth and moon work together.

Culminating Activity

• Ask students to place their journals on their desks. Ask them to tell you their most important words for this lesson. Write words on the board. Discuss the words and make sure students understand meanings.
  

• Next talk briefly about “connecting” words and write them on the board: and, or, but.  Include other words that we use every day like: the, a, an, my, yours, ours.

• On a separate, clean piece of paper, have students list at least 10 of their most “important” words from this moon unit that they have learned so far.  

• Tell them that they are now going to be poets and write their own moon poems. Direct them to look at the words they have written in their journals and choose six words that they could use to make a poem. If they want, they can use four of their words and two of your connecting words. Or five of their words and one of yours. Model this on the board. For example: THE MOON IS NOT GREEN CHEESE or IT’S BIG AND CHANGES EVERY DAY.

• Have students draw a picture to go with their poem and display them around the room.

[These six-word poems can be excellent examples to help students better understand how poems sound]

Another option using technology is to use Wordle with your students:

If you have computer access, direct students to: http://www.wordle.net. Enter their words. If they have a favorite word, have them include that one several times. The more words they enter, the more fun it is… aim for 10 - 15 separate words. Click on ‘submit’. Students may wish to look at format options. When one is chosen, make a screen shot, save it and print it.  Write the poem under the word cloud and post them around the room. Have students share out.

Possible Lesson Extension Activity - Make a telescope (science lesson)

Learning Objectives

Students will

Make their own telescope (as a group)

Discuss how a telescope  changes their observations (vs observations using just their eyes)

Standards Addressed

Next Generation of Science Standards

1-ESS1-1   Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted

Materials Needed

Book:  So That’s How the Moon Changes Shape! by Allan Fowler

NASA video about the phases of the moon: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/2013-moon-phases.html#.UiPYFT-nd8

Original telescope plan (sketch): http://www.aip.org/history/cosmology/tools/pic-first-telescopes-portasketch.htm

2 magnifying glasses that are the same size for each telescope

Glue,  Scissors, Pencils

A piece of corrugated paper about 24 inches in length

Instructions on how to make a telescope: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Simple-Telescope

Model of the telescope they will construct (created in advance)

Other adult help (parent volunteers, most ideal is one volunteer for each group for 4-5 students)

Procedures

a.  Read aloud the book, So That’s How the Moon Changes Shape!  by Allan Fowler, 1991

b.  Show the NASA video:  http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/2013-moon-phases.html#.UiPYFT-nd8

c.  Have students share their observations about the video and any prior experiences.

d.  Introduce students to the original telescope plan (sketch)  http://www.aip.org/history/cosmology/tools/pic-first-telescopes-portasketch.htm

e.  Ask students why they think the telescope was invented and write down their ideas.

f.  Explain that they are going to build their own telescope and use it. ( Students work in groups of 4-5)

g.  Lay out supplies and demonstrate how to make a telescope. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Simple-Telescope

h.  Then students help each other create their very own telescopes.

i. Take students outside and let them try out their telescopes. Ask them what they notice as they adjust their telescopes and look at objects both near and far. Direct them to focus on different objects that you select (or better yet, let them select what object everyone should look at.).

j.  Have students share their observations. Discuss as a class.

k.  Have students take turns taking home their telescopes to use for viewing the moon each night.  Ask if they notice any differences when they use their telescope vs looking at the moon with just their eyes. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Simple-Telescope

l.  Discuss their observations each day with a telescope vs without telescope.