LessonPlanTemplate

TeachersName:

LessonTitle:

CorinneLennard

Grade(s):

4th

LengthofLessoninDays:

50minutelesson

TheMoonisChanging!

Investigation
Question:

Whydoesthemoonappeartobedifferentthroughoutthemonth?

GeneralOverview
oftheLesson:

Thiswillbethefinallessonintheunit.Thegoalofthislessonisforstudentstofigureoutthe
whybehindthechangingmoonphasesthattheyjustwitnessedoverthelastmonthandthen
discussedwhatwashappeninginthepreviouslesson.
Studentswillsimulatemoonphasesusingablowupglobe,styrofoammoonandflashlight
(sun).Thestudentswilldrawimagesofwhateachphaselookslikeandbeabletoshoweach
changeiscausedbyashiftingpositionoftheearthasitorbitsaroundthesunandthemoonas
itorbitsaroundtheearth.

ExpectedPriorContent(DisciplinaryCoreIdea&Crosscutting
Concepts)Knowledge
5ESS12:Representdataingraphicaldisplaystorevealpatternsofdaily
changesinlengthanddirectionofshadows,dayandnight,andthe
seasonalappearanceofsomestarsinthenightsky
ESS1.B:EarthandtheSolarSystem
TheorbitsofEartharoundthesunandofthemoonaroundEarth,
togetherwiththerotationofEarthaboutanaxisbetweenitsNorthand
Southpoles,causeobservablepatterns.Theseincludedayandnight;
dailychangesinthelengthanddirectionofshadows;anddifferent
positionsofthesun,moon,andstarsatdifferenttimesoftheday,month,
andyear.
Patterns
Similaritiesanddifferencesinpatternscanbeusedtosort,classify,
communicateandanalyzesimpleratesofchangefornatural
phenomena.

ExpectedPriorPracticeBased
Knowledge&Experience
ImportantforthisLesson:
Afterthefirstlesson,SWBATto
demonstratethatoveracalendar
month,themoonchanges.After
thesecondlesson,SWBAT
describeeachphaseofthemoon
andpredictthechangesthatwill
occurinfuturemonths.

SELECTEDDISCIPLINARYLITERACYEXPERIENCES

TEXTS,GRAPHS,DATAANALYSIS

Thesecanbeanalyzingdatathattheydidordidnotcollect,analyzingtextswhatwill
studentsuseasevidencefortheirdevelopingunderstanding?

WhatScientific
EvidenceWill
StudentsSee?

Thestudentswilluseapicturechartthattheywillcreatethroughouttheexperimentas
theirevidencetoshowthatthemoonsappearancevariesbecauseofthepositionofits
rotationaroundtheearthaswellastheearthsrotationaroundthesun.

STAGE1DESIREDRESULTS
SelectedStandards(StateorNational)shouldincludepracticesandcontent
together:
Selected
Standard:

NGSS:5ESS12:Representdataingraphicaldisplaystorevealpatternsofdailychanges
inlengthanddirectionofshadows,dayandnight,andtheseasonalappearanceofsome
starsinthenightsky.
NCSS:4.E.1.2:Explainthemonthlychangesintheappearanceofthemoon,basedonthe
moonsorbitaroundtheEarth.

ContentBasedBIGIdeas(Disciplinary
CoreIdeaandCrosscuttingConcept
based):
Studentswillunderstandwhy
Breakdownof
standard:

Studentswill
understandwhythe
moonchangesphases
andwhatthecauseis.

Practices(Whatscience
andengineeringpractices
willtheyuseinthe
lesson?):
Studentswillpractice
Studentswillpractice
drawingtheirdataand
creatingapictographofthe
moonphases,usingthe
positionoftheearth,moon
andsuntoshowthe
reflectionofthelight.

CrosscuttingConcepts(What
connectionsdoyouhope
studentswillmaketoprevious
learning,orsetupforfuture
learningexperiences?)

Patterns
Similaritiesanddifferencesinpatterns
canbeusedtosort,classify,
communicateandanalyzesimplerates
ofchangefornaturalphenomena.

LearningGoaldoesnothavetofocusexclusivelyonthepracticesdescribedinthestandard,shouldbe
specificandmeasurable
LearningGoal:

SWBATcreateamodelofthesunandtheearthandmoonsrotationstoexplainthechanging
shadowonthemoon.

Writeanexamplescientificexplanationthatstudentsshouldbeabletoconstructbasedonyourlesson:
Whatisthescientificquestionthatstudentswillbeanswering?Canbethesameastheinvestigationquestion.

Whydoesthemoonlookdifferentthroughoutthemonth?
Scientific
Explanation:

Claim:

Thelightfromthesuncanbepartiallyblockeddependingonthemoons
locationduringarotationaroundtheearthastheearthmovesaroundasun.
Ashadowappearsonthemooncausingittolooklikethemoonisanew
shape.

Evidence:

Theshadowcoversdifferentpartsoftheearthasthemoongoesaroundthe
earth.

Reasoning:

Theamountoflightthatcanbeseenonthemoonchangesasthemoons
positionchanges.

Rebuttal:

STAGE2ACCEPTABLEEVIDENCE(ASSESSMENTS)

PerformanceTasks
(atleast1formativeand1summativeforeachlesson).Note:Performancetasksare
criterionbased(requirearubric).Writetheseastheproductsorperformances
studentswillgenerate.Makesuretoprovideenoughdetailtoshowthatthe
assessmentmatchesthelearninggoal,andforformativeassessments,howitwillbe
usedformatively.

KeyCriteria

(Whatwillyoulookforin
theperformancetasksand
otherevidenceasproofthat
studentsachievedthe
learning
objective/standard?):

Forlesson:

Studentswillmakeachart
thatshowsthepositionof
themoon,inrelationtothe
earthandsun,andshowhow
muchofthemoonisvisible
fromtheearth.

formative

Atthestartofthelesson,wewillgooverthephasesof
themoon.Ifthestudentsarehavingdifficultynaming
thephasesand/orunderstandingthatthesunisthe
sourceoflightandthatthemoondoesnotgiveofflight
butreflectsitthenwewillfirstgooverthiselement.

summative

SWBATcreateadiagramthatillustratesthepositionof
themooncausingthelighttoshinedifferently.

OtherAssessments(noncriterionreferenced/objective):
Forlesson:

SWBATusetheprovidedmaterialstoillustratethemoonsappearance.

InvestigationQuestions(copy
fromabove):

LearningExperiences
(Whatwillstudentsdotoobtaintheevidence?):

Forlesson:

Whydoesthemoonappear
differentlythroughoutthe

Themoonlooksdifferentbecauseofitspositionoforbit
aroundthesun.

month?

STAGE3LEARNINGPLAN
Foreachofthefollowingsectionsofthelesson,describetheactivitiesthatstudentswillparticipatein.
Makesureyouprovideenoughdetailsothat1)someoneelsecouldfollowyourlessonplan,2)you
providedescriptionsofwhatyouwillbedoingandsaying.Whatquestionswillyoubeaskingstudents?
Whatwillyoubelisteningfor?Whatwillyoudoifstudentsarentthereyet?Whatpracticeswillyou
incorporateinthevariousstagesofthelessons?
Engage:
(15Minutes)

Tobegin,askstudentstothinkbacktothepreviousmonthinwhichtheywereobserving
themoon.Askthestudents:whatexactlydidyounotice?Howquicklydidyounotice
thesechanges?Whoorwhatcausesthesechangestooccur?Doyouthinkthese
changeshappenallaroundtheworld?Whenwediscussedthemoonphasesinour
secondlessonpriortothis,whendoesthatcyclestop?Whatmakesitcontinuous?Etc.
Havestudentsreviewthemoonphasecycle.Next,saythatyouaregoingtoaskaquestion
butstudentsshouldnotanswerthem.Rather,theywillbewritingtheiranswersontheir
papers.Thiswillbetheirhypothesis.Remindstudentsthatallgoodexperimentshavea
questionandhypothesis.ThenaskthestudentsWhydoesthemoonappeardifferently
throughoutthemonth?Havethisontheboardwhereallstudentscanseeit.
Thensaythatinordertodecideiftheirhypothesisiscorrect,thestudentswillbeusing
models.Providedirectionsforthemodelingactivity:Tellthestudentsthattheywillbe
workingingroupsofthreefourstudents.Eachgroupwillhaveaflashlight,whichis
essentiallythelightfromtheSun,ablowupEarthandaStyrofoamballthatwillactasthe
moon.Onestudentwillstandinthemiddleofthegroupholdingtheearth,anotherstudent
willstandnexttohim/herwiththemoon,athirdstudentwillusetheflashlighttoactas
thesun.Dependingonclasssizesafourthstudentcanbeusedasthedirectorandhe/she
willworktocorrectlypositionthesun,moonandearth.Beforethestudentsbegintocreate
theirowngroupmodels,havethreestudentscometothefrontoftheroomtodemonstrate
howtoholdeachoftheobjectsinordertoseehowthelightisreflectedonthemoon.It
maybehelpfultoturndownoroffthelightssothatstudentscanbetterseethedifference
inlightonthemoon.Remindthestudentsthatbecausethemoonphasesmakeupa
continuouscycle,thereisnoproperplacetobegin.Askstudentswhatmightbe
importantfactorstoconsiderwhendecidingwheretostand.Askthestudentswhatthey
willbelookingatandwhy.Havethestudentsfirstsetuptheexperiencebyfiguringout
wheretheproperplacementis.Forhigherlevellearners,thiscanbedoneintheirgroups.
Formorestrugglinglearners,thisshouldbedoenasaclass.Remindthestudentsthatat
theendoftheexperimenttheywillbemakingaclaimastowhythemoonlooksdifferent
throughoutthemonthandthatthestudentswillhavetohaveevidenceinordertoexplain
theiranswer.

Experience:
20Minutes

Asthestudentsconducttheirexperimenttofilloutthemoonphaseschartthatwillbe
provided(seebelow),walkaroundtheroomaskingquestionssuchaswhathappensif
youturnoffthelight?,whatiftheearthprovidedthelight?,whereisthelight
going?etc.observeifstudentsmissaphaseoraredrawingwhattheynoticeaboutthe
moon.Asstudentsfinish,askthemtodiscussiftheyseeanythingincommonabouteach

phaseandwherethelightiswhenshownonthemoon.Also,takenoteofwhichgraphs
seemtobethemostaccuratesothatthesegroupscanpresentlast.
Explain:
15minutes

Haveeachgroupexplaintheirclaimbypresentingtheirpictographsasevidence.Askthe
studentsif,duetotheevidencethattheyfound,theythoughttheirhypothesiswascorrect.
Selectthestudentswhohavetheleastaccurategraphstopresentfirstthenmovetoward
themoreaccuratelyconstructedgraphs.Emphasizestudentsanswerswhosaysomething
alongthelinesofthemoonsappearancechangesasitorbitstheEarthbecauseitis
changingpositions.Aftereachgrouphaspresentedandprovidedexplanation.Have
studentswritewhichexplanationmakesthemostsenseandwhy.Thiswillgaugewhether
ornotthestudentsactuallyunderstoodtheprocessornot.

Elaborate:
10minutes

Havestudentssharetheirreasoningastowhythemoonchangesshape.Besuretoselect
studentswhowillhaveunderstoodtheconceptsothattheyareabletoadequatelyexplain
theirreasoningtotheirpeers,withoutaddingconfusion.

Evaluate:

Evaluatethestudentsbylookingattheirpictographstoseeiftheygrasptheconceptthat
asthemoonchangesposition,whatweseeofthemoonfromearth,alsochanges.The
studentsshouldalsocreateawrittenexplanationastowhythemoonlooksdifferent
throughoutthemonth.

CONSIDERATIONS

Whatchallengesdoyouanticipatewilloccurwhileteachingthislesson?Whatmightyoudotomitigatethose
challenges?Whataccommodationsandscaffoldingmaybenecessaryforstrugglinglearners?Whatwillyou
doensurethattalentedlearnersremainchallenged?
Itwillbecriticaltopredeterminegroupstoensurethattheywillworkwelltogetherandstayontask.Certainstudents
maytrytoplaywiththeflashlight,ratherthanobservingthechangesofthemoon.Itwillbeimportanttohave
studentsontask,sosettingatimerforthestudentstofinishthatmightbeunreasonablesothatthestudentsfocusto
finisheachphase.Forstrugglinglearners,itmaybehelpfultoletthemwatchyoudoitwiththeirpartner.Asking
talentedlearnersquestionssuchashowdoesthemoonprovidelight?(whichitdoesntbutitmaygetthemtothink
towardsthesunprovidinglight).