EdTPA Indirect Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Moon Phases
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Central Focus/Big Idea: This lesson will focus on moon phases and how the moon rotates around the
Earth and how that effects what part of it we are able to see. Students could learn about anything in space
after experiencing this lesson. The students wanted to know more about lunar and solar eclipses after this
lesson so I told them to go home and research it and report back their findings tomorrow.
Subject of this lesson: Moon Phases
Grade Level: 4th Grade
NC Essential Standard(s): NCES.4.E.1.2- Explain the monthly changes in the appearance of the moon,
based on the moons orbit around the Earth.
Next Generation Science Standard(s): MS-ESS1-1. Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon
system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
21st Century Skills: Communication, 4th Grade OUTCOME: Students prepare and interpret a variety of
methods for demonstrating understanding and explaining the results of investigations including charts and
graphs, diagrams and illustrations, photographic images, and informational and procedural text. This is
important to my lesson because I had my students discuss with each other as they explored on Discovery
Ed. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, 4th Grade OUTCOME: Students construct their own
scientific understanding and develop their scientific process skills by asking scientific questions,
designing and conducting investigations, constructing explanations from their observations, and
discussing their explanations with others. This is relevant to my lesson because the students drew their
own individual moon phase chart before we drew one as a class. That involved them constructing their
own scientific understanding.

Academic Language Demand

Language Function: In the table below highlight the one most important language function for
your lesson. Explain why you chose this.

Analyze

Argue

Categorize

Compare/contrast Describe

Interpret

Predict

Question

Retell

Explain

Summarize

I choose compare/contrast because the students are looking at the moon in each of its stages and
seeing how it changes. They are able to identify patterns of seeing more and less of the moon so it

is relevant for them to compare and contrast those images.

Scientific Vocabulary: waxing, waning, gibbous, cresent, horizon

Instructional Objective: Students will be able to compare and contrast the appearance of the moon based
on its position on its rotation of Earth and depict this in a diagram that is drawn with 80% accuracy.
Prior Knowledge (student): Students have probably seen the moon in different stages, but will most
likely not understand the reasons why the moon appears to change. They should also know that the moon
orbits around the Earth.
Content Knowledge (teacher): The phases of the moon. The moon orbits the Earth and the Earth orbits
the Sun.
Accommodations for special needs (individual and/or small group): I need to make sure to keep all
standouts engaged. There are several students that I know will get into trouble if I don't keep them
actively involved the whole time.
Materials and Technology requirements: Each student will need their Chromebook out on their desk,
28 pieces of paper for diagram drawing, colored pencils and crayon bins, each students science notebook.
Total Estimated Time: 35-40 minutes
Source of lesson: Discovery Education
Safety considerations: Make sure that students know that they need to stay on Discovery Ed and that not
all sites are reliable or safe.

Content and Strategies (Procedure)

Engage: How many of you have ever looked up at the moon and thought, hmm it didn't look like that
last week. Why is it so different? The moon seems to change shape each night. These changes are called
phases. Students watch a short video segment that examines how humans view Earth and space.
Raise your hand if you know how we are able to see the moon at night? Accept several responses. The
moon does not make any light at all. It only reflects light from the sun.
Why do you think we can sometimes see the moon during the day?
Explore: On Chromebooks, have students watch interactive video segment Why does the Moons
appearance Change in Predictable Ways Over Time? Students can explore games and videos on
Discovery Ed.
What are you discovering about the moon? What are the phases of the moon? Why do you think the
words waxing and waning are in there?

Explanation: Review moon phases interactive learning while talking about waxing and waning phases in
between.
So as you see the moons appearance changing, how many days does it take for the moon to make a
complete orbit around Earth? Do we see the whole moon as it orbits around us? Why or why not? (use
students bodies as an example to show that we only ever see one side of the moon)
Elaborate: Inconstant moon video with drag and drop icons. Once you've filled in all the blanks
correctly, copy this sequence down into your science notebook.
Which way is the light shining on the moon moving when its a waxing crescent? What do we see when
theres a new moon?
Evaluate: Worksheet (Draw a diagram of the moon, and ask do people on every part of the Earth always
see the same side of the moon?) Formal, formative assessment

What did the students find out in the experience? Were there any surprises?

The students were able to learn about the phases of the moon. They were very surprised to hear
that we only see one side of the moon. When I first went over that point, they thought that the
other side of the Earth saw the other side of the moon, but then I used students to demonstrate
how the moon orbits the Earth and the same side is always facing us. There was a surprise when
I realized that I was drawing the diagram wrong. I put the Sun on the opposite side of the page
from how the students had seen it on Discovery Ed so that made the phases backwards and
reversed from how they were introduced to them. It wasn't really that how I was drawing it was
wrong, it was just different from how they had just learned it. So they were telling me that I was
drawing the wrong phase, so I has to pause and pull up a different diagram so that we were all on
the same page. That whole ordeal sort of got me flustered because I had already drawn 2 phases
and then had to tell them, forget what I just told you and flip your paper over, were starting over.
So that was defiantly a learning experience to make sure that you have all of the correct materials
and facts before starting the lesson.

How did the students in each group work together? Were there any problems?

They were used to working in their table groups. There were no issues with them working
together.

Was the activity open-ended enough, or did each group do more or less the same thing?

The activity was open ended. The students were told to investigate moon phases on discovery ed
and there are tons of videos and games and articles that come up when they type in moon phases.
So they were able to explore in whatever way they wanted. We all did the same activity for
elaborate because I wanted to make sure that at some point they were all getting exposure to the
same video so that they would all see the same diagram.

How did the students extend the investigation?

Once they started looking at the moon phases and seeing how it works, they started asking
questions such as what is a lunar or solar eclipse. Even though this got us off topic a little
bit, I pulled up a picture of each for them to look at and read a little bit about what makes them
happen. They were very interested in that, but then I had to get them back on topic. I told them it
would be great if they could go home and do a little research on the eclipses and then report back
to us in the morning. And 4 of them did that! They were happy to share and the students loved
hearing their peers share what they learned.

How did the students connect this experience to their daily lives?

I opened up the lesson talking about how, on clear nights you can see the moon, and how it
sometimes looks different. So right off the bat they were able to relate to seeing the moon in its
different phases. I then introduced that when we see the moon appear different each night, that is
the moon going through its phases.

How did I accommodate students with learning and physical differences?

I made sure to keep circulating back to one specific table to make sure that one student was on
task because he had a bad habit of getting onto different sites when they were on their
Chromebooks. So I needed to make sure that he was on Discovery Ed and that he was focusing
on moon phases. That was the only challenge or difference that I had in that classroom.

Did I use technology effectively?

I used technology very effectively. My entire lesson was on Discovery Ed. The students were
familiar with this site and knew how to navigate it. My teacher was kind enough to share her log
in info with me so that I could play around on it at home and get to know all of the stuff that is
on there, which is basically everything that you would ever need to teach any elementary science
lesson.

Overall, what do I think the students got out of the experience?

Overall, they learned about the phases of that moon. They all remembered that waxing means we
will see more and waning means that we will see less. They learned that it takes 28 days for the
moon to completely orbit the Earth. And we had a good discussion about why and how you can
sometimes see the moon during the day.

What do I remember most about this science activity?

Honestly, I will always remember that this is the first lesson that I taught were I got it wrong. My
teacher afterwards told me, that she had been teaching over 20 years and she still gets stuff
wrong all the time. She said that it completely okay and that its okay to admit to your students
that this is confusing stuff and that we are going to work through it together. I am glad that this
happened now so that I had someone there to tell me that is is completely okay.

Would I do it again? How would I plan differently the next time?

I would definitely use Discovery Ed to teach moon phases again. I would just make sure that I
am looking at the same diagram that they looked at we drew together.

What did you learn about yourself as a learner and as a teacher during this lesson?
I learned that everyone makes mistakes and that that is okay. I learned that
science has some confusing stuff and that it is constantly a learning process
for everyone.