Teachers Name:

Kelsey Brown

Grad
e

1st

Length of
Lesson:

Lesson Title:
Investigation Question:

Moon Journalists
Why does the Moon look different throughout the month?

30-40
Minutes/Day
for 4 Weeks

General Overview of the

Lesson:

(Relation to the Unit) As the second lesson of the unit Moon Journalists.
will focus on students observing the moon and collecting data for it over 4
weeks. Then, as the final portion of the lesson students will make sense of
their observations by representing it in a calendar.
(Engage) I will read students this poem about the moon and they will
illustrate it as I read it. I will read slowly and at least twice to make sure
they have time to draw it.
Follow The Moon
by Marie Tully
I followed the moon
Or did it follow me
I turned a corner
It was still there you see
I tried to trick it
In the shadows I hid
But the moon kept on watching
That's what it did
A cloud passed before it
Now was my chance
But the stars in the sky
Never could lie
I walked on through the night
The moon followed me home
Or did I follow the moon
I don't quite know
I will ask students share their drawings with their neighbor and tell them
what they drew. I will collect drawings and glance through them to get an
idea what students know about the moon.
(Experience) Students will be recording drawings of the moon in
their moon journals. Every two nights it will be the responsibility of two
students to look out at the moon and draw what they see. The two students
will bring in their drawings the next day and show the class. The teacher
will then have the class draw in what the moon looked like for those nights
based on the drawings the two students brought in. This will continue over
a 4 week period of time.
(Explain) Students will see that the moon appears to change from day
to day. The teacher will show students the moon calendar. The teacher
guides students to recognizing that the moon changes consistently
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Expected Prior Content

(Disciplinary Core Idea &
Crosscutting Concepts)
Knowledge
1.
1. Cause and effect: Children
are able to observe or
analyze data in order to look
for patterns. This includes
trying to find what may be
causing the patterns
2. Systems and system models:
Students are able to express
thinking with drawings or 1.
diagrams. In addition, to
describe objects by parts,
and recognize their functions
Disciplinary Core Idea
ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar
System
Seasonal patterns of sunrise
and sunset can be observed,
described, and predicted.

throughout the month. Once students recognize the pattern I can introduce
the moon waxes, wanes and possibly phases vocaublary. We will make a
claim about why the moon looks different throughout the month and base
our evidence in class observations.
Expected Prior Practice-Based Knowledge & Experience Important
for this Lesson:
Practice Based:
Asking Questions and defining problems:
Students should be familiar with asking questions, and defining
basic problems. Specifically, students should be able to make a list
of questions about moon phases.
2. Developing and using models: Students should have prior knowledge
with observing something and drawing what they saw. It may be an abstract
drawing that others have a difficult time understanding but the student
should know what it is. In lesson, the idea is to have students set up a
notebook to record their lessons.
Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information: students will have
had practice working in groups, and talking to the teacher about what they
think. This is important to this lesson because it provides students the
ability to work in groups and teach each other about moon phases
Experienced Based:
The first lesson of the unit will a math lesson. This lesson focuses on
geometric shapes, and is creatively titled The Space Shapes Lesson. This
lesson will have taught students that the moon is spherical.

Cross Cutting Concepts

Patterns
Patterns in the natural world
can be observed, used to
describe phenomena, and
used as evidence.
Connections to Nature of
Science
Scientific Knowledge
Assumes an Order and
Consistency in Natural
Systems
Science assumes natural
events happen today as they
happened in the past.
Many events are repeated.

Standards
Addressed
(NGSS &
NC):

NC: 1.E.1.2
Recognize patterns of observable changes in the Moons appearance from day to day.
NGSS: 1-ESS1-1.
Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.

DESIRED RESULTS
Learning Goal (should be specific and measurable)
Learning SWBAT make observations about the appearance of the moon over a long period of time.
Goal:
Write an example scientific explanation that students should be able to construct based on your
lesson:
Investigat Why does the Moon look different throughout the month?
ion
Question:
Scientific Claim:
The Moon looks different because it follows a pattern of changing called
Explanatio
waxing and waning.
n:
Evidence:
The moon waxes when it gets bigger. The moon wanes when it gets smaller.
The moon changes about the same amount every day.
LEARNING PLAN
For each of the following sections of the lesson, describe the activities that students will participate
in. Make sure you provide enough detail so that 1) someone else could follow your lesson plan, 2) you
provide descriptions of what you will be doing and saying. What questions will you be asking
students? What will you be listening for? What will you do if students arent there yet? What
practices will you incorporate in the various stages of the lessons?
Teaching Plan
Anticipated Student Responses
Engage:
This will be the first lesson of the unit
plan on moon phases. I will read students
I will watch for students to mention any of
this poem about the moon and they will
these misconceptions throughout the lesson.
illustrate it as I read it. I will read slowly
and at least twice to make sure they have
Common Misconceptions:
Teaching
time
to
draw
it.
1. Clouds cover the part of the moon that we
Practices:
cannot see.
Anticipating Follow The Moon
by Marie Tully
2. Planets cast shadows on the part of the
moon that we cannot see.
I followed the moon
3. The shadow of the sun falls on the moon,
Or did it follow me
blocking our view of it.
I turned a corner
4. The shadow of the earth falls on the moon,
blocking our view.
It was still there you see
5. The phases are explained in terms of the
portion of illuminated side of the moon visible
I tried to trick it
from the earth (scientific viewpoint).
See:
In the shadows I hid
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
But the moon kept on watching
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That's what it did

doi=10.1.1.553.8655&rep=rep1&type=pdf

A cloud passed before it

Now was my chance
But the stars in the sky
Never could lie
I walked on through the night
The moon followed me home
Or did I follow the moon
I don't quite know
I will ask students share their drawings
with their neighbor and tell them what
they drew. I will collect drawings and
glance through them to get an idea what
students know about the moon.

Experience:

Beginning of the 4 weeks:

I will explain: Students we are now
going to start a Moon Journal! (I will
Scientific
pass out the Moon Journals). We will be
Practices:
using this journal for a few weeks. For
Asking
two nights we will have two students as
Questions
our Moon Journalists. They have a very
important job and the whole class will rely
Obtaining
information on them to report to us what the moon
looked like those nights. We will begin
Communicat alphabetically and everyone will have a
turn to be the moon journalist, if not once
ing
information maybe even twice.
The conversation I have with the Moon
Teaching
journalists:
Practices:
Anticipating I will ask my moon journalists: Lets put
your reports up on the elmo so the whole
Monitoring
Sequencing class can see. Wow! look at the moon last
night. Thank you so much for drawing the
moon last night for the class.
I will tell the class: Now we need to draw
on our moon journals what our moon
reporters found.
I will copy what the students drew onto
the class data sheet. I will do this on the
overhead.
These presentations will continue everyother-day over a 4 week period of time.
*It is important to note that we wont fill
in cloudy days. This is done on purpose so
that the lesson on predicting what the
moon will look like when data is not
collected can occur.

Students will most likely grasp on to the idea

of being a journalist very well. Students will
feel like they have an important job with
purpose.

Students will also really like to tell me what

they think will happen next. This increases
their interest and investment in the activity.
Student may even pay closer attention to the
moon calendar.

The last day of observations will be

special because students will have just
learned how to make a calendar during a
math lesson. I will tell students, so we
have quite a few drawings of the moon.
What would be a good way to put all our
observations together? A student will
likely mention a calendar. If not, I will tell
students I think they all had awesome
ideas but I was thinking about make a
moon calendar for this month. Students
are excited about this because it will be
cool to apply what they just learned in
math.
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I have the student helper for the day hand

out Moon Calendar sheets (these sheets
have blank circles for each date). I tell
students now put your pencils down, this
is how we will make our moon calendar.
The moon journals will already labeled
with the date for each observation.
I will say to students: For the first day we
didnt see the moon. It wasnt cloudy
though. So I am going to leave it blank.
For the second day it we could see a little
sliver so I am going to shade in that part
with my pencil. For the third day, I saw a
little more of the moon and so I will shade
in a little more there. I will also show
students an example of how to draw
clouds when they get to days that were
cloudy and no data was collected.
Then I will say to students: Who knows
what I should do for the fourth day? I will
call on various students to instruct me how
to fill in the moon for that day. I will ask
students for help with the fifth day, and
sixth day. I will also make sure to include
an example of a cloudy day that students
help me with.
Next, I will ask students to give me a
thumbs up if they think they can do it on
their own now?
Then, If I feel comfortable that students
can do this on there own I will let them do
so. I will walk around the room helping
students who need help.
I tell students who finish early to write
down all the things the notice about their
moon calendar. If there are many other
students still working I will allow students
to share with their neighbor the things
they noticed about their moon calendar.

Explain:

Now that weve seen what the Moon looks

like over a long time what do we notice?
If a student brings up misconceptions
Scientific
regarding shadows as the reason that the moon
Practices:
The students will most likely notice that
appears to change throughout the moon, I will
Asking
the moon appears to change slowly and in use guiding questions based on evidence
Questions
a consistent way. They will notice that
collected.
Obtaining
sometimes the moon is full and sometimes
information the moon is gone (new moon). But the
Communicat moon never drastically changes from one
ing
day to the next.
information
Teaching
As students explain a phenomenon that is
Practices:
actually a vocab word I will introduce that
Anticipating word to them. For example:
Monitoring
Sequencing I will explain to students that the pattern
that the moon goes through is actually the <-Other Anticipated responses
moon going through phases. Another
Example: Students may or not use the
correct vocabulary in terms of the moon
waxing and waning. If they do reference
the mooning getting bigger and the moon
getting smaller I will introduce waxing
and waning.
I will guide students to seeing that the
moon waxes until a full moon and wanes
after a full moon: this will tell me to
introduce moon phases.
I will provide the names and help students
associate waxing and waning to the words
like gibbous and crescent.
Next, I will say does it look like we can
answer our question? Why does the Moon
look different throughout the month?
Remember, our answer is a claim. Do we
remember what a claim is? I will review
what a claim is.
One student says our claim should be: The
moon looks different during the month
because it (has phases or waxes and
wanes). Another students says: Yes, is
waxes and wanes but it also has phases.
Next, I ask the class what evidence do we
have that proves this?
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The students can say anything about us

recording a particular moon phase to
seeing that the moon waxes and wanes. I
will guide students to seeing that the
moon waxes until a full moon and wanes
after a full moon: this will tell me to
introduce moon phases. These will all
count as evidence. `
I say raise your hand if you agree with
these two students. I raise my hand too.

CONSIDERATIONS
What challenges do you anticipate will occur while teaching this lesson? What might you do to
mitigate those challenges? What accommodations and scaffolding may be necessary for struggling
learners? What will you do ensure that talented learners remain challenged?
The moon may not be visible during everyday of the 4 week observations. If this were the
beginning of the month, I would have the students just draw clouds for that day. If this were towards
the end of the observing period, and I felt students were recognizing that the moon was consistently
changing from day to day, I would ask the students to draw what it might have looked like.
Another concern I have is students forgetting to observe. This is why I have two students
observing every night but it is still very likely that both students could forget. I plan to make the job
of observing the moon every night a big responsibility so that students are more intrinsically
motivated to remember and record the moon. If the worst case scenario does occur and both
students fail to record what the moon looked like, I will secretly be doing this every night anyway. I
just explain to students, lucky for the class today I just happened to draw what the moon looked
like because I was so curious. This serves two purposes. One that the class will always have data
just incase and two if students drawings are illegible, or slightly wrong I have the ability to make the
class data set more accurate.
Students are specifically placed in their groups to enhance learning and to draw on the particular
skills of each student to create the most productive groups

Periodically, I will check for student understanding by asking students to put their thumbs up or
down. This signify to me whether I need to pause and explain more or not.

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