Date: December 5, 2014

Stage 3 Plan Learning Experiences

Due to possible time constraints and having to move scheduling around remember that after
every days lesson students will be asked to take out their word splat from the first day the unit
was introduced and use a new color to write any new information or connections they have made
in the unit so far. Students may need to add pieces of paper if their word splat gets to large. E2,
R
Every Tuesday and Thursday during science time students will have the opportunity to work on
their learning contract. E, T (process, readiness)
1. Begin the introduction of this unit showing the short YouTube video Sun, Earth, Moon
Mobile. Before starting the video ask students to take out their notebooks and get ready to
listen closely and see if they hear any interesting facts. They will be surprised to realize it is a
rap video that is really engaging and fun. Ask the students to share the ideas they heard in the
video. H
2. Introduce the unit about the Earth, Sun, and Moon and their relationships to one another and
to us. Explain to the students that we will be learning about the motions of the Earth, moon, and
sun, the causes of the Earths seasons and the causes for the phases of the moon. Explain to
students that these are all very important lessons because they affect us and our daily lives more
than we realize and because many people do not have the correct facts about why the Earth has
seasons or why the moon has phases. Shortly tell students about the two different performance
tasks they will be working on throughout the unit (The Teacher in You and Something Bigger
Than Me). Also explain to students the two essential questions and understanding of this unit.
W
3. Ask students to take out a blank piece of paper to complete a word splat. Ask students to only
use one color. Students will have a few minutes to write and draw whatever comes to mind
when they think about the Sun, Earth, and Moon. After the few minutes are up ask students to
stand up and find a partner with the same number of siblings as them (help lone students find a
pair). Have these pairs of students share their word splats with each other and explain their
thought process when completing it. Afterwards have students sit down and ask them to hold
onto this word splat for later reflection. W
4. Read a book aloud to the class about the rotation and revolution motions of the Earth, Moon,
and Sun. After the read-aloud give students a worksheet that assesses the knowledge they gained
from the reading. Once the worksheet is complete ask students to show fist to five if they
learned any new information from the reading and also ask if there was anything that surprised
them. E, R
5. Use a Smart Board interactive power point to show students what the rotational and
revolutionary movements of the Earth and Moon around the sun and the moon around the Earth
look like. Play a game on the Smart Board that gives students an opportunity to match
vocabulary words with matching pictures of the term, and then matching the term to the
definition, and lastly all three. Have students who seem to be grasping the information more
quickly come up to the smart board for the last set (harder questions) and have the struggling
students match the pictures to words. E, T (Process)
6. Watch the YouTube video Spaceship Earth- an animated documentary of how Earth works
(up to 1:30). Ask students to pay close attention to the details and information that is given in the
Adapted from Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd.ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Date: December 5, 2014

documentary because this is essential knowledge. Have students discuss in small groups what
was reinforced in the video and then share out.
E, R
7. Explain to students that we are going to form small groups in class and practice a pantomime
skit that explains the rotation and revolutions of the Earth and Moon around the sun. Use two
other students, a flashlight, and labels to model how to make the skit realistic. Ask students to
provide input on what needs to be included and how to show the facts. Have students split into
groups of 3 and practice preforming before showing the class as a whole what each group came
up with. Make sure to remind students to show the axial tilt, the revolutions, rotations, and how
the sunlight makes it to the Earth/Moon. Students that are having a more difficult time focusing
on the task and contributing at the same time, will be encouraged to be the sun as the sun does
not have to move as much and can better watch what is happening. E, T (Process)
8. Give students a Fill in the blank style short quiz to assess their knowledge of the vocabulary
words Axis, Axial tilt, revolution, rotation, and orbit. E
9. Have students take out their journals and draw a diagram of the Earth, Moon, and Sun
relationship in terms of movement. They may use labels to help describe their work. E
10. Ask students to think quietly about one way the Sun, Earth, or Moon or combinations of
these affect themselves daily. Then ask them to share with a partner, and then ask for the pairs to
share out their ideas. H, W
11. Performance Task: Something Bigger Than Me E
12. Have students take out their journals and reflect on the following questions; How well did I
display my relationship? Do I think my peers/audience understood my product? And lastly, Is
there anything I would have done differently? R, E2
13. Show students the following video, Moon Phases Song about moon phases. Explain to
students that we will begin discussing the moon phases and how they are caused. Have students
take notes in their journals about any information they learned from the song (do this the second
time you play the song, let students just listen the first time) H, W
14. Ask students to talk to their neighbor about how the phases of the moon are caused, as
partners decide what your final answer is and write it anonymously on a piece of paper. Hand
this piece of paper in and share it with the class. Pick two different answers from the pile (one
being the proper conception, one being the incorrect conception) share these and ask students
why they think one or the other is correct and why. Explain the proper conception to students. E
15. Ask students to take out their word splash and use a different color to add new words that
they may have learned while discussing how the phases of the moon occur. R, E2
16. Create a flap book of the moon phases as learning tool for your students and ask them to
read through the book for homework. E
17. Have students take out their journals and answer the question How are the phases of the
moon caused? R, E2
18. Give students a matching quiz for the phases of the moon. R, E2
19. Give students the following questions to consider in think, pair, and share style. How are my
views about these celestial relationships shaped by my past experiences in school and outside of
school? R, E2, H
20. Give students a list of different scientific conceptions dealing with the Earth, Sun, and
Moon. Ask students to cut out the conceptions and paste them on a sheet of paper that says
misconceptions and conceptions in two columns and place the conceptions in the right place. E,
T (Content and Product)
Adapted from Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd.ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Date: December 5, 2014

21. Performance Task: The Teacher in You. E
22. Have students take out their journals and reflect on the following questions; How well do I
think I performed on this assignment in terms of my own effort? How valuable do I think my
information was for the public? Do I think it helped? And lastly, is there anything I would have
done differently? R, E2
Video Links:
Sun, Earth, Moon Mobile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_tBObXwijc&spfreload=10
Spaceship Earth- an animated documentary of how Earth works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaG70cJ8vDE&spfreload=10
Moon Phases Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkvlrWpsnuQ

Adapted from Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd.ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development.