Written Section

Part I
Concept: The Solar System
Grade Level: 5th Grade
Summary/Rationale
I chose this grade level because I have limited experience working with students
of this age and felt it appropriate and necessary to begin gaining some insight. I chose the
Solar System, with a further concentration in the lunar cycle because I find it interesting
and think that my students would as well.
I chose to have my students create a Solar System Catalog, including definitions
and drawings of the Sun, Moon, planets, comets, asteroids, meteorites, shooting stars, and
gas and dust, because they are all parts of our Solar System. This activity will be an
introduction and will allow them to develop their own small reference book and that they
will be able to keep at their desks and use as a study material. I believe that having them
create these booklets will help them to remember the material more efficiently than me
simply giving them direct instruction and asking them to read their textbooks for
homework. This will bring some color and art materials into the classroom and will
provide some room for creativity for the students.
I decided to focus on the lunar cycle for my other two activities because it is more
relevant to the students lives than comets, for example. I think it is a good place to start
when beginning to discuss components of the Solar System. Academic language that will
be focused on during these activities include, Full Moon, Waxing Gibbous, First Quarter,
Waxing Crescent, New Moon, Waning Crescent, Last Quarter, and Waning Gibbous. I
chose to have the students draw and label the eight phases of the lunar cycle because I
believe that having them only label pictures of the phases on a worksheet does not ensure
that they know the content. Asking them to draw the phases themselves will require a
stronger knowledge of the information. This is similar to the Oreo cookie activity in
which I ask the students to create the phases with the frosting of the cookies. Asking
them to scrape off the correct amount of frosting will require a significant grasp of the
material.

Activity 1:
Students will create a catalog of Components of the Solar System
Common Core Standards Connection: Standard 4.1.1c The Sun and the planets that
revolve around it are the major bodies in the solar system. Other members include
comets, moons, and asteroids. Earths orbit is nearly circular.
Student Learning Objective: Fifth grade students will create a catalog of the solar
system, including the definitions of the sun, planets, moons, comets, asteroids, meteorite,
shooting stars, comets, and gas and dust.

Academic Language: Sun, planet, Moon, comet, asteroid, meteorite, shooting stars, and
gas and dust
Essential Questions: What are the main components of the Solar System?
Learning Tasks/Instructional Strategies: Teacher will tell students that they will be
making a Solar System Catalog based on the discussion earlier about the different
components of the Solar System. She will hand out premade booklets and tell them that
they must include a drawn picture and definition for the sun, planet, moon, comet,
asteroid, meteorite, shooting stars, and gas and dust. Students will receive their booklets
and will have access to reference books and colored pencils to help them complete the
assignment. They will complete their booklets in class.
Assessment: Students completed catalogs will be used as their assessment. Each student
will be required to include definitions for the sun, planets, moons, comets, asteroids,
meteorites, shooting stars, and comets. Pictures must be included and can be drawn or
printed.

Activity 2:
Students will draw and label the phases of the Moon
Common Core Standards Connection: Standard 4.1.1g Moons are seen by reflected
light. Our Moon orbits Earth, while Earth orbits the Sun. The Moons phases as observed
from Earth are the result of seeing different portions of the lighted area of the Moons
surface. The phases repeat in a cyclic pattern in about one month.
Student Learning Objective: Fifth grade students will accurately draw and label the
eight stages of the lunar cycle.

Academic Language: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter (Half) Moon, Waxing
Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter (Half) Moon, Waning Crescent
Essential Questions: What are the eight stages of the lunar cycle? What do each of these
phases look like?
Learning Tasks/Instructional Strategies: Teacher will tell the students that they will be
drawing and labeling the phases of the moon that had been previously discussed in class.
Each student will be given a plain white piece of computer paper and will be asked to
fold it into eight sections. They will be told to write their name in the upper left corner
box and to correctly label each phase of the moon
and draw a picture of the phase to correspond.
Students will receive their pieces of paper and
fold it into eight sections as instructed. They will
place their names in the top upper left hand
corner and begin to label each moon phase and
draw a picture to correspond with each.
Assessment: The labeled drawings of each phase
will be used as the assessment during this lesson.
Students will be assessed based on whether or not
their phase names were correct and whether or
not their drawings were correct for each phase.
Each student will be expected to accurately depict
each phase because they are able to use resources
around the room to assist them in is completion.

Activity 3:
Students will use Oreo cookies to create the phases of the Moon
Common Core Standards Connection: Standard 4.1.1g Moons are seen by reflected
light. Our Moon orbits Earth, while Earth orbits the Sun. The Moons phases as observed
from Earth are the result of seeing different portions of the lighted area of the Moons
surface. The phases repeat in a cyclic pattern in about one month.
Student Learning Objective: Fifth grade students will use Oreo cookies to accurately
depict and label all eight stages of the lunar cycle.

Academic Language: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter (Half) Moon, Waxing
Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter (Half) Moon, Waning Crescent
Essential Questions: What are the eight stages of the lunar cycle? What does each of
these phases look like?
Learning Tasks/Instructional Strategies: Teacher will tell the students that they will be
using Oreo cookies to depict the eight phases of the moon! They will be a piece of paper
that is has sections labeled for each phase. They will also receive 8 Oreo cookies, plastic
spoons, and paper plates. They will be instructed in how to separate the cookie sides in
order to have an intact middle section of frosting. The teach will then model the Waxing
Crescent phase of the moon by scraping off the correct amount of frosting. Students will
receive their papers, cookies, spoons, and plates and watch the demonstration given by
the teacher. They will begin to create the moon phases with their cookies and will place
their completed cycle on the paper provided.
Assessment: The students
completed Oreo moon
phase will be used as an
assessment. The teacher
will observe and assist the
students throughout the
activity and will note
which students completed
it accurately. Students
should depict the lunar
cycle with 100% accuracy
because it will have been
discussed multiple times in
class and they will have the
teachers assistance.

Part V
Reflection:
While completing this project I realized that it will probably take me more time
and effort to create and complete my classes science lessons in the future because I do not
know as much about the subject and its concepts as I do for say, ELA. I want to be able
to make science fun for my students so I am, of course, willing to be in the extra effort in
order to become comfortable with the material and to create engaging lessons and
activities that will allow my students to learn and remember the material. I had fun

researching the material for these activities and enjoyed making my Solar System Catalog
booklet.
Information about this concept that I did not know before this project was the
names of all of the phases of the lunar cycle. I do not remember ever learning a phase
with the word Gibbous in it during elementary school and even checked multiple
sources while researching for this project because I thought the first source I found had
the phases incorrectly labeled. Though I knew what each of the aspects of the Solar
System were, I did not know that the most asteroids are found in the space between Mars
and Jupiter. This could allow for a more in-depth study centered on why this may be.