Picking
Grade Level/Subject Area: First Grade Science
Lesson Title: Phases of the Moon
Time: 30 minute class period
Standards Addressed:
First
Grade Science 1.E.1.2 Recognize patterns of observable changes in the Moons
appearance from day to day
Objective: Given images of different phases of the moon, first grade students will be
able to recognize the different phases of the moon with no errors.
Required Materials: paper, pencil, phases of the moon poster, paper plate, napkin,
oreo cookies, markers, popsicle sticks.
Anticipatory Set: Ask students when the best time is to see the moon?
What does the moon look like at night?
What does the moon look like during the day?
Does the moons shape change?
Time: 3 minutes
Now that students have seen the phases of the moon, explain why this occurs:
The moon takes about 1 month to travel around the earth and the different phases of the moon
occur when the moon is at different points in its orbit.
Demonstrate this by holding 2 objects and rotate one object around the other (with the rotating
object acting as the moon and the stationary object acting at the Earth).
Explain how the moon looks different to us each time it changes position.
Time: 7 minutes
Time: 15 minutes
Closure:
The teacher will conclude the lesson by asking students to share one thing that they have learned
today about the phases of the moon that they did not know before. Students will raise their hand
to share their information while the teacher will make a list on the board of their facts. The
teacher will also tell students to go outside tonight while holding their cookie project, and try to
determine what phase the moon is in. Tomorrow the students will come in with their answers and
the teacher will reveal which phase of the moon is correct.
Time: 5 minutes