Name Ann-Kathrin Duemmler

Class ELED 3221- 001

Date 3/21/17

Indirect Instruction Lesson Plan Template

The Moon Phases

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Central Focus/Big Idea: This lesson focused on the moon especially on the moon phases.

Subject of this lesson: Scientist being able to look at moon and determine which moon phase is
occur.

Grade Level: Third Grade

NC Essential Standard(s):
3.E.1. Recognize the major components and patterns observed in the earth/moon/sun system.

Next Generation Science Standard(s):

1-ESS1-1. Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be
predicted.

21st Century Skills:

Communication- Outcome for 4th grade, students will communicate their findings to the whole
class and students will be asking for information from their friends. Collaboration- outcome for
4th grade students will be working in groups.

Academic Language Demand

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

Analyze Argue Categorize Compare/contrast Describe Explain

Interpret Predict Question Retell Summarize
I choose the language function to be describe because students will be describing the moon
phases when they are drawing the moon phases.

Scientific Vocabulary: Moon Phases, New Moon, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous Moon
Waxing Gibbous Moon, Waning Crescent Moon and Waxing Crescent Moon

Instructional Objective:
Students should independently get 4 out of the 5questions correct from the Moon Phases Quiz.
Prior Knowledge (student):
Students should know that the moon is located in our solar system. Students should know that we
can see the moon when we look to the sky. Students should know that the moon doesnt look the
same every night because it changes. Students might know that the moon repeats a cycle of
phases.

Content Knowledge (teacher):

The teacher should know the patters of the moon. The teacher needs to know the order of the
phases which are new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning
gibbous, third quarter, waning crescent, and new moon. Teacher all needs to know that the moons
light is the reflection of the sun on the moon. Half of the moon is always light; however, we
dont always see all the lite part. The moon goes through the same phases in a repeating pattern.

Accommodations for special needs

I will have my special needs students sit close to me when I am reading the book so that they can
see and hear the story about the moon. I will also allow my ELL students to work with a partner
who speaks the name native language so if the ELL student has a question they can ask a friend.

Materials and Technology requirements:

The book So Thats How the Moon Changes Shapes! By Allan Fowler
A lamp without the shade
A white foam ball ( 1 Per pair= 15 foam balls )
A pencil for every student
Moon Survey ( 1 per pair= 15 surveys)
Moon Phases Quiz ( 25 pairs)
Construction paper black and Yellow (1 per student =25)
Circles for the different moon phases and earth (1 per student =25)
Example of moon phases

Total Estimated Time: 1 hour

Source of lesson:
The Changing Moon, book chapter (p. 247-262) from Picture-Perfect Science Lessons: Using
Childrens Books to Guide Inquiry, 3-6 by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan

Talked to a different third grade teacher and she showed me an example of having students create
the moon phases on construction paper.

Safety considerations:
Students will be reminded to work nicely with their partners and to be careful with the pencils.
Students will be told not the touch the lightbulb. Students will be told not to throw the foam balls
at each other.
 Content and Strategies (Procedure)

In your procedure, be sure to include all of the following 5 Es. Your procedure should be
detailed enough for a colleague to follow. If you will be relying on technology (e.g., a YouTube
video), describe your back up plan thoroughly. Imagine your most novice colleague needing to
teach from your plan. Dont just answer the questions. Additionally, I expect you to include
possible questions you could ask for each section. This needs to include higher-order questions.

Engage: I will show the students So Thats How the Moon Changes Shape by Allan Fowler. I
will ask the students the following questions based on the cover of the book.
1. What do you think this book is about? (Answer: the moon)
2. How do you think the moon changes shapes? (Possible answers: shadows change, the
moon changes shapes, and the moon gets smaller)

Then I will read the book. After reading I will ask the following questions.
1. What allows us to see the moon? (Answer: The sun or the moon reflects the sunlight)
2. Does the moon change shapes? (Answer: No, the amount that we see changes but not
the actual moon.)
3. What part of the moon do we see? (Answer: the part which the sun lights up)
4. When we can see the entire moon what is that phase called? (Answer: Full Moon)
5. When we cant see any of the moon what is that phase called? (Answer: New Moon)

Explore: Teacher will also give students A Moon Survey worksheet. Working with a partner
students will go around the room and find three different people to ask what causes the moon to
look different throughout a month.

After students have completed the survey. The teacher will ask students the following questions.
1. What were some of the reasons you learned from other people? (Answer: Answers
will vary)
2. Did you get the same response from everyone you asked? (Answer: Answers will
vary)
3. What caused the moon to look different throughout the month? (Answer: We see a
different amount of the suns reflection on the moon because moon orbits around the
earth.)
4. What causes us to see the moon? (Answer: We see the moon because the sun lights
up the moon.)

Explanation: I will lead the students through a demonstration of the moon phases. Each pair of
students will be given a pencil and a white foam ball. The white foam ball will be on the pencil. I
will explain to the students that the lightbulb represents the sun, the white foam ball represents
the moon, and our heads represent the earth. Students will be asked to get between the lightbulb
and their white foam ball. Then I will lead students through the phases of the moon. The first
phase is new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous,
third quarter, waning crescent, and full moon. I will explain to them that the different phases are
caused because of the different amount of sunlight we see reflecting of the moon. Half of the
moon is always lite, we just dont always see it. Each student will go through the demonstration.
Then I will ask the following question.
1. How much of the moon is always lite? (Answer: Half of the moon)
2. How much of the moon do we see during the new moon phase? (Answer: We do not
see any of the moon.)
3. How much of the moon do we see during the full moon phase? (Answer: We see the
whole part of the moon that is facing the earth.)
4. How much of the moon do you see during the first quarter and third quarter phases?
(Answer: You see half of the moon which is visible from earth)
5. Which phase comes after first quarter? (Answer: Waxing Gibbous)
6. Which phase comes after the third quarter? ( Answer: Waning Crescent)

Elaborate: Students will be creating the moon phases. Students will be given black construction
paper, yellow construction paper, a circle for the earth and circles for the moon phases. Students
will fill in the moon phase and put them in the correct order on the black construction paper.
Students will also label each phase. After students have created their moon phases chart I will
ask the following questions.
1. Which phase comes after waning gibbous? (Answer: Third Quarter)
2. Which phase comes after waxing crescent? (Answer: First Quarter)
3. What causes us to see the moon? (Answer: Sunlight)
4. How long does it take to go through all the phases? (Answer: One month)
5. Which phase comes before full moon? (Answer: Waxing Gibbous)

Evaluate:
Formative Assessment: Students will be given a 5 question quiz on the moon phases. Students
are expected to get 4 out of the 5 questions correct.

Summative Assessment: Questions throughout the lesson to see if students have learned the
phases of the moon cycle.

To be completed after the lesson is taught as appropriate

Assessment Results of all objectives/skills:

Students were given a 5 questions quiz about the moon phases. 15 students took the quiz. 2 of the
students got all five questions correctly. 2 students got 4 out of the 5 questions correct. 8 students
got 3 out of the 5 questions correct. 3 students got 2 out of the 5 questions correct. Therefore,
only 4 students meet the objective of getting 4 out of 5 points. Since only 4 students met the
objective, another lesson one the moon phases will be required for all the students to meet the
objective.

Reflection on lesson:
 I started the lesson by asking the students what they remember about the moon from the
field trip they had taken the previous week. Part of the field trip was that they went to a
planetarium and learned about the moon, and starts. Then I read the book So Thats How the
Moon Changes Shape by Allan Fowler. I asked them questions about the moon after reading. I
then gave the students the Moon Survey worksheet and allowed them to pick a partner to fill out
the worksheet. The students were supposed to go around and find three different groups and ask
them why they think the moon changes shapes. We discussed their findings once they completed
the worksheet about why the moon changes different shapes. I also asked questions about the
moon. Then I split the students into two groups and we went through the moon phases
demonstration using the foam balls and a lamp. I had the students come to the front of the room
and stand near the lamp. I then went through the phases with each group. Following this activity
I passed out the materials for the next activity. I explained to the students that we were going to
create the moon phases out of construction paper. After everyone had cut out their circles and
glued them onto the black construction paper. We went through each phase, we named the phase
and colored in the correct amount of yellow and black. After we had finished all the phases I
asked the students some questions and then gave them the quiz. This lesson took two days which
I wasnt expecting. The first day we read the story, did the demonstration and started the
construction. The second day we finished the construction of the moon phases and took the quiz.

What did the students find out in the experience? Were there any surprises?
The students found out what causes the moon phases and the names of the moon phases.
The students really seemed to understand the different phases when we went through the
demonstration. I heard a lot of awws when they saw the different amount of light visible on their
foam ball.

How did the students in each group work together? Were there any problems?
The students seemed to work together well when I paired them with a partner for the
foam balls. I allowed the students to pick their own partner for the surveys and they finished
them up in the time I had given them. Therefore, I think the students worked well with their
partners.

Was the activity open-ended enough, or did each group do more or less the same thing?
Everyone did the same thing. They all did the demonstration and they all created the
different moon phases out of construction paper. I think the activities were open-ended enough
because they were hands on and I included multiple different activities so that I could reach all
the students with the information. I read a book for the audio leaners, I had them create the moon
phases for the visual learner, and I had the students do the demonstration for the kinesthetic
learners.

How did the students extend the investigation?

Some of the students went through the demonstration multiple times so that they could
see the different amounts of light. This was necessary for some because they all were standing
really close together because they I had them some to the front of the room so that I could walk
them through the demonstration. Therefore, there was not enough time for the students to extent
the investigation because the activities took long than I thought they were going to take. I
thought we could do all the activities in one day but we needed two days.

How did the students connect this experience to their daily lives?
Students connected their learning to their daily lives by asking which phase the moon was
currently in. I didnt know the answer; however, the teacher assistant looked it up and told us. If I
ever teach this lesson again, I will look up which phase the moon is in to make that connection or
to have the answer if a student asks. I was then able to use that phases as a reference when I went
through the phases. Students also asked about the Solar and Lunar Eclipses. One of the other
students answered the question for us. Neither I nor my cooperating teacher knew what caused
the eclipses. She later told when the students ask a question that she doesnt know the answer for
this is a perfect opportunity to have the student do a little more research and come to the class
with the answer he or she found.

How did I accommodate students with learning and physical differences?

I wasnt told from my cooperating teacher about having to make any accommodations for
students with learning or physical differences. Therefore, I didnt make any of those. However, I
did walk around and I helped the students that were struggling with the cutting out of the circles.
I also explained things for students that were still confused or didnt know what they were
supposed to do.

Did I use technology effectively?

I did not use any technology during this lesson.

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

I think for the most parts the students understood that the moon phases are caused
because the moon orbits around the Earth. Students also understood that the moon goes through
different phases, and that we see the sunlight reflecting off the moon. Students also could tell me
that the moon takes about a month to go through all the phases. However, I think that there were
also some holes. I dont think I covered the phases as in detail as I should have because the
students took a lot longer cutting out the circles than I had expected. Therefore, we were really
rushed going through the phases when they were creating them. Some of the students were not
able to answer the question about the phases correctly on the quiz. Therefore, I think we needed
more time to go through the phases.

What do I remember most about this science activity?

What I remember most is that the students seemed to understand the moon phases when
they went through the demonstration that seemed to have gotten their attention. Students also
liked the hands on creating the moon phases. After going through the demonstration they were
really excited about creating the phases. However, it took a lot longer than I had expected for
them to cut out the nine circles.

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

One improvement I would make if I had to teach this lesson again is to have a timer so
the students could see how much time they had to cut out the circles. It took the students 30
minutes to cut out the 9 circles. Having a visual of how much time they had might have allowed
for us to get through the lesson a little fast or allowed for us to spend more time discussing each
of the phases. Another improvement I could have make is to go over the phases in more depth.
Since it took the students so long to cut out the circles we didnt get to talk about the phases as in
depth as I originally had planned which is why I think some of the students did not get the
questions about the order correct on the quiz.

What did you learn about yourself as a learner and as a teacher during this lesson?

One thing I learned as a learner is that not everything goes according to plan. I thought
that one hour would be long enough for all the activities. For the first part of the lesson, we were
doing well on time; however, by the end we ran out of time and the lesson wasnt done yet. The
cooperating teacher was great and allowed me to finish the lesson the next day. Therefore, I
learned that I need to have a plan if things take longer than I expect and I need a backup if things
go a lot faster than I expect. I also learned that getting the students attention at the beginning of
the lesson helps to keep their focus throughout the lesson. Another thing I learned as a learner is
that it is okay to not have all the answers. I also learned that if a student asks you a question that
you dont know you can always have the student look-up the answer to their own question. This
allows the student to learn and be able to tell their finding to the rest of the class.
One thing I learned as a teacher is that you need to have a way to get everyones attention
when you need them to quiet down so that you can give further instruction. Another thing I
learned, is that you have to give all your instructions first before telling the students to move.
Otherwise, they are not listening and will miss the rest of the instructions. I also learned that I
liked incorporating the childrens book into my lesson. I thought the students enjoyed hearing the
story and it opened up the lesson in a different way than I think they are used to. Furthermore, I
learned that the students enjoyed the activities and I think for the most part learned the phases.

CT signature/confirmation: _________________________________ Date: ________________

New Moon Waxing Crescent Waning Crescent Last Quarter Moon

Waning Gibbous Waxing Gibbous Full Moon First Quarter Moon