Arizona STEM
Acceleration Project
Phases of the Moon
Phases of the Moon
A 4th grade STEM lesson
Kay Kelly
4/22/2023
Notes for Teachers
List of Materials:
Science Standards:
4.PS5.2 Understand spatial relationships and the way objects move.
5.E2U1.7 Develop, revise, and use models based on evidence to construct explanations about the movement of the Earth and Moon within our solar system.
Science and Engineering Practices
4.RL.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
4.W.2.Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
4.SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly
Objectives:
Today we will extend our understanding about the most interesting and brightest satellite that orbits around the earth, the moon.
Today we will explore and describe the different phases of the moon using cookies.
Today we will collaborate and communicate effectively with our peers to complete the expected output.
Today we will check our understanding of the moon phases on Quizizz.
Today we will write an informative/explanatory texts about the moon phases.
Agenda (60-80 minutes)
Essential Question: How do you explain what you see in the night sky?
The Phases of the Moon
Moon
🌝 Have you seen the moon lately?
Moon
🌜What shape was it?
🌛Was it completely round?
Moon
🌚Does anyone remember seeing the moon having different shapes? If so, describe some of those shapes.
Moon
A satellite that orbits around the earth or another planet.
Fun fact: Saturn has many moons.
Moon and Gravity
The moon does not crash into Earth because it stays in its orbit and moves.
The gravity between the moon and the earth keep the moon in its orbit.
Moon and the Sun
-The moon does not produce its own light.
-The sunlight reflects off the moon’s surface.
-The moon makes a complete trip around Earth in about 27.3 days.
Phases of the Moon
Shapes of the moon.
Instructions
Follow along as I explain the phases of the moon and we demonstrate them on our worksheet using cookies.
New Moon
The moon is completely dark because it is not reflecting any light from the sun. In other words, the moon is new when it is located between the earth and the sun.
Waxing Crescent
What we see is just a thin sliver of the moon's surface. This is called the “waxing crescent.” Waxing means growing towards a full moon. The waxing crescent will grow bigger every night until it reaches the next phase.
First Quarter
The moon is one-quarter of the way through its cycle. It appears to us that half of the moon is illuminated.
Waxing Gibbous
Gibbous means “humped” or swollen. We call it waxing because it grows bigger every night until it reaches the next phase.
Full Moon
A full moon is the biggest, brightest, and easiest phase of the moon to see. The moon is halfway through its orbit around the earth and it's now the opposite side of the earth from the sun.
Waning Gibbous
Waning means shrinking or getting smaller, and so the moon will be Waning for the rest of its orbit until it goes back to the new moon.
Last Quarter
The next phase is another half moon, but this time is called the last quarter because the moon is three-quarters of the way through its orbit.
Waning crescent
Soon the half moon shrinks into a waning crescent.
The moon will continue to shrink night after night.
New Moon
Until it vanishes completely into the next new moon.
Let’s Review
Turn and Talk: Turn and share ideas with their neighbor what are the different phases of the moon. Then go to Quizziz and play the test for this lesson.
Assessment
Links for the assessment:
https://quizizz.com/admin/presentation/6433207ec250780020c13f97?source=lesson_share
ELA Assessment
Summarization is to retell the main events of the story in a shorter version.
At the back back of their Moon Phases Stem Sheet, ask students to write a summarization the different phases of the moon. How are they different from each other.
Differentiation
One way to differentiate in this lesson is to provide enough time for students to complete the summarization part of the lesson. Students who are struggling with spelling, put them in one group and help them to construct simple sentences into paragraphs.
Remediation
Extension/Enrichment
Students who are successful right away can watch this video about the phases of the moon.
Video 1: https://youtu.be/AQ5vty8f9Xc
Video 2: https://youtu.be/BQvo7vyCmuE