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Name Whitney Curtis

Class ELED 3221-003


Date Taught 03/17/2015
edTPA Indirect Instruction Lesson Plan Template
Moon Phases
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Central Focus/Big Idea: The different phases of the moon
Subject of this lesson: Understanding the relationship of the moon, Earth, and sun to each other
is important to understanding the different phases of the moon, what causes them, as well as
what causes day and night on Earth.
Grade Level: Grade 4
NC Essential Standard(s): 4.E.1 explain the causes of day and night and phases of the
moon.
Next Generation Science Standard(s): http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-sciencestandards.
21st Century Skills: Creativity, critical thinking, and communication. Students will use creativity
to draw out the different phases of the moon using different resources such as science books,
construction paper, and markers. They will use critical thinking to explain the different phases of
the moon and why each one looks the way it does, in reference to the sun and Earth. They will
use communication while working together on a class demonstration to tell what phase the moon
is in, why, and discussion of the rotation of the Earth and moon in relation to one another.
Academic Language Demand
Language Function: Students will analyze the eight different moon phases, as well as the
moon in reference to the sun and Earth to be able to complete an independent assignment.
Students will describe the eight different phases of the moon through various activities to
in turn explain what causes them, and why each phase has its specific appearances.
Analyze

Argue

Categorize

Interpret

Predict

Question

Compare/contras
t
Retell

Describe

Explain

Summarize

Scientific Vocabulary:
Moon, Earth, Sun, Rotation, Moon Phases, Location

Instructional Objective: Students will be able to successfully know and name all eight of the
moon phases, what causes the moon phases, which way, and how long it takes the moon and

Earth to rotate, as well as determining which side of the moon is always lit and why. Also, they
will be able to answer 4 of the 5 assessment questions correctly to evaluate their learning.
Prior Knowledge (student): Students need to know that the Earth spins on its axis causing day
and night, and that the moon reflects light onto the Earth at night.
Content Knowledge (teacher): The teacher should have an understanding for how the moon and
Earth rotate related to each other, the different phases of the moon, the lit side of the moon in
relation to the sun, the concept for how long it takes the moon to rotate in relation to how long it
takes the Earth to rotate, as well as have already made an example of the activity students are to
complete after the lesson.
Accommodations for special needs: Students with a learning disability will be given a hand-out
of the PowerPoint, a hand out of all of the instructions of each activity, and will be paired with a
partner to get as much assistance as needed. ESL students will be given a visual of all of the parts
of the lesson, so they can visually see how to complete each activity, and some of the work can
even be printed in their native language for even more assistance. Students with a physical
handicap will be placed with a partner to assist them in anyway possible, so they are able to
participate in all activities. If that person(s) are in a wheelchair, the room will be wheelchair
accessible, making sure that all desks are far enough apart, and there arent things in the middle
of the walkways.
Materials and Technology requirements:
PowerPoint (displayed on screen for all students to see)
Computer and projector to show PowerPoint
Quiz link for summative assessment:
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=moon-phase-quiz
Video Links for the engage section of the lesson:
http://ilovenewton.com/phases-moon-night-stars-study-guide-4th-grade/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exIpL0Uhr_k
Construction Paper (1 piece per student)
Markers (basket of markers per table)
Science books (1 per student, class set)
Three papers labeled: Sun, Moon, Earth for demonstration
Three students for the demonstration
iPads (1 per students, class set)
KWL worksheets (1 per student)
Total Estimated Time: 2 class periods, about an hour long apiece, assigned for science, to
complete the full lesson and the related activities.
Source of lesson: I created the PowerPoint, the demonstration, and the activity related to the
lesson based off of the time allotted for it all without the help of outside resources except for the
videos listed, quiz link, and Google images. The videos came from these websites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exIpL0Uhr_k
http://ilovenewton.com/phases-moon-night-stars-study-guide-4th-grade/

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=moon-phase-quiz
Safety considerations: There are not too many safety concerns for this lesson, just make sure
students have all of their book bags and coats put away for when the three students come up for
the demonstration, so they do not trip, as well as tell students to not throw markers, pencils, etc.
across the room when they are doing the activity.
Content and Strategies (Procedure)
Engage: First I will ask students to recall what they learned the day before. After they tell me
what they learned about day and night, I will show a PowerPoint that has questions on it related
to the material they learned the day before to refresh their memories if they forgot. These
questions will talk about the Earth, and the causes of day and night, so they are able to review.
Next, there will be a diagram of how the moon rotates around the Earth in relation to the sun.
Explain this diagram to them by telling them that the moon rotates around the Earth, while the
Earth is rotating, neither one stops rotating After this, there will be two engaging videos that talk
about the moons rotation, and eight different phases for them to get acquainted with the new
objective. Show them the two videos listed below: http://ilovenewton.com/phases-moon-nightstars-study-guide-4th-grade/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exIpL0Uhr_k. These videos
are a little bit quirky and fun to keep the students engaged.
- Ask students to list some facts that they learned from the video.
- After you discuss as a whole class, show the students the next slide of the PowerPoint
that lists some facts from the video.
- Have them write these facts down in their science notebooks.
- Read over the facts with them and ask if anyone has any questions before moving on.
Explore: During this part of the lesson students will be able to draw out all of the moon phases
learned from the videos using their science books and iPads to refer back to. You want students
to do hands on activities related to the objective, so that they can get experience with what you
want them to learn in different ways because all students learn differently. Some students took a
lot away from the videos, and others need other differentiated instruction to help them grasp the
concept. Pass out a piece of construction paper to each student, then either pass out a basket of
markers yourself, or allow a student to pass out the markers. There needs to be a basket of
markers per table, for all of the students at that table to share. Students need to use their science
books, iPads, and if you want, put a diagram of the moon phases on the Smart Board for all of
the students to see. Students need to draw the sun at the edge of the paper, and then draw the
Earth in the middle of the paper. They need to draw eight different moons, colored in related to
the phase in which each are placed, and name each phase. They need to show the direction of
rotation of the Earth as well as the direction of which way the moon moves. The teacher should
have an example prepared to introduce to the students prior to this lesson, so they can see what is
expected of them. Have them write at least two facts they learned from the videos, remember
they wrote all of the facts down from the PowerPoint in their notebooks, or find in their books on
the back to show more understanding. Ask students if they have any questions before they get
started. If students need help during the activity walk around the room and help them, also praise
them for their hard work and creativity.

Once students have finished with their papers, have a few students stand in the front of the room
to show off their artwork, and to share some facts that they learned. Afterwards, take up his or
her work and put it on a bulletin board either located within the classroom, or out in the hallway
for everyone to see as they walk by. This allows for students to feel great about the work they
did, as well as teach students, and even other teachers that walk by new facts about the moon.
Explanation: This is the part where students will try and explain what they learned back to you,
the teacher, to show understanding. Have three students come up to the front of the room. This is
where it is better to choose students before hand in a random fashion to keep students from
feeling left out, and to keep the same students who always volunteer from coming up, it allows
for all students to have a fair chance. After the three students are chosen, have them all come up
to the front of the room. Assign one of them the sun, another one as the Earth, and the third one
as the moon. Label three sheets of paper as such, so during the demonstration the observing
students do not get the students roles confused. The sun will stand in place, and the Earth will
stand across from the sun, these two students will be facing one another. The student that is the
moon will start off in the position of being right between the Earth and the sun (New Moon
Phase), facing the sun. Ask students What phase is the moon in while in this position, how do
you know, and which side of the moon is lit? Is the moon side facing the earth lit, why or why
not? After this move from phase to phase demonstrating each one, and telling which part of the
moon is lit. Allow them to explain it to you before telling them the answers. This activity creates
a class discussion, and allows for students to explain their reasoning whether their answer is right
or wrong. Once the moon has reached back to the New Moon Phase, ask students if there are
any questions before moving on.
Elaborate: For this section, give every student a KWL chart. Have them fill out the topic, as
well as have them put their names on them. Have students fill out the KWL chart for what they
have learned so far. Have them put in the K column, what they know. This is going to be any
prior knowledge they already had, and what they have been taught over the past few days. Next,
have them fill in the W part of the chart for what they still want to know. Afterwards, have them
use iPads, computers, and books to answer the questions they want to know the answers to, and
have them write those down in the L column, for what they have learned. Students are very
curious, and this is a way for them to research and find answers using resources and technology.
Walk around the room and observe them at work. Have some students read their questions, and
what they found the answer to be out loud. Take this worksheet up after they are finished to look
over their charts to see what kind of information they were curious about.
Evaluate:
Summative: Have students answer questions one through five on their own piece of paper found
on this website: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=moon-phase-quiz
This will allow checking back for understanding of the lesson. Students must get four out of the
five questions correct to show understanding of the objective. Take it up and grade it after it is
completed. Review over the questions and answers with the students afterwards.
Answers: 1. B 2. A 3. The sun 4. C 5. A

Formative: Take up their work that they completed during the explore stage of the lesson. Check
that their phases are in the correct order, that the moon and Earth are shown rotating correctly,
and that the sun and Earth are in the correct spots. Also, check to make sure that they have at
least two correct facts listed somewhere on the paper before grading it and hanging it up for
others to see.
To be complete after the lesson is taught as appropriate
Assessment Results of all objectives/skills: Overall, the results for my formative assessment
were great. All students seemed interested and intrigued through all parts of the lesson. The
objective, and goals of the lesson were met through each activity. I did not get to teach the
elaborate section, nor do the summative assessment, so I am curious as to how those would have
went. I am very pleased with this lesson, and the outcome of it because the students seemed to
take a lot of new information away from it!
Reflection on lesson: My science lesson was one of my favorite lessons I taught during this
experience. I started out with a PowerPoint to review the concept they had learned the day before
from their teacher, and then used the rest of it as a guide to teach them the objective I wanted
them to learn. I started off by using a picture that demonstrated how the moon rotated around the
earth, and then used a couple of fun and entertaining videos to catch their attention, and from
what I observed they loved them. Next, I listed out some facts from the video to help refresh
them from what the video said, or if some students missed a part of the video they could hear an
important part again. Then I listed out the eight phases of the moon and we talked about each one
separately. My main goal for the lesson was not for them to memorize all of the names of the
moon phases just yet; this was an introduction to how the sun, moon, and Earth worked together.
After this, I had three students come up to do a demonstration. One student was the moon, one
student was the sun, and the other student was the Earth. The sun stood there shining it's light on
everything, and the Earth slowly spun in one spot, representing that it takes 24 hours to make one
rotation, while the moon takes approximately 27 days. The moon started off in the position of the
New Moon. Each time the moon rotated, the students had to tell me which side of the moon was
lit (this was to show that the same side of the moon is always lit regardless of it's position). We
went through all eight phases, and I was very proud of this demonstration because it was a great
visual for students and got them actively involved and engaged. After this, I had students do a
fun activity where they drew out all the moon phases on construction paper, sort of the way they
did with the Earth rotation activity the day before. Drawing out and visualizing is a great way for
students to remember concepts. The only complaint I would say I have was, I wish I would have
had more time to do the full lesson because we could have done a much cooler science activity
with this lesson rather than just drawing the phases out. Also, I would have liked to use
something other than a PowerPoint as my visual, but the way this class runs, and the time
constraint, I thought it was the easiest, and most effective way for the time limit I was given. I
loved the feeling I got when I taught because I felt as though I grasped their attention, and they
truly understood what I was teaching. I did not get to do the summative assessment, and I also
was not able to do the elaborate section of the lesson either due to time. My Cooperating teacher
loved everything I did with this lesson, and did not have any advice for me on how to improve as
she did with my other lessons. Lessons such as these give you more self-confidence with
teaching and concepts, and this translates better in your lessons. I am hoping I will have more

time for my lessons when I have my own classroom, so the lesson can be even more interactive
and engaging!
CT signature/confirmation: _________________________________ Date: ________________

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