LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

JMU Early, Elementary & Reading Education

Students name: Sarah Miller Cooperating teacher and school: Mr. Byler, Waterman E.S. Date and time lesson is to be presented: 3/27/13 8:50 9:50 AM Date written plan is submitted to the practicum teacher: 3/24/13

A. TITLE/TYPE OF LESSON Phases of the Moon/ Science B. CONTEXT OF LESSON What pre-assessment did you do that tells you the students readiness, interests, and/or learning preferences? Why is this an appropriate activity for these students at this time? How does this lesson fit in the curriculum sequence? How does this lesson fit with what you know about child development? I have observed how these students learn and what interests them. This is an appropriate activity for these students at this time because it appeals to their learning and enables them to form connections across areas. This lesson fits well in the curriculum sequence because it builds onto their prior knowledge from previous science lessons and it is aligned with the VA curriculum framework. The lesson is developmentally appropriate for children this age, at the third grade level. The models appeal to their visual understanding of the content and the corresponding activities foster their development in all domains. C. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand what are the broad Know what are the facts, rules, generalizations the students should specific data the students will gain begin to develop? (These are through this lesson? (These knows typically difficult to assess in one must be assessed in your lesson.) lesson.) The relationships that exist between The moon is a satellite because it and among Earth, the sun, and the revolves around earth. moon result in day and night, The moon appears to shine seasonal changes, phases of the because sunlight reflects off the moon, and the tides. moon. The moon is always a sphere. Terms revolution phases (full, first quarter, last [third] quarter, new) Do what are the specific thinking behaviors students will be able to do through this lesson? (These will also be assessed in your lesson.) Identify the main phases of the moon Explain why the moon seems to change shape Describe features of the moon Create a flip book of the moon phases Hypothesize what will happen to the moon

D. ASSESSING LEARNING What will your students do and say, specifically, that indicate every student has achieved your objectives? Remember every objective must be assessed for every student! Assessment will occur in the lesson through observation, dialogue on the moons orbit, and student work. The students will correctly illustrate the four main phases of the moon through creation of a flip book. Ms. Miller will engage students in conversation that encourages them to respond with their thoughts, opinions, and ideas. They may say the following, indicating that they understand the objectives: - Phases are the shapes of the moon that we see - The phases of the moon are full, first quarter, last (third) quarter, new - The moon appears to get larger as it goes from a new moon to a full moon. It appears to get smaller as it goes from a full moon to a new moon. - A new moon occurs about every 29 days.

E. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING Science 3.8 The student will investigate and understand basic patterns and cycles occurring in nature. Key concepts include: a) Patterns of natural events such as day and night, seasonal changes, simple phases of the moon, and tides; F. MATERIALS NEEDED Index cards provided by Ms. Miller Crayons class set Pencils class set Science: A Closer Look textbook provided by Ms. Miller Document camera/SMART Board/computer Flashlight provided by Ms. Miller Ball & cone provided by Watermans P.E. teacher Card stock labels of each moon phase provided by Ms. Miller Magnets provided by Mr. Byler Notebook paper provided by Mr. Byler Clipboards class set G. PROCEDURE Preparation of the learning environment Make sure the SMART Board is oriented and ready. Get the attention of the class by the clapping technique to put away their books or morning work and be ready for science. Have the materials ready. Engage -Introduction of the lesson Activate prior knowledge by asking the class what they already know about the moon. Form a list on the SMART Board. Implementation of the lesson

1. Present the diagram of the moons orbit (p. 330 of Science: A Closer Look). Discuss each phase and the significance of its name. Put these phases and their corresponding picture on card stock to stick onto the white board. Probe students thinking by asking the following questions: Point to each and ask how much of the moon is lightened by the sun i. Half or a quarter What causes you to see different amounts of the moon? i. The moon revolves around earth. Possible questions or comments from students might include: Is this why when its night here, its day on the other side of the earth? In what phase can you see half of the moon? i. Full moon while the other side of the earth has a new moon The Moon orbits near the equator of the Earth. In the northern hemisphere, we're standing on the opposite side of the globe from countries in the southern hemisphere i.e. we are "upside down" from each other! We therefore see the Moon from a completely different point from each other 2. Take the class to the area behind the stage curtain in the cafeteria. Ask the students to form a hypothesis on what the moon would look like from their side of the earth. Model the change in the appearance of the moon, using a flashlight and a ball. I will shine the light on the ball from behind.

They should draw what they observe on the moon. After a complete orbit, ask the class the following questions: where is the ball when it is lit like a full moon a last quarter moon? Based on this experiment, how do we know the reason for the moons shape appearing to change? Go back to class. 3. Pass out 4 index cards per student and black and grey crayons. Inform the class that they will be making a flip book of the phases of the moon. They will draw what each moon phase looks like on the right side of the card and label the phase on the left side. They will be told to raise their hands when done, and then they will be handed a stapler by a teacher after it is checked. Once it is made, they should flip the pages with their thumb and think about how the moons shape seems to change. Closure After everyone has finished, get the attention of the class again. Ask what they learned today about the moon and add it to the list from the beginning of class. Conclude by saying As we have learned, the moon goes through a cycle of phases from first quarter to new moon. Clean-up The students will turn in their flipbooks and recording sheets.

H. DIFFERENTIATION I plan to keep the language as simple as possible for all of my learners to understand the content. To accommodate varied learning styles and abilities, I am corresponding instruction to visuals and integrating art with their independent practice. I will provide individual instructional review for those who are struggling with my objectives; the levels of scaffolding needed may vary upon each students progress. I may have to move certain students, depending on how well they are staying on task. The level of response I receive may vary among the level of acquisition for different students. Students whom are below level will need extra assistance with creating the flipbook. Students who need to be challenged will be told to include the sun in their drawings. I. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT? Students might not remember what they learned previously about the moon and I will have to spend extra time reviewing the information that is needed in order for them to understand the new information. I need to make sure I am completely familiar with the content to be able to most effectively present it and answer any questions they may have. J. REFERENCE Instructional ideas on the moon cycle are taken from:

Macmillian/McGraw Hill. (2011). Science: A closer look, earth science. (Teacher's ed., Vol. 2, pp. 327335). Columbus, OH: School Education Group.

Lesson Implementation Reflection

I. How did your actual teaching of the lesson differ from your plans? Describe the changes and explain why you made them. Differences between my actual teaching and what I had originally planned occurred based on my instructors and cooperating teachers feedback, as well as the vibe of the lesson. I realized that having photo-label signs for each of the

four main phases up on the white board would be beneficial to visual learners. I changed the way I did the demonstration to match the way my cooperating teacher has done it in previous years. I did not know that we would have access to the stage space, so it was helpful to find that out. He suggested having a cone or a stand to hold up the ball/moon and arrange the students to sit in the form of a certain shape, which I agreed to. Due to the amount of remaining time as students were finishing their flipbooks, instead of going to the rug for group reflection, I asked them comprehension questions from their seats. II. Based on the assessment you created, what can you conclude about your impact on student learning? Did they learn? Who learned? What did they learn? What evidence can you offer that your conclusions are valid? Based on the documentation of the assessment I created (as shown below), I can conclude that I influenced the students thinking on the content. Throughout the lesson, I heard language that exemplified their attempts to construct their understanding of the moon; some examples were: recognizing a quarter of the moon and a phase from what theyve seen in the sky before. The students who did not meet the objectives were ones who werent fully engaged or need further instruction on the moon. Initials C. L. J M.E. A M D E T J.S. A.M. K C W.A. Reasoned why the moon appears to change shape Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Hypothesized (logically) what will happen to the moon Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Demonstrated understanding through flip book Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No

III. Describe at least one way you could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice in a better or more thorough way if you were to teach this lesson again. If I were to teach this lesson again, I could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice better by presenting the information more accurately to reduce confusion. I should have used a diagram of the moons orbit that included the sun, so the class could visualize that it was the cause of the different phases. I would implement a clearer demonstration of the effects of how the moon, earth, and sun operate in relation to each other. Involving the students more thoroughly with this would provide a better opportunity for them to learn from experience. I also could have showed a short video or animation of the moons cycle to incorporate an audiovisual supplement, which would have made the concept more meaningful. IV. Based on the assessment data you collected, what would you do/teach next if you were the classroom teacher? Based on the assessment data I collected, if I was the classroom teacher, I would want to take the class on a field trip to the John C. Wells Planetarium at JMU to get a realistic depiction of the moons orbit from our view on earth. I believe this would help clear up some misunderstandings about the moons cycle. The VDOE Science Enhanced Scope & Sequence recommends having the students observe the moon at home each night for a month and record what it looked like. As the teacher, I would have begun the unit by introducing that as their ongoing homework assignment and then they would have been able to make connections to it during the lesson from today (and each day as they learn more about the moon). V. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about young children as learners?

As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, I have had the constructivist ideas of young children as learners reinforced. When planning the lesson, I thought about the different ways that the information might be perceived through the mind of a young child versus how I understand it. While teaching the lesson, I could see the process of how young children learn and make sense of the content through forming connections. They were engaging in the learning process when I asked them questions to activate their prior knowledge, make predictions, and check for comprehension. I found that they already knew some facts or ideas about the moon, were actively asking questions, and attempting to form conclusions. They greatly benefit from the material being relatable to their lives, as that makes the learning experience more significant. This experience taught me how challenging concepts on the phases of the moon can be for third graders. They do not get something this complex right away and need a lot of practice with it before they really understand it. VI. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about teaching? As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, I have had the importance of being prepared and clear reinforced. Its important to thoroughly examine the (updated) lesson a day prior to teaching, make a checklist for supplies needed, and have them secured (or ensure that they will be). There was a lot to think about with my particular lesson and I didnt have everything quite ready before I began the lesson; therefore, there was extra wait time from getting off track to locate other materials. As a result, this circumstance hindered the strength of my teaching style. With this lesson, I had to think critically about how to most effectively teach the information. Ive realized that the teaching career is full of learning experiences, in which there are always things that could have been said or done differently to improve the lesson. VII. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about yourself? As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, I have learned the significance of rehearsing my plans because this particular lesson was rather challenging to implement. This experience made me more aware of my abilities to convey complex information to children. Too often, I pose my directions in the form of a question instead of a direct statement. This instinct is reinforcing my development on placing boundaries between friendly and required communication. Considering that I have only observed my cooperating teacher teach a couple science lessons, I would say that I did well at planning and executing a lesson for these specific students. I am looking forward to my math teaching experience and seeing how I improve further.