GRR Planning Template

Teacher(s): Jenny Lake Course/Content: Science

Grade Level(s): 7th Grade Duration: 1-2 days

VISION
Standard(s): Big Idea(s): Essential Question(s):
MS-ESS1-1: Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon ● The Earth revolves around the sun ● What causes the different moon
system to describe the cyclic pattern of lunar phases, and the moon revolves around the phases?
eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons. (Examples of Earth. ● How does the moon’s orbit around
models can be physical, graphical, or conceptual). ● The predictable movement of the the Earth change our perceptions
moon accounts for the changes in of the moon’s surface?
appearance we see from Earth ● What causes a lunar or solar
(moon phases). eclipse?
● A solar eclipse is when the moon
passes between the sun and the
Earth
● A lunar eclipse occurs during a full
moon when the moon passes
within Earth’s shadow
Learning Objective(s):
DO KNOW ● Students will be able to model the Earth, Sun, and Moon positions as they relate
Students will read an Students will know the to different phases of the moon.
article about the moon and phases of the moon in the ● Students will be able to identify the phases of the Moon from one new moon to
the phases of the moon order they occur naturally the next.
Students will model the Students will know how to ● Students will be able to identify when a solar and lunar eclipse occur in relation to
different phases of the model the Earth sun and an Earth, moon, sun model.
moon using a Styrofoam moon and how the
ball, a pencil, and a lightdifferent orientations of
source the three cause the phases
of the moon
Students will put the moon Students will know when a
phases in order lunar and solar eclipse
occur

© Susan Carmody ​·​ 2012 ​·​ All Rights Reserved

 Students will draw an
Earth sun moon model in
their lab notebooks

Evaluation Criteria: Assessment Description:

The assessment will be evaluated on whether they can Students will be given a sheet of paper with 9 empty circles and labels of different moon
correctly draw the phases of the moon. The new moons phases underneath each circle. They will be asked to draw the phases of the moon - they
should be completely shaded in black with their pencil, and will be instructed to leave the visible part of the moon white, and color in the shadow on
the full moon should be completely empty, signifying the the moon with their pencil. Here is an example of what I will be expecting from students:
full half of the moon is visible. The waxing crescent must
be “growing” to form the full moon, and the waning
gibbeous must be “shrinking” to form the new moon.

Resource Title:
Our Solar System: Moons textbook chapter
https://d2ct263enury6r.cloudfront.net/rHxVWIh
ABK3QFmZIz0wkFAFu16qWjFqnXIiTO3otqy4IjiS
H.pdf
RESOURCES
Complexity Notes: Additional Notes:
The text covers crucial vocabulary and concepts
such as satellites, phases, and lunar and solar
eclipse. The text is clear and shows images and
diagrams that help with understanding. These
pictures and graphs can help English language
learners or students that are having trouble
grasping the concepts.

© Susan Carmody ​·​ 2012 ​·​ All Rights Reserved

 METHODS
Focus Lesson – “I Do”
I will use the Think Aloud strategy for the text we are going to read (see Resource Title). In the Think Aloud strategy, teachers make their
thinking explicit by verbalizing their thoughts while reading orally. The think aloud strategy helps readers clarify their understanding in
points of the text that may be difficult or confusing. There are five basic steps for the Think Aloud strategy:
1. Select passages to read aloud that contain points of difficulty or unknown words.
2. While reading and modeling thinking aloud, have students follow silently and pay attention to how trouble spots are thought through.
3. Have students work in partners to practice the think aloud strategy with short passages from the text.
4. Have students practice independently.
5. The teacher will then provide demonstrations of how, why, and when to use the Think Aloud strategy.
For this strategy, I will read the text aloud to the class and verbalize my thoughts about difficult parts of the text.

Guided Instruction – “We Do It Together”

There will be two parts to the We Do It Together section. The first part will be constructing a Double Entry Journal on the board as a class
for the text we just read aloud. The Double Entry Journal allows students to write their reactions to the text as they read. Students will
come up with important phrases from the reading and then think of reactions to the phrases. This is what I will draw on the board:

© Susan Carmody ​·​ 2012 ​·​ All Rights Reserved

 Students will raise their hands and tell me a phrase they think was important from the reading. Then, they will let me know their
reaction/feelings about the phrase and I will write them down on the board. We will come up with a list of important phrases and reactions
together as a class.

The second half of the We Do It Together Section will focus on an interactive activity to learn the phases of the moon. This will go into
depth about the section of the reading titled Phases of the Moon.
Materials:
1 Styrofoam ball for every student
© Susan Carmody ​·​ 2012 ​·​ All Rights Reserved
 1 pencil for every student
A lamp to represent the sun at the center of the room
The Activity:
1. Distribute 1 Styrofoam ball and 1 pencil to every student and have them place the pencil into the ball.
2. Have students stand in a circle around the lamp, and let them know that the lamp is the sun, their head is the Earth, and their nose
represents their hometown.
3. Ask the students to face towards the sun and hold their arm out in front of them with the Styrofoam ball and pencil. This represents
the New Moon phase because the entire face of the moon is dark towards Earth.
4. Have students face away from the sun and hold the “moon” out at arm's length. This represents the Full Moon phase. When the
moon goes within the shadow of their heads, this represents a lunar eclipse.
5. Have students rotate counterclockwise like the Earth and notice how much light is shown on the moon. Have them stop at different
points (Gibbeous, Quarter, New), and let them know which phase of the moon is represented. Have them take note of the position
of the Earth, moon, and sun at each new phase.
6. Give the students some time to play around with the different moon phases. How much of the moon is illuminated? What is the
shape that you see? Why do scientists call one phase “quarter phase” when it appears that half of the moon is lit up?

Collaborative – “You Do It Together”

For the You Do it Together section I will be giving students images of the different phases of the moon and having them put them in order
as a group. Here are the steps for this activity:
1. The teacher will cut out the 8 circles from the image below, so it just includes the image of the moon and not the moon phase name.
(You will want to print around 6 moon sheet images, and cut out the 8 moon phases from each one - enough for one set of moons
for 6 groups of 4 or 5 students).
2. Jumble the 8 moon phases and put each set on a lab bench around the room.
3. Divide the students into groups of 4 or 5 and have each group go to a lab bench.
4. Instruct students to put the moon phases in the correct order for one full cycle. Have them focus on the features of the moon and
make sure all of the dark spots on the moon match up from picture to picture.
5. Go around the room and check the order of students’ moon phases. Once students have found the correct order, instruct them to
now model the moon phases in relation to where the Earth, moon and sun will be. They can use an eraser as the sun, and a pencil
sharpener as the moon (just examples). Then, they should place the moons around the earth and sun so they are in the correct
arrangement for one full cycle.
6. Go around the room and check student answers.

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 Independent Practice – “You Do It”
As students finish the You Do It Together activity, have them turn towards their lab notebooks. Individually in their notebooks, have
students draw their Earth Moon Sun model with the different moon phases.
- Where is the sun and Earth in their drawing?
- Do the phases of the moon match up with the amount of light the moon is receiving from the sun?
- Where would a lunar/solar eclipse occur in your diagram?
Closure

For the closure activity, I will provide students with a few questions as an Exit Ticket. Some questions I will ask:
- What causes the different moon phases?
- How does the moon’s orbit around the Earth change our perceptions of the moon’s surface?
- What causes a lunar or solar eclipse?

For the Closure activity, I will also have students fill out the sheet of paper with the nine empty circles and different phases of the moon
underneath each circle (see Assessment and Evaluation Criteria sections)

© Susan Carmody ​·​ 2012 ​·​ All Rights Reserved

© Susan Carmody ​·​ 2012 ​·​ All Rights Reserved