Developmental Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Katherine Dotterweich Date: 10/22-23

Group Size: Allotted Time 50 minutes each day Grade Level: 4

Subject or Topic: Lesson 2: Moon Phases

Common Core/PA Standard(s):

3.3.3.B1. Relate the rotation of the earth and day/night, to the apparent movement of the sun,
moon, and stars across the sky. Describe the changes that occur in the observable shape of the
moon over the course of a month.

Learning Targets/Objectives:
The fourth grade students will be able to describe and display the changes that occur in the
observable shape of the moon over the course of a month by completing the model activity.

Assessment Approaches: Evidence:

1. Science Journal 1. Vocabulary
2. Model Activity 2. Model of Moon Phases
3. Exit Ticket 3. Answers on exit ticket
Assessment Scale:
1. Out of 3 Points: 3- All definitions of the lesson are there and accurate
2- All Definitions of the lesson are in the journal, but not all
accurate
1- Not all definitions of the lesson are present or accurate
0- No entry in the journal for the lesson
3. For Exit ticket:
3/3- having correct drawing AND label of chosen moon phase AND length of moon phases
2/3 - Having 2 correct: drawing OR label of chosen moon phase OR length of moon phases
1/3- Having 1 correct: drawing OR label of chosen moon phase OR length of moon phases
0/3- Having incorrect drawing AND label of chosen moon phase AND length of moon phases

Subject Matter/Content:
Prerequisites:
Students must understand that the Moon interacts with the Earth. Students must also
understand the location of the Moon in comparison to us on Earth (aka “in the sky”). Students
must understand that we can see the Moon and stars at night. Lastly, students will have an
understanding of orbiting from the previous lesson.
Key Vocabulary:
Moon- a natural body that revolves around a planet
Phases- the different shapes that Earth’s moon seems to have
Waxing- after the new moon, we see more and more of the moon
Waning- after the full moon, we see less and less of the moon
Gibbous- when the moon is more than half illuminated
Crescent- when the moon is less than half illuminated
New Moon- darkest phase where the whole side of the moon facing us is not reflecting light
from the sun
Full Moon- brightest phase where the whole side of the moon facing us is reflecting light from
the sun
First Quarter- when the right half of the moon is illuminated
Third Quarter- when the left half of the moon is illuminated
Content/Facts:
DAY 1:
● Our moon (definition reviewed) orbits the Earth and the appearance of it changes as it
does so, called phases (definition).
○ 29 ½ day pattern
○ Emphasis that the appearance relies on the direction the sun is shining on the
moon.
○ Go through the specific phases, the order of them, what they look like, and
define them.
■ New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full
Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent, New Moon
■

● The moon is illuminated by reflecting light from the Sun

 ○ Emphasize it DOES NOT shine on its own!!
DAY 2:
● Review of the moon phases (New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing
Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent, New Moon)
● Oreo Moon Phase activity

Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:
DAY 1:
Start the lesson by closing the blinds and turning off the lights and projecting this video (
VIDEO LINK ) and putting on the science lab coat. Then ask the students. “Alright scientists,
I am showing you something right now. I need some volunteers to raise their hands and tell us
all what we are looking at.” After receiving about 6 responses, “Alright scientists, let’s take
out our science notebook and get ready to add to it.”

DAY 2:
Start the lesson by asking 9 students to draw and label each of the phases on the front white
board. Let them use the sheet we created yesterday. Review each phase and why they have
their specific name and what each word in the names means. Remind them that these are in
their Science Journals. Then ask who has ever looked at an Oreo Cookie and thought of the
moon.

Development/Teaching Approaches:
DAY 1:
● Ask the students to take out their science journals and a pencil while you hand out the
fillable note sheet for the moon phases. Remind the students that this sheet needs to go
into their science folders at the end of the science block.
● “Alright Scientists, let's get started talking about the moon and a new word: phases. As
you remember from yesterday, the moon orbits the Earth.
● Who can look in their science journal and tell us all the definition of moon and orbit
again?” and wait to receive ONE correct definition of each the vocabulary word “orbit”
(Orbit: the path of one object in space around another object) and “moon” (moon: a
natural body that revolves around a planet).
● “That’s right, the moon, which is a natural body, moves around, or orbits, the Earth in
space.
● Let’s take a second and look at our note sheet. I believe the first question is, ‘The
_______ orbits the Earth.’ Everyone, what word goes in that blank?” Wait for a choral
response of the word moon.
● “You scientists are such good listeners. Okay, who has gone outside at night and has
seen the moon shining sooo bright in the sky?” Pause for a raise of hands. “Pretty cool,
right? Well, when the moon is orbiting the earth, the sun shines its light on the moon.
● Look at number 2 on your sheet, who can read that question for me?” Have a student
read the question- Where does the moon get its light from? and have another student
answer it.
● “So we have to remember the moon cannot glow at night by itself. It has to have the
sun shine its bright, bright light on it and the moon reflects that light. That’s how we
can see the moon at night. Who can tell me the shape of the moon?” Get a response
 from a child that says the moon is a sphere.
● “Correct! It’s a sphere like the earth. Do we always see the moon as a full sphere or
circle in the sky?” Get a few answers from the students. Look for agreements and
disagreements.
● “We actually do not always see the moon in the sky as a full circle. Sometimes we see
less than a full circle. That is because as the moon moves around the earth, the sun
shines differently on it. This is how we get 9 different moon phases. WOAH! That’s a
new word, P-H-A-S-E-S. (write “phases” on the board while spelling it).
● The definition of phase, which needs to go in your science journals, is ‘the different
shapes that Earth’s moon seems to have’”. Repeat this two times. Remind students if
they don’t have it written after two times they need to ask their desk buddy.
● “Let us go through each of the moon phases together and all you scientists need to
draw what I draw and label what I label on your worksheet. We are also going to be
putting each word into our science journals.
● We are going to start with the first phase, N-E-W M-O-O-N (write on board).
○ To draw this phase we make a circle and shade the whole circle in. That means,
the moon is all dark. The sun is not shining any light on it. (pause for all
students to draw this)
○ For your science journals, please write the vocabulary word New Moon and
define it as ‘darkest phase where the whole side of the moon facing us is not
reflecting light from the sun’”. Again, repeat this two times.
● “The second phase of the moon is called a W-A-X-I-N-G C-R-E-S-C-E-N-T.
○ To draw this, we need to draw our circle and only leave a little bit on the
RIGHT side of the moon not colored in. By leaving that bit uncolored, we are
showing that part of the moon is lit up by the sun. (pause for all students to
draw this)
○ For your science journals, we have two words to put in it. The first is ‘waxing’
(underline what you already have on the board). This is defined as ‘after the
new moon, we see more and more of the moon’ (repeat twice).
○ The second word is ‘crescent’ (underline what you already have on the board).
This is defined as ‘when the moon is less than half illuminated’ (repeat twice).
○ Remember if you are unsure of what you’re writing, either raise your hand or
ask your desk buddy.
● The next phase of the moon is called the F-I-R-S-T Q-U-A-R-T-E-R.
○ You draw this by making our circle and coloring in the left HALF of the moon.
This is because we see the right half of the moon. (pause for all students to
draw this)
○ For your science journals, the next word is ‘first quarter’. First Quarter is
defined as ‘when the right half of the moon is illuminated’ (repeat twice).
● The next phase of the moon is W-A-X-I-N-G G-I-B-B-O-U-S.
○ To draw this phase we make our moon circle, and only color in a little sliver on
the LEFT side of the moon. This is because a majority of the moon is shining
during waxing gibbous.
○ Remember that waxing means we are seeing more and more of the moon in the
sky.
○ Our next vocabulary word for your journal is ‘gibbous’ (underline what you
 already have written on the board). This is defined as ‘when the moon is more
than half illuminated.’ (repeat twice).
● The next moon phase is F-U-L-L M-O-O-N.
○ To draw this we just have to draw our moon circle. DO NOT color anything in.
Who can tell me what we see when we look at the full moon?” Receive one
correct volunteer answer that we see the whole moon.
○ “That’s right, the whole moon is illuminated in our sky.
○ For your science journals, please write full moon and define it as ‘brightest
phase where the whole side of the moon facing us is reflecting light from the
sun’ (repeat twice).
● The next phase of the moon is the W-A-N-I-N-G G-I-B-B-O-U-S.
○ Who can tell me what we defined gibbous as? (take one correct answer)
○ Okay, so we know that we will be keeping a majority of this moon NOT shaded
in. But, now we will make sure that when we draw the WANING gibbous, we
color in a sliver on the RIGHT side of the moon. (pause for all students to draw
this)
○ We will define waning in our science journals as ‘after the full moon, we see
less and less of the moon’
● The next moon phase is T-H-I-R-D Q-U-A-R-T-E-R.
○ You draw this by drawing our moon and coloring in the RIGHT half. (pause for
all students to draw this)
○ Wait a minute, some of these are starting to look familiar… who can tell me
why these last two phases looked so familiar?” Wait for a student to volunteer
the connection that these two phases are the opposite of Waxing Gibbous and
First Quarter.
○ “Woah! That is so right! Since the last two phases were opposites of two phases
we have already done, can anyone predict what the last phase we have might be
the opposite of?” Take a few predictions, ask if the class agrees or disagrees.
● “Okay, well let’s see. The last phase we have is W-A-N-I-N-G C-R-E-S-C-E-N-T.
○ To draw this phase, we make our moon circle and only leave a little bit on the
LEFT side of the moon not colored in. This is the opposite of Waxing Crescent!
We were right! During Waning Crescent, we only see a little bit on the left side
of the moon.
● The next phase is New Moon. Does everyone see how we went in a cycle?
● This cycle repeats itself every 29 ½ days.
● ‘How long does it take for the moon to go through its phases?’ is our last question on
our sheet. Who can remind us the answer?” get one student to volunteer the correct
answer of 29 ½ days.
● Collect all of their science journals.

DAY 2:
● “Okay scientists, I am going to give you and your desk buddy 9 Oreo Cookies. I want
you to work together, using the worksheet we completed yesterday, to make a model of
the moon phases using these cookies. You will make a representation of each moon
phase and label them on the paper plate I give you.”
● Next, hand out 9 cookies, and toothpicks to each pair of students.
 ● Remind them not to eat the cookies and to ask for help where needed.
● Be walking around the room to make sure all students are on task.
● Make sure they are completing it correctly. Focus on accuracy of which side of the
moon is showing depending on if the moon is waxing or waning.
● If students break their cookies on accident, provide them with a new one.
● Once they have all phases complete, check their work, and reward them with one new
cookie each to eat.
● Take a picture of their work to be printed out and pasted into their science journals at
the end of the day. Once all students are finished, have them throw away their cookies
and plates and put away their sheets in their science folders.
● Hand out an index card to each student. Have them, as an exit ticket, draw and label a
moon phase, and write the amount of time it takes for the moon to complete its phases
on the index card and turn it in to the teacher. Remind them to write their names on the
card!

Closure/Summarizing Strategies:
DAY 1: “Now that we know all about the moon and its phases, tomorrow we are going to
display the moon phases in a SWEET SWEET way…”
DAY 2: “Who can tell me what allows us to see the moon?” Looking for the answer of the
sun. “that’s right. Scientists, tomorrow we are going to explore the sun and understand its
properties.”

Accommodations/Differentiation:
Student with Visual Impairments- I work with the special education teacher to have the
worksheet pre-brailled and use puffy paint to make the moon phases tactical.

Materials/Resources:
MATERIALS:
● white board
● markers
● Science Journals
● Pencils
● Note sheet (seen below)
● Projector
● Youtube Video (VIDEO LINK)
RESOURCES:

Generation Genius. (2019, March 27). Moon & Its Phases | Science Lesson For Kids |
Grades 3-5. https://www.generationgenius.com/phases-of-the-moon-for-kids/

Kids science: Phases of the Moon. (n.d.). Ducksters Education Site. Retrieved October
1, 2020, from https://www.ducksters.com/science/phases_of_the_moon.php

Loony Lunar Phases. (2018, October 27). STEM Clearinghouse.

http://clearinghouse.starnetlibraries.org/astronomy-and-space/83-loony-lunar-
phases.html
 M. (2012, March 26). Phases of Moon Study Guide for 4th Grade Science : I Love
Newton. I Love Newton. https://ilovenewton.com/phases-moon-night-stars-
study-guide-4th-grade/#:%7E:text=The%20word%20gibbous%20refers
%20to,is%20more%20than%20half%20illuminated.&text=After%20the
%20new%20moon%2C%20the,so%20it%20is%20waxing%20gibbous.

Reflective Response:
Report of Student Learning Target/Objectives Proficiency Levels

Remediation Plan (if applicable)

Personal Reflection Questions

1. Is my pacing of the definitions too slow?

2. Am I presenting the information in a memorable way?

Additional reflection/thoughts

Name:_____________

Moon Phase Note Sheet

1. The __________ orbits the Earth.

2. Where does the moon get its light from?

3. Moon Phases-
1. 2.

3. 4.
5. 6.

7. 8.
 9.

4. How long does it take for the moon to go through its phases?

These are the words you should have entered into your science journal:

● Phases
● Waxing
● Waning
● Gibbous
● Crescent
● New Moon
● Full Moon
● First Quarter
● Third Quarter