Moon. Grade Level: 1-3. pages 1 2 pages 3 4 pages 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 9

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1 Moon Grade Level: 1-3 Teacher Guidelines Instructional Pages Activity Page Practice Page Homework Page Answer Key pages 1 2 pages 3 4 pages 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 9

2 Classroom Procedure: Approximate Grade Level: Read the Robert Louis Stephenson poem: The Moon. Do not use the word moon. Ask: What is the poem about? How do you know? 2. Allow for responses and discussion. 3. Distribute Moon content pages. Read and review the information with the students. Save the final question for the lesson closing. Use the additional resources to enhance understanding. 4. Distribute Activity page. Read and review the instructions. Students will work alone for the 1 st half of the activity. Distribute scissors, paper, and glue. Allow time to complete. When done, check and display the finished work. 5. Activity 2: Teacher demonstrates use of the flashlight and balls to show one of the moon s phases. Place students in groups of three. Distribute flashlights and balls. (Lights need to be turned off.) Give students sufficient time to discover and demonstrate each of the four moon phases. During the activity, ask students to show the location of the Earth, moon, and Sun during each phase. Check for understanding. 6. Distribute Practice page. Check and review the students responses. 7. Distribute the Homework page. Explain the instructions. Periodically remind students to check the moon phase each day. The cloudy days can be completed later, using the day before and after as a guide. 8. After 30 days, review the phases of the moon. If completed correctly, the 1 st moon phase should be approximately the same as the 30th day. 9. In closing, ask: Tell about the last time you saw a full moon. What was it like? 10. Allow for responses and discussion. 11. Ask students if they have ever heard superstitions about the moon. 12. Allow for sharing and discussion. Objectives: The students will be able to list characteristics and facts about the Earth s moon. The students will be able to explain the causes of the moon s phases. Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.7 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.7 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7 Class Sessions (45 minutes): At least 2 class sessions. Teaching Materials/Worksheets: Moon content pages (2), Activity page, Practice page, Homework page Student Supplies: Scissors, white and black construction paper, glue, flashlight, two balls, handouts Prepare Ahead of Time: Supplies for activity, flashlight to demonstrate moon phases using a ball for Earth and one for the moon. Place students in 3s for the second half of activity. Copy handouts Options for Lesson: Students may work in pairs for second half of activity. Second half of activity may be optional; teacher only does the demonstration. For homework, teacher may decide to check phases daily or once weekly. Take students outdoors on a day the moon may appear during daylight hours. Create a giant moon in the room, changing its phase daily for one month to match the actual moon phase. Practice page completed together and orally as a class. 2

3 Teacher Notes The lesson introduces students to the Earth s moon and many of its characteristics and interesting facts. In addition, an explanation and cause of the moon s phases are presented to the students. Most students at this age are interested in space and the planets, and the moon is something they see nearly every day, which sparks their natural curiosity. There are a couple excellent videos as part of the additional resources, which will peak the students interest. Additional Resources: Content: (Video links and more) Worksheets: (and more) Videos: (3 min) (5 min) (7 min) (4 min) (5 min) 3

4 The Earth s Moon Humans live on Earth, and the only other place in the Universe people have been is the moon. The moon is not a planet but is called a satellite of the Earth because it orbits, or goes around, the Earth. The moon orbits the Earth just like the Earth orbits the Sun. The Moon s orbit is not a perfect circle. Sometimes it is farther away from Earth than at other times. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE EARTH AND MOON Earth You will weigh more here on Earth than on the moon because the pull of gravity is much stronger. Moon Gravitational pull is much less. Weighing 66 pounds on Earth is like weighing 11 pounds on the moon. You could bounce when walking. Gravity is a force that pulls objects together. It is what prevents you from floating away. Bigger than the moon. About 8,000 miles across. Only about 2,000 miles across, ¼ the size. Earth has an atmosphere and the average temperature on Earth is about 61 F, lowest can be below zero and above 100 F. The moon has no atmosphere and the average temperature on the Moon is about -4 F, lowest can be more than 250 F below or above 0. The atmosphere is made up of gases or air that surround Earth or other planets. 4

5 Earth Moon Earth can support living organisms like plants and animals because there is water and oxygen. The moon cannot support life because there is no water or oxygen, though at one time there may have been water. It takes about 365 days for the Earth to orbit the Sun, which is one year. It takes about 29 days for the moon to orbit the Earth, about once per month. It takes Earth about 24 hours or 1 day to spin on its axis. The moon spins very slowly taking about 27 days to spin on its axis. Axis is an imaginary line through the moon or Earth from its north pole to its south pole. The distance from the Earth to the Sun is about 93,000,000 miles. The distance from the moon to the Earth is about 239,000 miles. The surface of the Earth is mostly covered in water with various types of landforms, such as mountains, deserts, ice, and forests. It is mostly rock and dust. Rocks have been smashed into pieces by meteorites, and break apart due to the heating and cooling of the moon. There are some mountains. A meteorite is a piece of rock or stone that has fallen to the ground from outer space. The weather on earth can include wind, rain, snow, and other types of weather which can cause erosion and other surface changes. Meteorites have caused the craters on the moon, and the surface of the moon does not change because there is no rain, snow, wind, etc. Astronauts have landed on the moon several times. The first person to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong on July 20, The pilot s name was Buzz Aldrin, who stepped onto the moon about 20 minutes later. Prior to that time, spacecraft had orbited the moon and Earth but none had ever landed. NASA, which is the space program for the United States, later organized five more moon landings with the last one taking place on December 11,

6 The moon also causes the tides on Earth. If there was no moon, there would be no tides. The ocean tides rise due to the gravitational pull of the moon. On the side of the Earth where the moon is closest, high tide takes place. When the moon is at its furthest from the Earth, low tide occurs.[image: ocean] Phases of the Moon You might wonder why the moon appears differently in the sky sometimes. Once a month you can usually see the entire moon and at other times it looks as if a chunk of the moon has disappeared. However, the shape of the moon has not changed. The moon can only be seen due to the Sun s reflection off its surface. Without the Sun, you could not see the moon. You can only see part of the moon, which is called a moon phase. Depending on the position of the Earth, the moon, and the place you are standing on the Earth, the moon may appear differently in the sky. Sometimes you can see the moon during the day as well. A few of the moon phases include a full moon, first quarter moon or last quarter moon, (often called half-moons), and new moon, which cannot be seen. The other phase is called a crescent or gibbous. New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Full Moon Gibbous Crescent When the moon appears to get larger in the sky it is called waxing. When the moon appears to be getting smaller in the sky, it is called waning. Waxing and waning is what occurs as the moon phases change. In ancient times, people would use the moon and the different phases to help them travel at night and keep track of time. The next time you look into the sky, notice the changing moon phases, and how the sky lights up when there is a full moon. Look for the moon to appear during the day time hours too. Tell about the last time you saw a full moon. What was it like? 6

7 Activity Name Date Instructions: 1. Supplies: scissors, black construction paper, white construction paper, glue 2. Use the white construction paper to draw and cut out 5 phases of the moon: 3. On the black construction paper, you will glue and label each of the moon s phases. 4. In addition, draw an outline using a bright colored marker to draw and label the New moon. 5. When labeling, do not write the moon phase directly on the moon, create a label or use a bright colored pen. Label above or below the cut-out. 6. You may also include small stars in the sky surrounding the phases. Instructions: a. New moon b. First quarter c. Last quarter d. Gibbous e. Crescent 7. Supplies: flashlight, ball for moon, ball for Earth 8. With your partners, use the flashlight as the Sun and the two different-sized balls to demonstrate the phases of the moon. 9. Notice the location of the Sun, the Earth, and the moon when there is a full moon and when there is a new moon. 10. Also, notice when it is the 1 st and last-quarter moons. 7

8 Practice Name Date Use a line to match the phase with its appearance First Quarter Last Quarter Full Moon New Moon Gibbous Crescent Match the term to the correct definition 1. To go around the Earth. 2. Force that pulls objects together. 3. Made up of gases or air that surround the Earth. 4. Imaginary line through the moon or Earth from pole to pole. 5. Piece of rock or stone fallen to the ground from space. 6. First person to walk on the moon. 7. Second person to walk on the moon. 8. Part of the moon that appears in the sky. 9. Occurs when the moon appears to be getting larger. 10. Occurs when the moon appears to be getting smaller. 11. The space program of the United States. 12. A large satellite of the Earth. A. Atmosphere B. Axis C. Buzz Aldrin D. Gravity E. Meteorite F. Moon G. NASA H. Neil Armstrong I. Orbit J. Phase K. Waning L. Waxing 8

9 Homework Name Date Over the next 30 days, shade in each circle matching the moon s appearance in the sky. Write the date in the box below. If it is a cloudy day, write the word cloudy in the circle. 9

10 Practice Name Answer Key Date Use a line to match the phase with its appearance First Quarter Last Quarter Full Moon New Moon Gibbous Crescent Match the term to the correct definition 1. To go around the Earth. I 2. Force that pulls objects together. D 3. Made up of gases or air that surround the Earth. A 4. Imaginary line through the moon or Earth from pole to pole. B 5. Piece of rock or stone fallen to the ground from space. E 6. First person to walk on the moon. H 7. Second person to walk on the moon. C 8. Part of the moon that appears in the sky. J 9. Occurs when the moon appears to be getting larger. L 10. Occurs when the moon appears to be getting smaller. K 11. The space program of the United States. G 12. A large satellite of the Earth. F 10