Once In A Blue Moon Melanie Lewis for Blue Ridge Public Television (WBRA, WMSY, WSBN) Madison Heights Elementary, Madison Heights VA GRADE LEVELS: 3-5 TIME ALLOTMENT: three or four, 45 minute class periods OVERVIEW Using interactive note taking skills while viewing a streaming video clip, students will discover that the moon has a predictable cycle and that the positions of the sun, Earth, and moon cause the moon s shape to appear to change in the night sky. Classroom simulations will provide students with a hands-on means of understanding why only a part of the moon is visible. Students will use a Virtual Reality Moon Phase website to view the position of the moon on their birthday and on the anniversary of their birthday for at least four years and record this information on a graphic organizer. For gifted learners or older students, directions are provided to create a slide show from the data collected from the Virtual Reality Moon Phase website. SUBJECT MATTER Science, Technology LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will be able to: Define vocabulary terms related to the different phases of the moon Explain the reason for the different appearances of the moon phases Use a website to obtain information STANDARDS This lesson addresses the Virginia Standards of Learning which can be found at: http://www.pen.k12.va.us/vdoe/superintendent/sols/home.shtml Science 3.8 The student will investigate and understand basic patterns and cycles occurring in nature. Science 4.7 The student will investigate and understand the relationships among the Earth, moon, and sun. MEDIA COMPONENTS Video: The Moon Dance United Streaming- http://www.unitedstreaming.com To fully utilize this site, you must obtain a membership to United Streaming. You must also have installed one of the following free media players: o Quick time http://www.apple.com/quicktime/
o Windows Media Player http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp Internet: Virtual Reality Moon Phases http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/vphase.html Software: PowerPoint or other slide show builder Materials: A computer projection device One computer for each student PowerPoint Software loaded onto each computer (optional) Graphic Organizers (attached) Direction Sheet for students on how to create a PowerPoint slide show(optional/attached) Styrofoam ball, one per student Lamp with a 200-watt bulb Duct tape or electrical tape to secure the lamp to a student desk for safety precautions Overhead projector Prep for Teachers: Download and preview the video clip. You only need the part entitled, Moon Phases. Hook up the projection device to the computer containing your video clip. Cue clip. Since you downloaded only a small piece of the entire video, you may start from the beginning of the clip. Print all graphic organizers, one per student. Print direction sheet, one per student. Make a copy of the graphic organizers on transparency for whole group instruction. Familiarize yourself with the procedures for leading students through creating a PowerPoint slide show if you are doing this part. Secure lamp to a student desk for safety precautions with duct tape. Bookmark websites; one idea would be to use PortaPortal to bookmark not only the sites you want to use in this lesson but for other lessons as well. Introductory Activity: During the first part of this lesson, students will interact with the video clip by taking guided notes on the provided graphic organizer during viewing. They will be given an opportunity to write down the answer to important questions. After each question is answered, you will check for comprehension by allowing students to also answer the questions aloud. This will ensure that the students understand the basic concepts. Say, One of the prettiest sights I know is a big, bright moon. Many people like to walk outside at night when the moon is big and bright, or even just sit on their porch and stare up at the moon, but the moon is not always big and bright, it appears to change
shape. Sometimes we may not even see a moon at all. We are going to watch this video clip to see how and why the moon s shape appears to change during the month. As we watch the video clip, I will ask you to listen for the answers to some questions. You will write down the answers on your graphic organizer. Provide a focus for media interaction by saying, Listen to hear the word synchronized and be ready to tell how this word explains the relationship between Earth and the moon. Begin the video clip and pause when you hear at the same rate it orbits the Earth. You will see the moon orbiting the Earth. Ask, What does it mean when we say that the moon and the Earth have synchronized orbits? (The moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that it orbits or circles the earth.) Say Write down the answer to question number 1 which asks, What does synchronized mean?. Give students a moment to complete this task. To assure that the students have the correct answer in the right place, the teacher should write the answer on her transparency or you may pull up the document using Smart Board and copy the answer on the document there. For special needs students who have difficulty copying and taking notes, you may wish to run a copy of your transparency with the notes written in or save your Smart Board document and print it out. Provide a focus for media interaction by saying, I am going to rewind the clip. This time as you listen, I want you to listen to find out what holds the moon in orbit around the Earth. Start video. Pause when you hear at the same rate it orbits the Earth. You will again see the moon orbiting the Earth. Say, Write down the answer to question number 2 which asks, What holds the moon in a synchronized orbit around the Earth?. Give students a moment to complete this task then, ask, What keeps the moon orbiting the Earth? (Earth s gravity) As the students give the correct answer, write it down on the transparency or Smart Board document. Provide a focus for media interaction by saying, Listen and watch this next clip to see what effect the Earth s gravity has on the part of the moon that is visible to us, and the reason astronomers give for this. Begin video again. Pause when you hear, as a result is pulled harder by gravity. You will still see a close up of the moon. Say, Write down the answer to question number 3, which asks, Explain why astronomers say we only see one side of the moon.. Give students a moment to complete this task then, ask, What did the video clip say about the part of the moon that we see? (We always see the same side of the moon.) Ask, Why do astronomers say this is true? (One side is heavier than the other and is pulled harder by gravity.) Again, write down the answer on the transparency or Smart Board document after the students give the answer aloud. Provide a focus for media interaction by saying, The change in the appearance of the moon is called the phases of the moon. There is a pattern that the phases follow. The moon must go through each phase in a special order. This takes awhile to do. Listen to hear how long it takes the moon to cycle through all of its phases. Begin the video. Pause when you hear, the moon goes through a series of phases. You will also see the word phase printed across the picture of the moon. Say, Write down the answer to question number 4, which asks, How long does it take for the moon to orbit the earth?. Give students a moment to complete this task then, ask, How long does it take for the moon to cycle through all of its phases? (approximately 29 days) Again, write down the
answer on the transparency or Smart Board document after the students give the answer aloud. Provide a focus for media interaction by saying, Even though we say that the moonlight is beautiful, the moon does not really have its own light. In this next part we are going to find out what we are really seeing. Begin video. Pause the video when you hear, we see the moon at a different angle. You will see the moon orbiting the Earth. Say, Write down the answer to question number 5 which asks, What causes the changes in the appearance of the moon as it is going through its phases?. Give students a moment to complete this task then, ask, What are we really seeing when we say we are seeing moonlight? (The reflected light of the sun.) Write the correct answer down on your transparency or Smart Board document. Provide a focus for media interaction by saying, The line that separates the light and dark parts of the moon and earth has a special name. Listen to hear what this name is in the final part of the video. Begin video and play until the end. Say, Write down the answer to question number 5, which asks, What is the line that separates the light part from the dark part of the moon and earth?. Give students a moment to complete this task then, ask, What is the name of the line that separates the light from the dark part of the moon and Earth? (terminator) Write the correct answer down on your transparency or Smart Board document. Learning Activity Note to Teacher: Review the following procedures before using them with your students. Most students are familiar with the names of the major moon phases so to begin, this lesson will access prior knowledge by reviewing just the major phases. Once students have reviewed the major phases, you may move on to the minor phases. You may also want to rework the Moon Calendar Sheet so that it only goes through four phases if you are using this with younger students or special needs children. If you wish to create a cut and paste worksheet, you may use the link provided in the Culminating Activity to get wonderful pictures of the moon s phases. Step 1 Place a 200-watt bulb in a lamp without a shade in the center of the room. Tape the fixture to a desk to avoid any accidents. Distribute one Styrofoam ball to each student. Turn the other lights off in the room and lower the shades so that the light from the lamp is more dramatic. Step 2 Ask students to stand in a circular pattern with the lamp at the center of the circle. Turn on the light. Encourage the students not to look directly into the lamp s light. Explain that the Styrofoam ball is a model or representation of the moon. They are the representation of the Earth and the light is the sun. In this manner, students will better comprehend the moon s phases since they are looking at the model from the Earth s perspective.
Step 3 Have all the students place their Styrofoam models (moon) in their left hands. The students hold the model in front of them to block out the light (sun). The ball (moon) will be directly in front of the students faces (earth). This is an example of an eclipse of the sun by the moon (Solar Eclipse). This does not happen very often, and it is important to stress that it does not happen every time the moon orbits the Earth. Step 4 Have the students lower their ball (moon) slightly so the lamp (sun) shines over the ball. At this point the ball should be at the students chin level. In this phase as seen from Earth (the child s perspective) all of the moon (ball) facing the Earth (child) is in shadow or is dark. The surface of the moon facing away from the Earth is illuminated by the sun. The combination of the dark side of the moon facing the Earth and the sun in the same part of the sky as the moon makes this phase invisible to viewers from Earth. This is the New Moon. Step 5 Instruct students to move the Styrofoam model (moon) one quarter turn towards their left. They will have completed this when they are facing the light (sun) and the ball (moon) is being held out straight from their left shoulder. Have the students repeat this maneuver and watch as the day/night boundary moves across the face of the moon (ball). This day/night line, or terminator, slowly creeps across the surface of the moon from the right to the left. When the moon is again being held out from their left shoulder, they can see that the right half of the moon (ball) is illuminated. This is the First Quarter Moon. It is called the First Quarter Moon because the moon is one quarter (one week) of the way around the Earth during a single orbit, or revolution. Step 6 With the students still facing the light source (sun) they will lower the ball (moon) into the shadow of their head (Earth). This would be an eclipse of the moon by the Earth (Lunar Eclipse). The ball (moon) will be directly behind the students heads (earth). As with the Solar Eclipse, this situation does not happen very often, and it never happens every month. Step 7 Have the students raise their ball (moon) directly above their heads so the light (sun) shines onto it. This is the Full Moon. Step 8 At this point, students should change hands and with the ball (moon) in their right hand, slowly sweep the ball in an arc until it is directly out from their right shoulder as
they face the light source (sun). They will have completed this when they are facing the light (sun) and the ball (moon) is being held out straight from their right shoulder. Have the students repeat this maneuver (Full to Third Quarter) and watch as the terminator slowly creeps across the surface of the moon. The terminator slowly creeps across the surface of the moon from the right to the left, just like it did after the New Moon. This time night and day are reversed. When the moon is again being held out from their right shoulder, they can see the left half of the moon is illuminated. This is the Third or Last Quarter Moon. This is due to the fact that the moon is three quarters of the way around the Earth during a single orbit, or revolution. Step 9 Students should now move the ball (moon) back in the original starting position of New Moon. Remind students that it takes a month (about 30 days) for the moon to complete one orbit, or revolution, around the Earth and that the moon repeats or cycles through these phases each month. Step 10 Review all four phases by recording the name of the moon phase on calendar sheet #1 in the correct place. Have the students outline the picture of each of these phases with a blue pencil, crayon, marker, or highlighter. Explain that these are called the major phases. Step 11 Students have just reviewed the major phases of the moon and are now ready to move on to the minor phases. Have students send the model around the Earth again but moving the model a little higher so there are no eclipses. Review all phases of the moon from Part 1 by having students name each phase in unison as you guide them through the cycle. Step 12 Have all the students place their balls in their left hands and position the model at New Moon. Then have the students move the ball to a place halfway between where it started when it was in the position of the New Moon and where it would be if it were in the position of the First Quarter Moon. The position in between New Moon and First Quarter is called the Waxing Crescent phase. Step 13 Have the students move the ball halfway in between First Quarter and Full Moon. This position is called Waxing Gibbous phase. Step 14 Have all students position the model so it indicates Full Moon. At this point, students should change hands and place the model in their right hand. Slowly sweep the ball in an arc stopping halfway between Full Moon and Third or Last Quarter phase. The position in between Full Moon and Third Quarter is called the Waning Gibbous phase.
Step 15 Instruct students to move the ball halfway between Third Quarter and New Moon phases. This position is called the Waning Crescent phase. Step 16 Explain that Waning and Waxing Gibbous and Crescent phases are called the minor phases. Have the students outline the picture of each of the minor phases with a red pencil, crayon, marker, or highlighter. Review all eight phases by recording the names of each moon phase on The Moon Calendar Sheet (attached). Culminating Activity: *Note to teacher: Review the following procedures before starting this with the students. You may wish to go through this activity exactly as it is mapped out or if you only have one computer you may want to change it to suit your needs. One idea is to have students observe the actual moon for one week and shade in My Birthday Moon Sheet to match their observations. Then daily pull up the Virtual Moon Phase Website to see if what is displayed matches what they saw. If you wish to use the directions as mapped, you may want to copy the directions below and paste in a new document to print out and give to students. To do this, highlight all text from the bolded title to step 10. From the Edit menu, pull down to Copy. Open a new document and pull down from Edit again to Paste. Now you have a student copy of the directions. Procedure for Using the Virtual Reality Moon Phase Website. 1. For this next part you will need a copy of My Birthday Moon and a pencil. 2. On your computer keyboard, hold down your Ctrl key and click on the following link: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/vphase.html. 3. On the Virtual Reality Moon Phase Website, click on 1900 s in the century box.
4. Next, click on the year you were born in the year box. 5. Now click on the month you were born in the month box. 6. Click on the day in the day box. 7. If you do not know the hour you were born, you may click on 12 in the hour box. 8. Click on Eastern Time in the zone box.
9. Click the Show Phase box which is below where you entered the data. When the new window loads, note the phase of the moon. Shade in the first circle on Calendar Sheet 3 to match the moon phase you observe. 10. Repeat steps 1-9 and change only the year to match the year you turned two years of age, four years of age, six years of age and eight years of age. Shade in the circles and note the year for each age on My Birthday Moon. *Note to teacher: You may wish to have the students create a project based on the data they gathered from the Virtual Reality Moon Phase website using the actual pictures of the moon as viewed on the site. To put the actual picture into a document, have students right click and copy the picture. They will then toggle back to their project document and again right click. This time ask them to scroll down to Paste. Their picture should be in their documents. The student can then click and drag the picture into the place desired. Ideas for projects include timelines, slide shows, Inspiration/Kidspiration or other mind mapping program, word documents, etc. Cross-Curricular Activities: Art: This site has directions for a moon phase calendar bulletin board. http://www.middleschoolscience.com/moonphasebulletinboard.pdf Students could create a moon from papier mache and paint it to demonstrate various phases of the moon. Math: Create a graph depicting how many students were born under each phase of the moon. You may want to use Excel or the following site to create your graph: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/ Language Arts: Introduce students to the myths of the moon gods and goddesses. Have them create their own myth. This site has information and stories on gods and goddesses from many different cultures. http://folkloreandmyth.netfirms.com/gods_goddesses.html History: Have students complete a timeline on the History of the Race to the Moon. Microsoft Paint is a free program that is already installed on most PCs. This would be a great program to use to create a timeline.
Gifted Learners: Use the attached directions to create a slide show demonstrating the phases of the moon using the data gathered from the Virtual Reality Moon Phase web site. Community Connections: Invite a meteorologist in to talk with your students.
Guided Note Taking on the Phases of the Moon Name:
Moon Calendar Sheet Name Directions: Shade each phase of the moon and label it correctly
My Birthday Moon Name My birthday moon on My birthday moon on My birthday moon on My birthday moon on My birthday moon on My birthday moon on
Student Directions for Creating a Slide Show Demonstrating the Phases of the Moon on Your Birthday: A lesson for extended learning 1. Open Microsoft PowerPoint. A title slide appears. 2. In the Click to add title box, click once and type: My Birthday Moon. 3. In the Click to add subtitle box, click once and type, By (your name). 4. Add a new slide to your slide show. From the Insert menu, choose New Slide. 5. Click on Format on the top menu bar and drag down to Slide Layout. 6. Design Layout Templates appears. Click on the template seen below that has a place for your sentence at the top and is plain at the bottom. 7. Click on Format on the top menu bar and drag down to Slide Design.
8. Click on Color Schemes above the templates to change colors. 9. Click on Color Schemes above the templates and click on the all black background. 10. Click on the circle shape located on the drawing palette at the bottom of your screen. 11. Click and drag a circle across the middle of your slide. 12. Click on the circle on your slide and then on the fill tool on the bottom palette. The fill tool looks like a paint can. Change the color to yellow.
13. Click on the icon in the bottom left corner to switch to the slide sorter view. 14. You will then be able to see all the slides you have created in the same window. Right now, you only have two slides but you are going to change that in the next step. 15. Click on the slide with the yellow circle in the middle. Then click on Edit located in the top tool bar and pull down to copy. 16. Again, click on Edit and pull down to paste. Paste four more slides into your window. You just have to go to the top and pull down to paste four more times. Your window should look like this: 17. Click on slide two and then the icon in the bottom left corner to switch back to Normal View.
18. Your screen now looks like this: 19. In the Click to add title box on slide two, click once and type: My Birthday Moon on the day I was born. 20. In the Click to add title box on slide three, click once and type: My Birthday Moon on my second birthday. 21. In the Click to add title box on slide four, click once and type: My Birthday Moon on my fourth birthday. 22. In the Click to add title box on slide five, click once and type: My Birthday Moon on my sixth birthday. 23. In the Click to add title box on slide two, click once and type: My Birthday Moon on my eighth birthday. 24. Save your work. Give it the title, My Birthday Moon Slideshow. Pull out your graphic organizer with the data from the Virtual Realty Moon Phase website. 25. Click on slide two of your presentation. This is what you will see on your screen:
26. Click on the circle shape located on the drawing palette at the bottom of your screen. 27. Click and drag a circle on the right side of your previous circle. (Note: if your moon was a gibbous or half moon you will want to use the square tool instead of the circle tool.) 28. Move the second circle around over the yellow circle until the only part that shows matches the view of the moon on your birthday. Use your graphic organizer to help you remember the reported view of the moon on your birthday.
29. Click on the circle on your slide and then on the fill tool on the bottom palette. The fill tool looks like a paint can. Change the color to black. 30. If there is a white line around your black circle, you may click on the line color tool on the bottom palette and change the line color to black. 31. Repeat steps 26-30 on the other slides in your show to create slides that show the moon s phase on your remaining birthdays that you have researched. 32. Save your work. 33. Click on the first slide of your presentation and then the slide show icon in the bottom left corner of your window to view your presentation. Click to advance to each successive screen.