Name: Heather Yeakley

Class: ELED 3221

During my two week immersion, I taught a lesson on the phases of the moon. My

coordinating teacher was currently working on a social studies unit, so this lesson was the first

lesson these students received on phases of the moon while in fourth grade. Because this was

their first lesson on the topic, my coordinating teacher felt that a lesson focusing more on the

vocabulary would be most beneficial to the students. This lesson did not go as I had originally

planned, but I tried to adjust my plans to fit the students needs at the time. If I was to teach this

lesson again, I would want to split it up over a couple of days to give the students more time to

grasp and understand the terminology associated with the standard.

What did the students find out in the experience?

Through this experience, I hope that the students gained at least some knowledge on the

phases of the moon. The goal of this lesson was for students to be able to use the correct

vocabulary when labeling and identifying the various phases of the moon, while recognizing

that the phases occur in a set pattern and are not random. I planned activities that placed a

little bit more emphasis on vocabulary, because this was the aspect of phases of the moon

that my lesson focused on. There is a lot of terminology associated with the standard, and I

wanted to be sure that my students had a clear understanding.

Were there any surprises?
I am not sure if there were any surprises for the students. However, I guess there were a few

for me. This was the first time that this class had discussed phases of the moon in fourth

grade, so I knew that they would find it difficult at first. But, I was a little overwhelmed and

definitely surprised by how the lesson went. It definitely did not go as smoothly as I had

planned for, and thought that it would.

How did the students in each group work together?
 I did not incorporate very much group work into this lesson. There was some partner

collaboration while completing the note-taking graphic organizer, as well as while students

were creating the phases of the moon using their Oreos.

Were there any problems?
I realized, about half way through the lesson, that my students were not understanding

anything that I was saying. The students had a difficult time understanding that half of the

moon is always illuminated by the sun, but the parts we were discussion were the portions of

that illuminated part that are visible from earth at any given time. I had to adjust my original

plans a bit, and figure out what I could do to fit their needs.
Was the activity open-ended enough, or did each group do more or less the same thing?
Each group did more or less the same thing in these activities, however, my coordinating

teacher does not typically group by ability for science. Math is the only class that she feels

the need to make adjustments for different groups of students.

How did the students connect this experience to their daily lives?
To begin the lesson, we talked about how you can look outside at night and observe the

changes in the moon. We talked about how throughout the course of each month you can

watch the moon go through each of its eight phases at your own home!
Did I use technology effectively?
Other than using the Smart Board to show the class the Bill Nye the Science Guy video on

The Moon, I did not use other forms of technology during this lesson. I definitely could

have incorporated more technology into the lesson. My coordinating teacher gave me some

feedback, and said that it might have been beneficial for me to pull up images from google of

what each of the phases looks like while we were giving them definitions.
Overall, what do I think the students got out of the experience?
I hope that I at least was able to create a foundation, and develop some prior knowledge for

these students when my coordinating teacher beings a unit on this lesson later in the year. I

know that this lesson alone is not enough to meet all of the requirements of the standard, but

I hope that it at least contributed to their understanding.

What do I remember most about this science activity?
 As I mentioned before, the moment that I realized my students were not grasping the concept

was the most memorable for me. I had everyone stop completing their note-taking sheet for

a few minutes, I saw a basketball on the other side of the room. I thought that demonstrating

with a three dimensional object would help students grasp the concept a little better. So I

picked up the ball and a black jacket. I covered half of the ball with the jacket and told the

class that that represented the portion of the moon that was not illuminated by the sun. And

then I rotated the ball. I said half of the ball is still illuminated right? and got a few nods,

and then I said but can we still see the entire half that is illuminated? I feel like I could see

light bulbs going off in a few of the students heads. I am glad I got to provide that ah-ha

moment to at least a few of them.

Would I do it again? How would I plan differently the next time?
I would definitely use these activities again in a unit on phases on the moon, however, I do

not know if I would use them all together in one lesson again. I think these activities would

have been more beneficial to the students had they been spread out over a few days.

Additionally, I would like to spread the vocabulary out over a couple of days rather than

trying to cram all of those terms into one 60 minute science class. The biggest area of

struggle for my students was definitely in their comprehension of the vocabulary and I owe

that to the fact that so little time was spent on each term with the amount of time that was

provided.
What did you learn about yourself as a learner and as a teacher during this lesson?
Teaching this lesson to this class definitely reiterated to me that we are always learning.

Even when you are finished (or almost finished) with school and are not a student anymore,

you are still a learner. I say this because I know that I myself learned a lot just through

teaching this lesson. I also know that with myself personally, my brain is like a little sponge

and I love to absorb as much information as I can. I absolutely do not have a problem always
being considered a learner, because I have no problem learning. As a teacher, I would say

that I learned that lessons definitely do not always go as planned. I have been told this time

and time again throughout my time in the Elementary Education program at UNC Charlotte,

but it has become prevalent to me through the teaching of my own lessons and my

observations of my coordinating teacher during my two week immersion. But when a lesson

is going downhill, I think it is important to have everyone stop what they are doing rather

than continue to lead the class in the wrong direction so that you can finish your lesson as

planned. You, as the teacher, need to figure out why your students are not grasping the

concepts and adjust your plans to fit their needs.