Blended Learning Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: The Phases of the Moon

Objectives:

Students will be able to identify the phases of the moon

Students will be able to explain the difference between waxing and waning

State Standards:

Standard 1.E.3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the patterns of the Sun and the
Moon and the Sun’s effect on Earth.

Context: I am teaching this lesson to help students understand the different moon phases and how
they affect the Earth. Before this lesson, we spoke about the tides and how the moon affects
them, this lesson will clarify that lesson as well. Students will connect what they know about the
moon and connect it to new knowledge. After this lesson, students will know how to tell the
difference between the different moon phases.

Data: Students will be separated into groups based on their performance on the cool down lesson
and assignment from the class period prior. Students who showed that they have a better
understanding of the topics will be placed in a group with those who are on the same level as
them. I will review the data and give a few minutes to the students who seem to need a little
more help and guidance.

Materials:

Introduction: Smartboard to show examples of Moon Phases

Science notebook and pencil

Teacher Directed: Smartboard to follow along with me

Pencil and Science notebook
Worksheet provided by me
Collaborative: Pencil or Colored Pencil of their choice
Worksheet provided by me

Independent Digital: iPad to watch video “Phases of the Moon: Astronomy for Kids”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ZHdzl6ZWg and BrainPOP “Moon Phases”
https://www.brainpop.com/science/space/moonphases/ Students will also use the iPad to visit
https://www.neok12.com/Moon.htm and complete a jigsaw puzzle.

Closure: iPad

Procedures:
Introduction (10 minutes):
Students will enter the classroom and put away their belongings and let some energy out before they take
their seats. Once they are settled, they will take out their notebooks, pencils and iPads and fill out the
Warmup exercise. They will also take a survey of how they felt about the class prior. This will help me
create my future lessons both on this topic and how I will approach future topics and lessons. I will also
compare the Warmup exercise with what they know or think they know currently, with what they learned
in the lesson of the day so I can see what they are struggling on individually and collectively, so I know if
and what needs extra review. Once they are finished with their warmup, I will allow them a minute or two
to decompress before I begin my section of the lesson. Once they are finished, they will put their iPads
away and open their Science notebooks to a new page and title it “Phases of the Moon” with the date.
They will wait for further instruction.

Teacher Directed (15 minutes):

I will begin my lesson by showing photos of the Moon phases on the board and have the students guess at
what each phase is called. I will provide a word bank on each slide for them to choose from. We will go
over photos of each phase and I will give them the correct phase. They will write the names and copy the
drawings as best they can in their notebooks, so they have them to look back on. Once they have copied
down their notes, I will play the two videos I have provided for them. First will be a YouTube video on
the phases, and the second will be a BrainPOP video that they will have an accompanying worksheet for.
Once they have completed their worksheets, we will review to ensure all of their answers are correct.
Then I will explain their next assignment and pair them off into groups.

Collaborative (15 minutes):

For this part of the lesson, I will pair students off by how they did on the exit ticket from the previous day
and how confident they are in the work so far. Students will be given a worksheet and they will color in
the moon phases to match the correct one. They will work together on the worksheets and discuss as they
go. Once they are finished, we will regroup and review. They will submit the worksheet for credit to the
classwork bin.

Independent Digital (10 minutes):

Students will independently rewatch the two videos we previously watched together to review
and ensure that they understand the material. Once they have finished the material, they will log
onto https://www.neok12.com/Moon.htm and complete the matching worksheets and jigsaw
puzzle about the moon phases.

Closure (5 minutes):

Students will complete their exit tickets on the iPad for me to review how they understood the
material. Once they finish this, I will allow for questions to help them understand anything they
are not comfortable with yet.

Rationale:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ZHdzl6ZWg
I chose this video because it is short and to the point. I believe that it will give the students the
information that they need in a way that they can easily understand. I also chose this video
because it is available for free on YouTube, so they have access to it at home if they need to
review or refer to it for help on a homework assignment. The video also explains other topics we
will cover in the future, so it will be familiar to them and help them review at the same time.

https://www.brainpop.com/science/space/moonphases/
I chose this video because the children always enjoy BrainPOP videos. They present themselves
as more fun and less educational, so it keeps the kids entertained and interested while still
teaching them what they need to know. It is short, so they won’t lose interest and it is animated
so it is more like a movie or television show they would like.

https://www.neok12.com/Moon.htm
I chose this website because it provides multiple fun games for students to use to learn their
information and making sure they understand it with multiple different learning methods.