sciencemoonplan2

Name: Patricia Dillard Date: October 30, 2001 Lesson Length: 45 minutes

School: Red Cross Elementary Age/Grade Level:1st grade # of Students: 24

Subject: Science Topic: Moon   # of IEP Students: 3

ACTIONS: Prepared prior to observation

Objective(s): At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
Explain how craters on the moon are formed through discovery (i.e., both rock size and the height from which it is dropped affect the size and depth of the crater).

Connections:
This lesson fulfills Core Content Statement SS-E-2.2.2 �Objects in the sky (e.g., Sun, clouds, moon) have properties, locations, and real or apparent movements that can be observed and described.

Context:
Yesterday the students were introduced to the moon through a book that was read by the teacher. This lesson is designed to teach students about the surface of the moon.

Materials/Technology:
1. flour
2. shallow pan
3. gray tempera paint
4. several rocks of different sizes
5. page 5, reproduced for students

Procedures:

Implements/Manages Instruction:

A. Initiation:
The teacher will begin this lesson by asking the students if they see dark spots on the moon at night. Do you see a man in the moon? Does the surface of the moon look like cheese? These dark spots are actually shadows cast by mountains, valleys, and
aters on the moon�s surface. Today we are going to do an experiment to see what has happened to the moon�s surface over the years. We are going to make craters. Raise your hand if you know how craters are made. (Big rocks from space hit the moon, le
ing holes.) Yesterday we talked about the moon. Raise your hand if you can tell me one thing about the moon. (We see the moon at night. The moon looks like it changes. The moon goes around the Earth. Its trip takes one month. Some planets have mor
than one moon. Some planets don�t have any moons.)

B. Strategy:
The students will be placed in cooperative groups of four, with the lower level students paired with higher level students. Next, the teacher will give each group a shallow pan containing flour and several rocks of different sizes.

C. Practice:
The students will discover-- �How moon craters are made.� Tell one student from each group to hold a rock over the pan (about as high as your chin). Drop the rock. Lift it out carefully so you do not change the shape of the crater. Repeat the experi
nt with the next child in the group, but use a different-sized rock. (Smooth the flour before each try.) Then repeat holding the rocks are different heights. Record discoveries. (Students describe what they did, what they saw, and what they learned.)


D. Closure:
After each student has made at least one crater, they will explain what they discovered about craters. (Both rock size and the height from which it is dropped affect the size and depth of the crater.) Explain that some craters were created long ago du
ng a time when the moon had active volcanoes.

Student Assessment:
Each student will complete page 5 in their Space Logbook writing about What We Did, What We Saw, and What We Learned. Their descriptions should include that both rock size and the height from which it is dropped affect the size and depth of the crater.