Week 7, my science plans

I will have the students observe the moon for a few days and then come to class and tell the class what they observed/how the moon changed. Next, we will discuss how the moon changes. The students and I will then get on to Stellarium and observe the moon and stars. We will look at how the stars and moon move across the sky by speeding up time. Next, we will talk about why they think that the moon changes. After they have discussed that we will talk in class about why the moon does change. Then, we will observe the different phases of the moon again on Stellarium, and apply that knowledge to predict how the moon will change during the next week or two. We will then record our real observations of the moon (draw them each night) and compare our actual drawings of how the moon changed to our predictions of how we thought that the moon would move. Last, the students will make a concept map, using Kidsperation, about the information that we learned about the moon.

The content I will be using from UEN will be for 6th grade students: Standard 1, objective 1 which states, “Explain patterns of changes in the appearance of the moon as it orbits.”

The Pedagogy that we will use are observations, predicting, acquiring and processing data through describing relationships and making a chart of our observations of the moon, we will also analyze our data and see if the students’ predictions were correct.

I will use Stellarium and Kidsperation. These are both fitting for my objective because Stellarium allows my students to see how the stars move across the sky in a way that they can quickly view it. This also allows my students to see the different phases of the moon at anytime during the day and allows the students to see the moon regardless of if it is cloudy outside. Kidsperation is a good fit for the content because the very last part of my objective wants the students to design an investigation, make a chart, and collect their own data. Kidsperation is a program that the kids can use to make their charts clear, readable, and easily shared. At the end of our experiment, the kids will also make a concept map, using Kidsperation, sharing what they have learned about the moon.