The Moon, the Earth, and the Sun Unit Portfolio Presentation Chris Hain

Unit Summary The unit of study containing the moon, seasons and tides is about to begin! We will be learning how and why the moon looks different each night! Keep a log of what the moon looks like every night in your neighborhood. We have no control over the variables that may not allow us to view the moon on a certain night, but we will learn how science has documented the moon’s phases over time and we will be able to figure it out on our own. Where is the moon going to be in the sky each night and why isn’t it in the same place or the same size? What do the moon and the sun provide the Earth? How do they affect the Earth and why?

Curriculum-Framing Questions Essential Question How are things connected? Unit Questions What is the relationship between the Moon, the sun and the Earth? Why do we chart the stars in the sky? Content Questions Why do we have seasons? What causes the Moon to look different each night? How many days does it take for the moon to complete a cycle? How does the moon stay in orbit around the earth? How does the tilt of the Earth affect the seasons? How is an ocean’s tide created and what happens? What causes an eclipse? How is a shadow created and for what can it be used?

The Moon’s Phases This project will help my students develop 21 st century skills by: Collaborating with peers. Analyzing data and drawing conclusions to answer unit questions. Solving problems and making decisions about their experiments. Communicating with other students during various activities.

Gauging Student Needs Assessment Purpose of the Assessment To gather information about what students already know and what they wonder about the Universe. This example is their testing knowledge of the phases of the moon. What I want to learn from my students? I want to find out what they already know about the Unit Questions and what they know about collecting and documenting data. How I have tried to promote higher-order thinking? I ask students to find relationships and draw conclusions about why the topics of our investigations happen. That they take their thinking to a higher level by having them develop explanations of how the Earth, Sun and the Moon interact. How the assessment information helps me and my students plan for upcoming activities in the unit? If students have misconceptions about the unit we have studied I need to provide more instruction by scaffolding information to make it clear. Because students have different abilities and respond to various modalities I need to provide differentiated instruction for the material to match their comprehension abilities. We will examine multiple assessments throughout the unit to gauge what the students are learning and understanding or not. What feedback or additional ideas I’d like? I welcome additional ideas on how to teach the unit since this is my first time teaching it.

My Goals for the Course Find ways to get my students more interested in learning science Use different kinds of technology with my students. Share ideas with other teachers Make the unit so interesting that when they look to the sky they wonder why.

Goals for My Students To learn how scientists collect and document data To learn how others can learn from their data To become more independent learners To learn more about the moon and the Earth’s relationship.

Request for Feedback Ideas for helping students take more responsibility for their own learning Different hands on ideas of how to teach this unit.