The Moondance Activity went very well. The students want to do it everyday now. At first they were a bit apprehensive about getting up and dancing, but they soon got over that. It did help them to understand the manner in which the moon revolves the Earth and the length of time for the lunar cycle.
The Moon Model Inquiry also went well, but some of the kids had a difficult time understanding how to hold the Moon and which direction to turn. I still have several students that are having a hard time keeping the ideas of waxing, waning, crescent, and gibbous straight. So, we are continuing with other Moon activities.
I read the class The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons and we sang the Moon Phases Song. This was very entertaining. We also had to have another go at the MOONDANCE due to it being such a hit. This was also a great way to review the phases of the moon, terms, and eclipses. I wrapped up the Moon Inquiry by having the students do the Moon People Search. This was a new experience for the kids. It was very enlightening to walk around and observe the students answering the various questions... I plan to develop other People Search activities for some of the other units I will be teaching this year. What a great way to review and assess what the students have learned.
Kerri Young, Fifth Grade Teacher
Hamersville Elementary
Hamersville, OH 45130
My students really
enjoyed getting to use their heads (literally!) during the moon model
activity.
Wayne Ing
Teacher
Crescent Elementary
Gibbous ,
OH
I choose to use the Moon inquiry because we spend extensive time
talking about the different phases of the moon. I liked the different
aspects of the inquiry including the "dance" which my students enjoyed.
I did make a slight change to the inquiry. My students are good, but to
ask them to watch and note the phase of the moon for 4 weeks would only
result in me getting about 10 kids who actually do the work and the rest
just skating by. Instead, I organized a "Moonwatch" with a calendar for
the whole class. Every day I asked the students what phase of the moon
they saw the previous night. If they thought they knew, they would
write down the phase and their name on a piece of paper, drop it in a
bucket. Later in the class when we do the moonwatch, I draw one paper
and if the student has the correct moon phase, they get a piece of
candy. Of course, they all want to win the candy! And, of course, many
of them cheat and ask someone what the phase of the moon is. But, I've
been doing this now for 2 weeks and I've noticed that even my most
unmotivated students have come in and told me they saw the moon and they
knew what phase it is. (I got lucky and there was a big football game
Wed. night and the moon was just as clear as a bell) We then draw and
label the moon phase on a class overhead and compare it to previous
nights. I use internet sites on the days when it's been cloudy and
we're not sure what the moon phase was. An additional fun connection has been that
I work with a teacher who is over 8 mos. pregnant and wanted to know
when the full moon was. Her SED students were especially diligent
trying to find out about that full moon when they found out lots of
women have their babies on nights with full moons. :)
It's been a lot of fun and an activity I will continue to use in the
future.
Heather Blaylock
Plains Junior High
Liberty Township, Ohio 45011
