DESTINATION: THE MOON!
Grades 2-4

Very few people have explored the moon firsthand and never will. Yet they are fascinated by it. Through this unit students will learn about the moon through a variety of stimulating and fun activities based on the concepts taught in the video based lessons. Activities are hands-on to help the students better understand each idea. This unit will take 6 days to complete. It concludes with the students taking an imaginary trip to the moon and publishing a newspaper about their voyage.

Look Up - The Moon" (TV Ontario)
Take a Look - The Moon" (TV Ontario)

OTHER MEDIA
* The Magic School Bus Lost in our Solar System by
Joanna Cole
* Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky
by Elphinstone Dayrell
* Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti
by Gerald McDermott

Students will be able to:

• Recognize and describe that the moon is a natural satellite of the earth
• Conclude that it takes 24 hours for the earth to make one revolution and four weeks for the moon to revolve around the earth once.
• Use a model to show that the moon is visible because it reflects sunlight.
• Infer why the moon looks bigger than the sun and the stars.
• Explain the phases of the moon.
• Create a moon phases chart.
• Calculate on what day the next full moon will occurs.
  

• Copy of the book to read to class. (see above)
• Copy of the activity sheet So, You Are Going to the Moon" for each child.
• One piece of blank drawing paper for each child for the moon observation activity.
• The following for the Moonscapes" activity: (enough for 5 to 7 groups of 4 or 5 students)
  * 9 x 12 aluminum pans
  * flour (enough for a 2 inch base)
  * marbles
• The following for the Moon Phases" activity: (enough so that students can work as partners)
  * 2 inch diameter styrofoam balls
  * small plastic baseballs (cut in half)
  * popsicle sticks
• Art paper, crayons, rulers etc.
• A 28 day calendar handout for the Moon Observation" activity. (OPTIONAL)

• revolution
• rotation
• satellite
• planet
• moon
• crater
• reflect
• gravity
• telescope

1. To introduce this unit read the book, Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky" or another story of your choice.

2. Discuss with the students what they see in the daytime sky. Next discuss what they see in the night sky. Ask, Is what you see in the sky always the same?" Discuss what remains constant and what changes.

3. Find out what the students know already about the moon.

4. Have the students draw a picture of the moon or the nighttime sky.

5. Hand out the activity page So, You Are Going to the Moon. Read through the directions and have the students circle those items they would take to the moon. Next, divide the students into groups and have them discuss and decide the five items that their group would take to the moon. Have each group present their list to the class. (Collect and save their sheets for the post viewing activity)

In order for students to appreciate concepts presented about the moon, it is important to set a focus for the segments of video they will be viewing.
Tell the students that they will view part of a video program on the moon. Have them pay particular attention to the information given. Tell them you will be asking them to respond to the following questions about what they have seen.

1. What shape is the moon?
2. What size is the moon?
3. Is the moon larger or smaller than the earth?
4. Does the moon have gravity?
5. Tell me about the atmosphere of the moon.
6. Is there water on the moon?
7. What are some the special features of the moon?

1. START the Video tape Look Up" at the title segment The Moon." (After the robot/imagination sequence).

2. PLAY it through to the beginning of the moon crater activity.

3. Ask the students the focus questions. If they cannot answer them, don't give them the answers at this time.

4. REWIND the tape to the beginning of this segment, PLAY the tape again PAUSING when the answer to a question is given.

DAY TWO

FOCUS FOR VIEWING

Tell the students that today they will be creating a moonscape.
Have them watch the moon crater activity to learn how to do it.

VIEWING

1. START the video Look Up" at the beginning of the moon crater activity. PLAY until the end of the activity.
2. Conduct the crater activity. (Flour may be substituted for plaster)

DAY THREE

FOCUS FOR VIEWING

Tell the students that they will view part of a video program on the moon. Have them pay particular attention to the information given. Tell them you will be asking them to respond to the following questions about what they have seen.

1. Does the moon make light?
2. What is the moon made of?
3. How long does it take the moon to rotate?
4. If you stood in the same spot on the moon how long would you be in the sunlight? In darkness?
5. How long does it take the moon to go around the earth?

VIEWING
1. START the Video tape Look Up" at the segment A Reflector." (After the moon olympics sequence).

2. PLAY it through to the beginning of the moon rotation activity.

3. Ask the students the focus questions. If they cannot answer them, don't give them the answers at this time.

4. REWIND the tape to the beginning of this segment, PLAY the tape again PAUSING when the answer to a question is given.

5. Conduct the Orbit\Rotation Activity as seen on the video.
After a few students have had a turn, view the activity of the video.

DAY FOUR

FOCUS FOR VIEWING
Tell the students that they will be viewing parts of two video programs on the moon. Have them pay particular attention to the information given. Tell them you will be asking them to respond to the following question about what they have seen.

1. Is the moon the same each night? Why or why not?
2. What are the four phases of the moon?
3. How often does the moon change phases?

VIEWING
1. START the Video tape Look Up" at the segment Moon Phases." (After the orbit/rotation sequence).

2. PLAY it through to the beginning of the moon phases activity.

3. START the video tape Take a Look" just after the lady points to the calendar.

4. PLAY it through to the point where you see the question mark.

5. Ask the students the focus questions. If they cannot answer them, don't give them the answers at this time.

6. REWIND the tapes to the beginning of these segments, PLAY the tapes again PAUSING when the answer to a question is given.

DAY FIVE
1.Moon Phases Activity
a. divide students into partners.
b. give each group a styrofoam ball on a stick and half of a plastic baseball.
c. have them place the styrofoam ball in the baseball
d. rotate the plastic ball around the styrofoam ball, observing how much of the plastic ball they can see.

2. START the video tape Take a Look" at the beginning of the moon phases calendar activity. Have the students watch carefully on how to make and keep the calendar. PLAY the tape to the end of the activity.

3. Have the students create their moon phases calendar. Have them begin their observations that night.

4. Review the phases of the moon using the video tape Take A Look." START the tape at the large question mark. PLAY the tape to the point where the earth is rising over the moon.

DAY SIX

FOCUS FOR VIEWING
Tell the students that today they will be taking an imaginary trip to the moon. They will see several video segments of their time on the moon, along with information on what they accomplished. Have them pay special attention to what they see and how they think they would feel if it were real.

VIEWING
1. START the video Look Up" at the segment Journey to the Moon" where the astronauts are boarding the rocket. PAUSE when you see the rocket.

2. Have the students countdown, then press PLAY. Turn the audio down and supply your own narration and explanation of what the students are doing on their journey. BE CREATIVE!!

3. PAUSE at times and allow the students to share how they think they would feel if they were on the moon.

4. PLAY this video until the moon footage is over.

5. START the video Take a Look" at the beginning of the moon footage of the astronauts. Follow the directions in step 2.

6. PLAY this video until the moon footage is over.

1. Hand-out to each group their So, You Are Going To The Moon" activity page. Have each group review their choices and make any changes. Have each group share again their lists, and the reasons they chose them.

2. Create a class newspaper that details your class voyage taken to the moon. Include articles that allow the students to share what they have learned about the moon. (Headline: Students Return from Trip to the Moon!!)
(( A videotaped newscast could be substituted for the newspaper))

After the students have had the opportunity to view the videos and participate in the activities they should be more knowledgeable about the moon. Upon completing this unit a visit to a planetarium or some other space facility would be beneficial. After their visit have the students compare what they learned at the facility with what they already had learned in the classroom.

Visit the Planetarium.
- Describe,demonstrate and use a telescope.
- Make a model of the moon.
- Demonstrate an eclipse using a flashlight and beachballs or playground balls.

CURRICULUM INTEGRATION

ART
- Make character puppets for the story Why the Sun and the
Moon Live in the Sky."
- Make character masks for the same book. Perform the
story as a short play.
- Fingerpaint craters and textures of the moon.
- Make a Monopoly" game.


SOCIAL STUDIES
- Learn more about manned space travel.
* when did it begin
* who were the first astronauts
* who was the first man on the moon
* what kind of manned space travel do we have now
- Develop a moon city. (may include name, map, model)

MATH
- Make a graphs that show some of the following:
*number astronauts
*number that walked on the moon
*number of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions
*estimate/calculate the distance from the moon to the earth and other planets by implementing a variety of standards of
Measurement and having students draw them to scale,
Ex. paperclips--the moon is 10 paperclips away from earth.
M&M's-- the moon is 25 M*&M's away from the earth.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION\MATH
- Moon Olympics: See video Look Up - The Moon"

Language Arts
- Make an astronaut manual. Include things like toys and food
on the moon.
- Write poems about how the clouds, the sky or the moon
make you feel.
- Moon Words (see video Look Up - The Moon")

Master Teachers: Rick Gaisford and Carol Weibell