Daemen College



New York State Academy for Teaching and Learning

Final Learning Experience Template

|Contact Information |

|Residing Address (including |Benjamin Ludovici |

|street, city, state, and zip-code)| |

| |Home Phone |Cell Phone |

|Phone numbers | | |

| |bludovic@daemen.edu |

|Email Address | |

|School Information |

|Grade Level Instructed |Fourth Grade |

|Content Area addressed within LE |Astronomy |

|School District in which the LE was implemented |Buffalo Public Schools |

|Specific School within District |Houghton Academy |

| |Susan Wiley |

|School Address (including street, city, state, and |1725 Clinton Street |

|zip-code) |Buffalo, NY 14206 |

Title of Learning Experience: Phases of the Moon

NYS Standard:

Grade: Fourth

Learning Standard: MST

Standard: Science

Area: Physical Setting (4)

Key Idea 1: The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of relative motion and perspective.

Major Understanding: 1.1a: Natural Cycles and patterns include: The appearance of the Moon changing as it moves in a path around Earth to complete a single cycle.

Elementary/Beginning Level Intermediate Commencement Alternate/Students with Disabilities

Peer Review Date: October 27, 2011

Peer Review Focus Question(s): How can I improve the assessment portion of this LE?

|LEARNING CONTEXT |

Purpose/Rationale for Learning Experience:

Students in the fourth grade are naturally curious about their surroundings and are eager to ask questions and long for answers. As a result of seeing the Moon nearly every day and watching it appear to change shape and move, students are naturally drawn to the mysteries of the Moon. This is why teaching students about the Moon is a critical aspect in science. Aside from our planet and sun, the Moon is the next most common and referenced part of our solar system. Students need to learn the reasons behind the different phases of the Moon. This basic information opens the door and provides students with the academic foundation to learn about seasonal changes, the varying length of daylight and darkness, how humans organize time, and many other important concepts in astronomy. The following essential and guiding questions are shared with the students to ensure they are aware of the task at hand.

Enduring Understanding(s):

• There are different phases of the moon.

• The phases of the moon repeat in a sequencing cycle.

• The relationship between the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon causes the different phases.

Essential Question(s):

• Why does the Moon appear to change size?

• What causes the different phases of the Moon?

Guiding Questions:

• Does the Moon produce its own light?

• Why do the Moon phases repeat in a cycle?

• Why are we not always able to see the Moon?

• How much of the Moon are we actually able to see from Earth?

|Congruency Table |

Congruency Table:

Level: Elementary

Grade Level: Fourth (4)

New York State MST Learning Standards

Standard Area: Science

Standard: Physical Setting

Content: Astronomy

Science Standard 4 (Physical Setting) Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and recognize historical development of ideas in science.

Key Idea 1: The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of relative motion and perspective.

Performance Indicator 1.1: Describe patterns of daily, monthly, and seasonal changes in their environment.

Major Understanding 1.1a: Natural Cycles and patterns include: The appearance of the Moon changing as it moves in a path around Earth to complete a single cycle.

|Standard |Instructional Task |Learning Objectives |Student Work |Assessment Tool |

|4. Physical Setting. | | | | |

|Natural Cycles and patterns |With limited assistance |Differentiate between the |The Phases of the Moon |The Phases of the Moon |

|include: The appearance of the Moon|from the teacher, complete|different phases of the |worksheet has a |Rubric (Appendix 6) will |

|changing as it moves in a path |the matching worksheet to |moon, given a set of |matching activity for |be used to assess each |

|around Earth to complete a single |differentiate between the |pictures. |the different phases of|student’s ability on the |

|cycle. |different moon phases | |the moon (Page 23). |following; |

| |through whole group | | |Accuracy of data in |

| |instruction. | | |drawings |

| | | | |Accuracy in labeling the |

| | | | |Moon phases |

| | | | |Overall completion of the|

| | | | |worksheet |

| | | | |Oral response and |

| | | | |alertness |

| |Sequence the moon phases |Sequence and label the |The Phases of the Moon | |

| |to follow the scientific |phases of the moon. |worksheet with the | |

| |concepts during whole | |phases of the moon to | |

| |group instruction. | |be drawn in by students| |

| | | |(Page 23). | |

| |Decipher the scientific |Independently complete the |A vocabulary section to| |

| |theories by independently |vocabulary worksheet to |be completed with words| |

| |completing the vocabulary.|show comprehension of the |from a word bank (Page | |

| | |moon terms. |20). | |

|Class Background |

This learning Experience focuses on a two fourth grade classrooms at Houghton Academy, in Buffalo, NY. This is a team teaching environment. A consultant teacher pushes into the classrooms where there is one general education teacher in each room. One class consists of 24 students while the other consists of 26 students.

The Learning Experience is taught to the entire class, all AIS students are included. As a result, lessons have to be delivered effectively enough to include a large amount of students. In order for lessons to be effective, the classroom rules and procedures, found in appendices three and four, need to be followed. The Floor Plan in Appendix two illustrates the layout of my cooperating teacher’s side of the room. The consultant teacher helps to administer and guide the students during the experience.

Overview of what students need to know/ be able to do in order to succeed:

Prior to Learning Experience:

• Earth completes a full rotation in 24 hours, which gives us night and day.

• The Earth revolves around the Sun, while the Moon revolves around the Earth.

• The Sun’s rays are what provide the Earth and Moon with light and heat.

During and After the implementation of Learning Experience:

• The Moon has four main phases; New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter.

• As the Moon revolves around the Earth, the Sun’s rays light the Moon, which creates the phases.

• As the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, the Moon is unable to reflect light from the Sun, which creates the New Moon phase.

• The Moon completes its rotation around the Earth every 28 days, making the moon cycle repeat every 28 days.

Key Subject-Specific Vocabulary:

• Cycle: a round or series of occurrences that repeats

• First Quarter: A week after the new moon, when the Moon has completed about a quarter of its turn around the Earth, we can see half of the illuminated part; that is, a quarter of the Moon. The left half of the moon is dark.

• Full Moon: Two weeks after the new moon, the moon is now halfway through its revolution, and now the illuminated half coincides with the one facing the Earth so that we can see a full disk: we have a full moon

• Last Quarter: Three weeks after new, we again can see half of the illuminated part. The right half of the moon is dark.

• New Moon: When the Moon is roughly in the same direction as the Sun, its illuminated half is facing away from the Earth, and therefore the part that faces us is all dark: we have the new moon.

• Phases: the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon

• Reflect: to give back or show an image of; mirror.

• Satellite: an object that revolves around another object.

|ASSESSMENT PLAN |

Diagnostic:

Prior to the learning experience, the students each complete the “Phases of the Moon” pre-assessment (Appendix 7). The worksheet helps to determine the level of the students in relation to this LE in the class. This in turn helps to determine which areas need more explicit instruction and which students will need extra support. The first question on the worksheet asks the students “What do you think causes the phases of the moon?” This question provides students with an idea as to what they will be learning and gets them thinking about the phases of the moon. The second half of the pre-assessment worksheet requires students to try to match the phases of the moon terms with the correct images of the moon phases. Following the pre-assessment, the class goes over the answers together. This helps the teacher to assess the background knowledge the students have on the lesson.

Formative:

At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher will go over the vocabulary with the students. The students will voice their opinions and ideas for the definitions of the words and have an active role in the vocabulary by coming up to the board to reveal the answers and writing them in their notebooks. This process helps the teacher to guide their idea and assess their schema. During the lesson, the students share what they know and what they learned from the reading. The teacher quickly assesses the level of comprehension from the students during this time. The students have a chance to represent the relationship between the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun by holding up the models provided. As the students hold the models of the three objects, the students will simulate the relationship by rotating the Moon around the Earth and rotating the Earth around the Sun. During this process, students will orally state the different phases of the moon. Following this, students will create their own moons. Each student receives a Styrofoam ball and will color half of the ball. The students will then be able to place the ball on a stick and spin it to see the different phases. Using the moons, students will then fill in their phases of the moon chart. The chart has the names of the phases, but it requires students to use their moon to draw the phases to match the correct phase term. Then, the class goes over the worksheet and the students orally explain the phases; four students come up to the board to draw the phases.

Summative:

In order to summarize the lesson and assess the ability of the students, the students complete the “Phases of the Moon” post-assessment sheet (Appendix 7). The sheet requires the students to understand the vocabulary terms and the different phases of the moon images and terminology. Using the Phases of the Moon rubric (Appendix 6), the teacher assesses the students on completion, accuracy, the ability to draw the different moon phases, and comprehension of the vocabulary. The Phases of the Moon rubric directly relates to the NYS standards and Performance Indicators by assessing the students’ ability to draw the different moon phases, sequence them in order, and explain the relationship between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Each of these tasks are on the Phases of the Moon post-assessment. The NYS standard and performance indicator states, “The Earth and celestial phenomena can be described by principles of relative motion and perspective.” The tasks on the worksheet directly relate back to the standard. The Phases of the Moon rubric is used as a guideline for the first semester of science. This astronomy unit is the first unit of the school year. As a result, the Phases of the Moon rubric is used to assess the level of comprehension and ability level of each student. The rubric provides a baseline supported with evidence, which is used to show specific strengths, weakness, and other academic information related to the semester grades. The teacher is able to review the semester grades and use the Phases of the Moon rubric to assess which specific areas require more support.

Phases of the Moon Rubric:

|Category |4. Excellent |3. Good |2. Fair |1. Poor |

|Writing Activity: The |The student provides |The student provides two |The student provides one |The student provides an |

|students write down what |three or more complete |answers or topics under |to two answers for the |answer for the writing |

|they know and what they |sentences under each |each section for the |writing OR the answers |section that is off topic|

|learned about. |section for the writing |writing that are on topic |are off topic from the |from the relationship |

| |that are on topic with |with the relationship |relationship between the |between the Sun, the |

|Score: ______ |the relationship between |between the Sun, the Moon,|Sun, the Moon, and the |Moon, and the Earth. |

| |the Sun, the Moon, and |and the Earth. |Earth. | |

| |the Earth. | | | |

|Worksheets: |The student shows |The student shows |The student shows |The student needs direct |

|Consists of overall |complete comprehension of|comprehension of the |comprehension, but could |support to gain full |

|completion of the |the relationship between |relationship between the |use more support as |comprehension of the |

|worksheets. |the Earth, Moon, and Sun |Earth, Moon, and Sun by |he/she completes the |relationship between the |

| |by completing the |completing the worksheets |worksheets with three to |Earth, Moon, and Sun as |

| |worksheets with 100% |with one to two errors. |four errors. |he/she completes the |

|Score:______ |accuracy. | | |worksheets with five or |

| | | | |more errors. |

|Matching Section: |The student shows |The student shows |The student needs some |The student needs direct |

|Consists of matching the |complete comprehension of|comprehension of the moon |support to show |support to gain full |

|moon phase in words to |the moon phases by |phases by completing the |comprehension OR needs |comprehension of the moon|

|the matching picture. |completing the section |worksheets with one to two|more explicit details for|phases OR needs more |

| |with 100% accuracy. |errors. |matching activities. |explicit details for |

|Score:______ | | | |matching sections. |

|Drawing: |Exceptionally well |Neat and relatively |The drawing of the moon |Appears thrown together |

|Consists of drawing the |designed, neat, and |attractive AND able to |and shaded areas are |with little effort or |

|moon phase under the |attractive AND can |decipher the different |difficult to follow. |comprehension. |

|matching moon phase term.|explain each phase of the|phases. | | |

| |moon. | | | |

|Score:______ | | | | |

|Vocabulary: |The student shows |The student shows |The student shows some |The student needs direct |

|Consists of using words |complete comprehension of|comprehension of the |comprehension, but needs |instruction while |

|from the word bank to |the phases of the moon |phases of the moon |extra support as a result|completing a worksheet to|

|complete the vocabulary |vocabulary by completing |vocabulary by completing |of errors OR student |ensure comprehension of |

|sentences. |the section with 100% |the section with one |needs more explicit |the task and material, |

| |accuracy. |error. |details when working with|based on multiple errors.|

|Score:______ | | |vocabulary and word | |

| | | |banks. | |

|Oral response: |The student is constantly|The student is active |The student is engaged |The student struggles to |

|Consists of sharing |active and engaged during|during the lesson and |during most of the lesson|remain on task OR |

|ideas, answers, and |the lesson and offers |offers answers three |and offers answers one to|struggles to provide |

|orally being engaged in |answers more than four |times. |two times. |answers and ideas. |

|the lesson. |times. | | | |

| | | | | |

|Score: _____ | | | | |

Total:________/24

Comments

|STUDENT WORK |

• Fifty two students in two fourth grade classes overall.

• Students with IEPs and those in need of academic intervention services are provided extra support from the consultant teacher.

• All of the students completed the LE and were assessed by the rubric.

Classification of student work from the pre-assessment and post-assessment:

|Level |Number of Students |Percent of Students |

| |Pre-assessment |Post-assessment |Pre-assessment |Post-assessment |

|Distinguished |4 |43 |8% |83% |

|Proficient |15 |9 |29% |17% |

|Developing |33 |0 |63% |0% |

[pic]

Conclusion

Looking at the graph, there is evidence that a majority of the students obtained the objectives in the lesson, because the post assessment had more students in the distinguished category than in the pre assessment. After the post assessment, all of the students improved and moved out of the developing category and into the proficient and distinguished categories. As a result of some students still remaining in the proficient category, it is clear these students need more one-on-one assistance in order to ensure that they understand the relationship between the Moon, the Sun, and the Earth. The can teacher can then take the students who are at the proficient level aside at the end of the day to provide them with the help that is needed. One threat to validity is the students’ ability to read the directions. If a student did not read the directions on the worksheets, then he/she may not have achieved as high of a score as he/she could have. Another threat is the students’ awareness of matching activities. If a student did not have prior experiences with matching activities then he/she likely is unable to perform as well. These two cases directly affect the validity of the assessments, because if a student does not read the directions or is unaware of how to complete the assessment, then the assessment is no longer measuring what it was designed to measure.

|PROCEDURE |

Pre-Assessment

The teacher writes the morning agenda on the board, which instructs the students to take one of the “Phases of the Moon” worksheets. The students complete the worksheet independently. The majority of the lesson is completed as a whole group instruction; however, there are chances for individual students to participate in independent work throughout the lesson.

Anticipatory Set

This part of the lesson is whole group instruction. The teacher states, “Boys and girls, have you ever looked up at the moon at night and thought it was growing bigger or smaller? Does the moon really grow and shrink? Who can tell me the phases of the moon? What causes the different phases of the moon? Today we are going to be learning about the different phases and the relationship between the Earth, Sun and Moon and the Moon’s phases. First, we are going to go over the vocabulary so we are not confused about the terminology in this unit.” The teacher first asks the students to provide a guess as to what the vocabulary words mean. This helps the teacher to see the level of vocabulary the students have. The teacher then asks the student who provided the correct answer to come to the board and reveal the correct answers to the vocabulary. The students write the definitions in their science notebooks. For the students with a writing disability, the teacher provides the students with the definition already written out.

Modeling

This modeling portion of this lesson is whole group instruction. Following the vocabulary, the teacher states, “Boys and girls, I would like everyone to please take out a blank piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left side, write at least two things you want to learn about the relationship between the moon, the earth, and the sun. Once everyone has done this, we will read pages 102-106 from our textbook. I want you to pay close attention during the reading. I want you to write down at least two things you learn from the reading. You can write these things on the right side of your paper. After the reading, we will share what we learned. Please open your science textbooks to page 102C. We are going to learn about the effects of the Moon’s movement.”

After the reading, the teacher calls on students to share what they learned. The students write this information on the board. This serves as a chart of newly acquired information for the students. The teacher then presents a short video called Space Exploration: Phases of the Moon. “Boys and girls, this video helps to explain the relationship between the Earth, Sun, and Moon. Make sure you pay close attention so you will be able to help us during our class activities.”

Following the video, the teacher picks three students. One student represents the Sun with the flashlight, another represents the Earth with the Earth Styrofoam ball, and the third represents the Moon with the Styrofoam moon ball. The three spread out in a line to portray the relationship between the three objects. The students reenact the movement of the Earth and Moon to display the Moon phases. This large scale model of the process helps students fully visualize the relationship and comprehend the movement of the Moon. The teacher provides each small group of students with a sun, moon, and Earth to represent the relationship. Each group spreads out throughout the room. The students take turns in their small groups to recreate this process. The teacher walks around the room to monitor the students during this process.

Guided Practice

The teacher models a small Styrofoam ball for the students in whole group instruction. “Boys and girls, you are each going to receive a small Styrofoam ball to create a model of the moon. How can we color this moon to represent the different phases of the moon?” The teacher models how to color half of the moon to represent the different phases. The teacher passes out the Styrofoam balls to the students and provides them with time to create their moons. The teacher walks around the room to guide students during this process. The students independently create their moons. After the class colors their moons, they represent the different phases by turning their moons. The teacher states, “Boys and girls, show me what a full moon looks like with your new moon.” The class goes over each phase to ensure each student comprehends the concept of the moon models before moving on.

Independent Practice

After the students finish coloring half of their moon and the class reviews the concept of the moon models, the teacher hands them the Phases of the Moon During the Lesson worksheet to complete. The worksheet requires the students to use their moon to help them draw the different phases. The students complete the worksheet individually. The students who finish early quietly quiz their neighbor on the different phases of the moon and check their answers from the worksheet. Once everyone finishes the worksheet, the teacher asks students to come up to the board to draw the different moon phases. This portion of the lesson is whole group instruction. This also serves as a summary and a quick way for the teacher to assess comprehension. The students also receive a worksheet for a post-assessment to test their knowledge on the phases of the moon. This worksheet will be given at a separate time during the day or for homework to be completed individually. This worksheet quizzes the students on their vocabulary, the different phases of the moon, and the relationship between the Sun, Moon, and the Earth.

Closure

To review and summarize the lesson, the teacher uses whole group instruction. The teacher states, “Boys and girls, using our new vocabulary, who can explain the relationship between the Earth, Sun, and Moon?” This information is presented on the board to serve as a reference for the students. By reviewing this process with the vocabulary, the students will have a stronger understanding of the material before moving to the post-assessment. The teacher plays a short segment from the previous video, Space Exploration: Phases of the Moon, and instructs the students to follow along and model the video with their new moon creations. This helps reinforce the different phases of the moon and the concepts of the lesson. As a way to keep reinforcing the concept behind the lesson, the class creates a moon calendar. Each night the students have to draw the moon and bring in their drawings the next day. As a class, the students record the moon drawings on the moon calendar.

|RESOURCES AND MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR INSTRUCTION |

References:

• Discovery Education streaming. (n.d.). Discovery Education streaming. Retrieved September 28, 2011, from

o This website is used to provide the phases of the moon video for the students

• Harcourt Science Grade 4. (2010). New York: Harcourt School Publishers.

Supplies:

• Styrofoam balls

• Model Styrofoam moon and earth

• Flashlight to represent the Sun

• Large chart paper

Student Materials

• Marker

• Pencil

• Pre and post assessment

• Moon Phases worksheet to draw the phases of the moon

• Harcourt Science Textbook

Technology

• Computer

• SMARTBoard

|MODIFICATION TABLE |

This Learning Experience can be modified in order to fit the needs of the classroom environment and student. For instance, it can be modified in terms of changing the topics to be discussed and how they are presented. In terms of this particular LE, it has been implemented for two relatively large classes with 24 and 26 students with various learning styles.

|Modification Type |Specific Modification |Rationale |Benefits |

|Environmental and Management |Preferential seating for students with |Proximity to teacher allows for |Students are able to stay on task |

| |attention or behavioral difficulties. |timely redirection. |with visual and physical cues. |

| | | | |

| |Procedures and rules |These provide the framework for |Less disruption to the learning |

| | |the learning environment. |environment due to students being |

| | | |aware of expectations. |

|Instructional |Use of whole group, individual, and |Small and large groups allows for |Students are able to provide |

| |pairs. |multiple types of peer |assistance and additional |

| | |interaction. |information to peers. The small |

| |Active student involvement by coming to| |group work also encourages |

| |the board. |Students are able to take an |students to develop their social |

| | |active role in their learning. |skills. |

| | | | |

| | | |Students are able to watch and |

| | | |learn from their peers. |

|Content/Material |Enlarged and pre-marked Styrofoam balls|Enlarged Styrofoam balls helps to |The enlarged materials help to |

| |and worksheets. |compensate for fine motor |prevent students with fine motor |

| | |difficulties. The pre-marked |difficulties from becoming |

| | |balls helps to prevent confusion |discouraged. They are able to |

| | |and/or difficulty coloring half |have an equal chance to create |

| | |the moon. |their moons. |

| | | | |

| | | |The enlarged worksheets are for |

| | | |the visually impaired student. |

| | | | |

| | | |The pre-marked moons provide a |

| | | |guideline as to where the students|

| | | |need to shade in the moon. This |

| | | |helps to prevent confusion. |

| | | | |

| | | |The pre-written vocabulary helps |

| | | |to keep the students with a |

| | | |writing disability on task and |

| | | |prevent the students from becoming|

| | | |discouraged. It also helps to |

| | |Pre-written vocabulary helps |prevent the students from falling |

| | |prevent students with a writing |behind by taking too long to write|

| |Pre-written vocabulary |disability from falling behind and|the definitions. |

| | |struggling with the writing. | |

|Tasks |SMART Board activity |Allows students to practice |The students are able to put their|

| | |drawing the different phases of |new knowledge of the moon phases |

| | |the moon. |to the test, while still under the|

| | | |supervision of the teacher. Any |

| | | |mistakes the students make are |

| | | |corrected immediately. |

| | | | |

| | | |The students are given a more |

| | | |concrete example of the moon |

| | | |phases by creating their own moon |

| | |Provides students with a hands on |and spinning it to create the |

| |Creating a moon and drawing the phases |representation of the moon and how|different phases. This helps |

| | |the different phases are created. |students who struggle with |

| | | |abstract concepts. |

|TIME REQUIRED |

Planning: Approximately 60-90 minutes

Implementation: 75 minutes, which is the allotted time for the classes.

Assessment (per student): The total time for assessment is 20-30 minutes, which breaks down to 10-15 minutes for the pre-assessment and 10-15 minutes post-assessment per student.

Schedule / unit plan: This learning experience is part of the astronomy unit, which is four weeks long. Before this lesson, the students learned about the concepts of day and night. This lesson covers one day out of that time. It can also spill into a second day, which works well as a summary and check for understanding day. After this lesson, the students will learn about the concept of time. This is the first science unit of the school year.

|REFLECTION |

In order to meet Dr. Arnold’s, my instructor, requirements for my capstone class at Daemen College, I decided to create a Learning Experience for a science lesson. This Learning Experience was done as a one day activity during a four week astronomy lesson. My cooperating teacher, Mrs. Wiley, and I felt this was an especially important lesson within the unit, because the students see the moon on a regular basis. When students are outside of school, they are able to see the different phases of the moon most nights. However, students are not always aware of what causes the different phases of the moon or even the concept that the moon is not actually shrinking and growing. This Learning Experience helps to prepare students for life outside of school by creating an awareness of the moon phases and relationship between the Earth, Moon, and Sun. The relationship between the three objects directly relates to everyday life. The relationship is what causes the seasons, and the different tides at the ocean. Without creating an awareness of this information, the students will not understand these basic concepts in which they will see in everyday life. As a result, I chose to place a strong emphasis on understanding the concept of moon phases in relation to the relationship between the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun.

The students in this fourth grade classroom needed more support and scaffolding than I first anticipated. However, based on the pre-assessment, I was able to determine how well the students would perform during the lesson. I was also able to determine which students would require more direct instruction and concrete examples. As a result, I encouraged the students to come up to the board for a variety of educational purposes, such as to reveal the different vocabulary words, to draw moon phases, and to act out the relationship with the Moon, Sun, and Earth with models. This provided an opportunity to quickly correct any student misunderstandings or mistakes and helped to keep the students engaged by keeping them moving.

By providing the students with an opportunity to create their own moon, the attention span dramatically increased and the concept of the moon phases going in a cycle became a much simpler concept. The students were able to spin their moon to create the different phases. This provided them with a hands-on model to represent the moon phases in their cycle. Using their new model, the students were able to easily complete the drawings of the moon phases worksheet. One student stated, “This is my special moon pencil! I can see the moon phases!” The student was referring to his pencil after he placed his moon on the end with the eraser. The student was able to rotate the pencil and see the different phases of the moon. This simple creation gave the student a positive attitude toward the learning process and a fun way to learn the different moon phases.

Based on the rubrics and the overall assessment, I conclude I reached my teaching objectives. After the pre-assessment, 33 of the students fell into the developing category. While I was expecting a strong number of students to fall into this category, I was not expecting 63% of them. However, based on the results, all of the students improved and no one fell into the developing category after the post-assessment. The objective of the lesson was for students to understand the relationship between the Earth, Moon, and Sun. They students demonstrated this understanding by using models of the Earth, Moon, and Sun to represent the relationship and act out the movement between the objects. The students showed their understanding of the moon phases by creating their own moons, drawing the phases and labeling them with the correct phase term, and finally completing the post assessment worksheet in which the students had to explain the relationship between the Earth, Moon, and Sun. Each of the different assessments throughout the lesson help to guide the learning process to ensure the lesson objectives were followed and met.

One area in which confusion may occur with interpreting the data is with the rubric. One category is based on overall completion and accuracy of the worksheets, while the following categories are more specific to the worksheets. This reasoning is to first see how the students performed overall and then to analyze the exact strengths and weaknesses of each student. Other confusions with the data may have resulted from students placing their moon on their pencil incorrectly, which created an incorrect image of the moon. Students may have also rotated their moon in the wrong direction, which leads students to incorrectly sequence the phases. Another confusion may have occurred from not reading the directions. Some students may have skipped over the directions or interpreted them incorrectly. A final confusion with the data may have also resulted from students not understanding how to complete the matching activity on the phases of the moon worksheets.

After teaching the lesson, I realized it had a few weaknesses. One weakness was with my directions. I should have written the directions on the board for the students too; rather than orally stating the directions for the students. By writing the directions on the board, the students would always be able to refer back to what is expected of them. Another key aspect is to have a more intriguing way to grab the students’ attention in the beginning of the lesson. By having an exciting hook, students are already eager to learn, rather than requiring some encouragement throughout the lesson.

My learning experience was reviewed on October 27, 2011 at Daemen College by Dylan, Ashley, Julie, Carol Ann, and Colleen. I accepted every comment that was made, because they were definitely helpful in order to improve on this learning experience for future implementations. First, my focus question was: “How can I improve the assessment section of this learning experience?” In terms of this question, I received ideas to add a writing section and to remove the pre-assessment from the rubric. I found including a writing section helped to assess the students during the lesson. Rather than having the students read, listen and occasionally complete an activity, the short writing activity allowed me to assess their comprehension during the lesson. I also received great advice to include a calendar activity. This activity allows me to ensure that the students do not forget the phases of the moon right after the unit, but rather keep going over the different phases each day. By recording the phases of the moon on a calendar, the students are able to better understand the material as it becomes concrete for them. Overall, I thank my classmates for all of their comments. One comment I received during the peer review process, which I greatly appreciated was, “This is a strong LE. The assessment section of your LE is stronger than you think and this is a great topic to cover at a young age. I know a lot of students who are unable to explain the relationship between the Moon, Earth, and Sun even in college.” These comments from my peers are useful for me and have helped me to greatly improve my LE.

|APPENDICIES - attachments |

1. Sample Letter Home

2. Classroom Floor Plan

3. Classroom Rules

4. Classroom Procedures

5. Blank Handouts (SMTA)

6. Blank Rubric

7. Teacher Exemplar

7A) Pre-assessment

7B) During Lesson Worksheet

7C) Post-assessment

8. Samples of Distinguished Student Work

8A) Distinguished Student Rubric

8B) Distinguished Student Writing Activity

8C) Distinguished Student Pre-assessment

8D) Distinguished Student During Lesson Worksheet

8E) Distinguished Student Post-assessment

9. Samples of Proficient Student Work

9A) Proficient Student Rubric

9B) Proficient Student Writing Activity

9C) Proficient Student Pre-assessment

9D) Proficient Student During Lesson Worksheet

9E) Proficient Student Post-assessment

10.) Samples of Developing Student Work

10A) Developing Student Rubric

10B) Developing Student Writing Activity

10C) Developing Student Pre-assessment

10D) Developing Student During Lesson Worksheet

10E) Developing Student Post-assessment

11.) Peer Review Comments

12.) Power Rubric

|Parent Letter- Appendix 1 |

Date

Dear Parent/Guardian,

For the next four weeks, your child will be learning about astronomy. Your child will first learn about the Earth’s rotation and its relationship to night and day. This topic will go into the patterns of daily, monthly, and seasonal changes. Next, we will move on to Earth’s revolution around the sun. Your child will learn about the Earth’s elliptical orbit in the solar system. Afterward, we will move on to the tilting of the Earth on its axis, which leads to the varying of length in daylight and darkness with the seasons. Finally, we will move on to the relationship between the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun. Your child will learn about the Moon phases and will learn to sequence and label the phases.

It is essential for your child to understand the different concepts of astronomy. Each of the lessons builds upon the previous information. Your child experiences the different concepts of astronomy firsthand; moon phases, changing of seasons, varying lengths of daylight, and the concept of day and night. Without the background knowledge on these scientific concepts, your child will not understand what causes the different seasons. These are essential pieces of information to understand and notice in everyday life. As a result, it is critical for your child to understand these concepts he/she experiences in everyday life.

I encourage you to help your child by encouraging him/her to record the different phases of the moon and become aware of the changing seasons and length of daylight. These concepts are constantly occurring and it is easy to point them out and talk about them with your child.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me through email or phone.

Sincerely,

Classroom Teacher

School Phone Number:

Email:

|Classroom Floor Plan- Appendix 2 |

|Classroom Rules- Appendix 3 |

1) Raise your hand to ask and answer questions.

[pic]

2) Come to class and hand in assignments on time.

[pic]

3) Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.

[pic]

4) Listen carefully and follow directions.

[pic]

|Classroom Procedures- Appendix 4 |

Start of Day

• Remove and hang up jacket.

• Empty backpack – get out homework folder.

• Hang up book bag.

• Turn in homework or notes from home.

• Make sure you have 2 sharpened pencils.

• Order lunch.

• Begin Bell Work.

Walking in the Hallway

• Always walk in ABC order.

• No talking or making noise.

• Walk carefully.

• Be aware of personal space, leave at least one empty floor tile between you and the others around you.

Procedure for Guided Reading

• Work quietly at your station.

• Complete any work that was assigned.

• Complete any unfinished homework.

• When all your work is completed you now have the privilege of receiving extra reading time.

• Ask the teacher a question only if she/he is no longer sitting at the guided reading table.

Class Meeting Procedures

• When a class meeting is called, put your materials away neatly in your desk.

• Stand up and slide your chair under your desk.

• Proceed quietly to the designated area.

• When everyone is seated quietly the class meeting will begin.

End of Day Procedure

• Fill out your student planner.

• Gather all materials needed to complete homework.

• Get belongings from the hallway.

• Load backpack.

• Quietly put up your chair.

• When the teacher tells you line up in ABC order.

• You only leave when the teacher says so.

|Handouts/SMTA- Appendix 5 |

Phases of the Moon Vocabulary Styrofoam Moon Students’ Make

Phases of the Moon Review Styrofoam Moon and Earth Model

|Blank Rubric- Appendix 6 |

Phases of the Moon Rubric:

|Category |4. Excellent |3. Good |2. Fair |1. Poor |

|Writing Activity: The |The student provides |The student provides two |The student provides one |The student provides one |

|students write down what |three or more complete |answers or topics under |to two answers for the |or no answers for the |

|they know and what they |sentences under each |each section for the |writing OR the answers |writing section OR the |

|learned. |section for the writing |writing that are on topic |are off topic from the |answers are off topic |

| |that are on topic with |with the relationship |relationship between the |from the relationship |

|Score: ______ |the relationship between |between the Sun, the Moon,|Sun, the Moon, and the |between the Sun, the |

| |the Sun, the Moon, and |and the Earth. |Earth. |Moon, and the Earth. |

| |the Earth. | | | |

|Worksheets: |The student shows |The student shows |The student shows |The student needs direct |

|Consists of overall |complete comprehension of|comprehension of the |comprehension, but could |support to gain full |

|completion of the |the relationship between |relationship between the |use more support as |comprehension of the |

|worksheets. |the Earth, Moon, and Sun |Earth, Moon, and Sun by |he/she completes the |relationship between the |

| |by completing the |completing the worksheets |worksheets with three to |Earth, Moon, and Sun as |

| |worksheets with 100% |with one to two errors. |four errors. |he/she completes the |

|Score:______ |accuracy. | | |worksheets with five or |

| | | | |more errors. |

|Matching Section: |The student shows |The student shows |The student needs some |The student needs direct |

|Consists of matching the |complete comprehension of|comprehension of the moon |support to show |support to gain full |

|moon phase in words to |the moon phases by |phases by completing the |comprehension OR needs |comprehension of the moon|

|the matching picture. |completing the section |worksheets with one to two|more explicit details for|phases OR needs more |

| |with 100% accuracy. |errors. |matching activities. |explicit details for |

|Score:______ | | | |matching sections. |

|Drawing: |Exceptionally well |Neat and relatively |The drawing of the moon |Appears thrown together |

|Consists of drawing the |designed, neat, and |attractive AND able to |and shaded areas are |with little effort or |

|moon phase under the |attractive AND able to |tell exactly what each |difficult to follow. |comprehension. |

|matching moon phase term.|tell exactly what each |phase is. | | |

| |phase is. | | | |

|Score:______ | | | | |

|Vocabulary: |The student shows |The student shows |The student shows some |The student needs direct |

|Consists of using words |complete comprehension of|comprehension of the |comprehension, but needs |instruction while |

|from the word bank to |the phases of the moon |phases of the moon |extra support as a result|completing a worksheet to|

|complete the vocabulary |vocabulary by completing |vocabulary by completing |of errors OR student |ensure comprehension of |

|sentences. |the section with 100% |the section with one |needs more explicit |the task and material, |

| |accuracy. |error. |details when working with|based on multiple errors.|

|Score:______ | | |vocabulary and word | |

| | | |banks. | |

|Oral response: |The student is constantly|The student is active |The student is engaged |The student struggles to |

|Consists of sharing |active and engaged during|during the lesson and |during most of the lesson|remain on task OR |

|ideas, answers, and |the lesson and offers |offers answers three |and offers answers one to|struggles to provide |

|orally being engaged in |answers more than four |times. |two times. |answers and ideas. |

|the lesson. |times. | | | |

| | | | | |

|Score: _____ | | | | |

Total:________/24

Comments

|Teacher Exemplar- Appendix 7 |

Pre-Assessment Drawing the Moon Phases

Post-Assessment

|Student Work- Distinguished Student- Appendix 8 |

Pre-Assessment During Assessment

Post-Assessment

|Student Work- Proficient Student- Appendix 9 |

Pre-Assessment During Assessment

Post-Assessment

|Student Work- Developing Student- Appendix 10 |

Pre-Assessment During Assessment

Post-Assessment

|Peer Review Comments- Appendix 11 |

Recorder: Colleen Doolen Date Due: November 3, 2011

Peer Review Group: Dylan Parker, Ashley Hamlin, Carol Ann Scammell, Julie Kochmanski

Title of learning experience: Phases of the Moon EDU 327: J. Arnold

Author of learning experience: Benjamin Ludovici

Warm Comments Cool Comments

|1) Relation to Standards |1) Relation to Standards |

|Good job bolding the words which are related to the Standards in |Try to use the actual language from Common Core Standard in your |

|the objectives and congruency table. |Congruency Table; this will make a stronger connection to your |

|Lesson is pulled right from the Science Standards. |lesson. |

|Very fitting to the standard and appropriate for fourth grade. |May want to look at Common Core ELA than connect to Science, this|

| |will also make a stronger connection to your lesson. |

| |Above the Congruency Table, you may want to either bold it or |

| |move it into the Table. |

|2) Intellectual Challenge |2) Intellectual Challenge |

|Great to start learning about the Phases of the Moon so early, |May want to incorporate literature to help students make further |

|many people as adults still get confused and find it challenging.|connections about the Phases of the Moon. |

|Great integration of science in the classroom. |Students giving definitions could be confusing if they give a |

|Beginning questions are a great way to get students thinking. |wrong one then cannot distinguish between the right and wrong |

|Great questions and activation of schema. |answer. |

|Like that students give their own definitions; this helps them |May want to try connecting the moon to other aspects of life |

|with self-recognition. |(physically and historically) to help the students make further |

|Great job of illustrating this topic for the kids. |connections. |

|Your lesson did not just have the students memorizing the Phases |Could you possibly pull out more extension activities for the |

|they were manipulating them. |students who get the lesson right away? |

| | |

| | |

|3) Engagement |3) Engagement |

|Great anticipatory set, it was very engaging. |Maybe you can post a calendar in the room which shows the Phases |

|Students were able to see and make the phases themselves. |of the Moon. |

|Hands on portion with Styrofoam ball is great to get students |It was a long lesson so even though it was engaging, some |

|involved and help them understand. |students may have trouble getting through all everything. May |

|Having students actively participate by coming to the front to |consider breaking it up throughout the day or over several days. |

|demonstrate phases. | |

|Students are very active with various activities. | |

|Having both whole and small group activities for various learning| |

|types. | |

|4) Assessment Plan |4) Assessment Plan |

|Students can use the phases they made in other parts of the |Could incorporate student input for why/how they think the moon |

|lesson. |operates in the summative assessment. |

|Students had an opportunity to explain why/how they think the |For another assessment, students could paint the phases of the |

|moon operates. |moon instead of coloring. |

|Pre and post assessments are similar so you can clearly see |How are the worksheets in your lesson (assessment) graded? |

|student growth, progress and gaps. |If the students struggle with writing, would you give them the |

|As students are working in small groups you are able to walk |definitions already written out? |

|around and view students working. |There is so much physical and oral input in lesson you may find |

| |some students struggle to complete a paper assessment. You may |

| |want to add a physical or oral component to your |

| |assessment/lesson. |

|5) Adaptability |5) Adaptability |

|The lesson could easily be used for other grade levels, either |How did you further adapt your lesson for students who struggled?|

|higher or lower. |Maybe consider incorporating more time for movement. |

|Students are working together throughout the lesson. |In modification table there is a SMARTboard activity, where is |

|Carried lesson over to next class which gives students time to |this in your lesson? |

|really absorb the information. |Would you consider less worksheets for more active student |

|Great idea to have partnered checking, this provides |involvement? |

|opportunities for students to be role models and allows you to | |

|work more with struggling students. | |

|6) Technology Integration |6) Technology Integration |

|Great integration of the website to help student make further |Maybe you could make or find a video of students acting out the |

|connections about the phases. |phases of the moon. |

|Good use of SMARTboard and video. |Maybe you could incorporate a song about the phases for students |

| |who learn through song or orally. |

| |Maybe you could find an interactive game of lesson online. |

| |Maybe you could make a jeopardy game for the students. |

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