Investigation 1 Part 2 MOON WATCH

Sky objects What objects can be seen in the sky? Frame questions for a Moon study Tell students that, now that they’ve begun to look at Earth from the perspective of space, it’s time to look to the sky to see what they can see from Earth. Ask students what objects can be seen in the sky. When the Moon is suggested as an observable sky object, ask, When do you see the Moon? Can you see the Moon during the day? What color and shape is the Moon?

observations Going outside Make observations In “Observations” section, draw what you saw 2. Plan a Moon walk Suggest a mini-field trip to look for the Moon. Students should take care not too look directly at the Sun. If you have binoculars for students to share, it is even more important that they don’t look at the Sun with binoculars under any circumstances. Even a brief glimpse of the Sun with concentrated magnification can cause serious eye damage. Discuss the protocol for going outdoors, including keeping noise to a minimum, staying on the sky-watch task, not looking directly at the Sun, and moving directly to and from the designated observation site. While they are at the observation site, remind them to consider the questions you posed about the Moon. 3. Go outdoors Lead the class out to a location with an unobstructed view of the sky. Soon, someone will spot the Moon. Some students may be surprised that they can see the Moon during the day. If binoculars are available, pass them around so that everyone gets a chance to observe closely. To help students quantify their observations, you can introduce the common hand measurements described in Getting Ready, Step 5: hand span, fist, and index finger. Of particular importance will be the distance between the Sun and the Moon. 4. Return to class Return to the classroom. Ask students to report their observations. Ask them to predict the Moon’s appearance tomorrow.

Focus Question How does the Moon change day by day? 5. Focus question Write or project the focus question on the board. Have students record the focus question and make predictions for the following questions, leaving several lines below their responses to add to or revise their thinking later on. Give students time to date and title their notebook entries and add them to their table of contents. Challenge students to come up with a method to record all this information. Acknowledge that drawing, timing, and dating could provide valuable information.

Predictions (under focus question) Will the Moon look the same tomorrow? Will the Moon be in the same place in the sky at the same time tomorrow? Will the Moon have the same orientation (tilt)? Will the Moon change during the day today? Will the Sun/Moon distance be bigger, smaller or the same tomorrow? How does the Moon change day by day? 5. Continued

Paper moon model What part of this circle will I color in and why? 6. Display a paper Moon model Tape a large paper crescent Moon on the board or elsewhere in the classroom where you can reach it. Tilt it about 30°. Tell students, “Let’s pretend this crescent Moon is the Moon I’m looking at in the sky. Here’s how I can draw that Moon.” Draw a circle on the board near the paper Moon. Tell students that the two points of the crescent Moon are called the horns. Bring a straightedge up to the horns, and note the angle. Move the straightedge to the middle of the circle at approximately the same angel, and draw a line. The intersections with the circle are where the two horns will be. Put a dot to represent the width of the Moon, and draw a curved line to complete the crescent Moon. Ask on slide. Answer: The larger area, leaving the visible crescent Moon white. The reason is the white part is what’s visible to us. (When students are in a hurry or are not paying attention, they will sometimes color the lit portion of the Moon.)

Moon log Will record appearance of moon over the next 4-5 weeks 7. Introduce Moon log Distribute a copy of notebook sheets 3 and 4, Moon Log A and B, to each student. Instruct students to turn to their next blank spread of pages and glue the notebook sheets on two adjacent, facing pages. Students should place the two notebook sheets so they meet in the middle and form the complete Moon log as shown in the sidebar. You can also project teacher master A, Moon Log, to show students what they pages look like when assembled. Tell them that their job is to record the appearance of the Moon over the next 4-5 weeks. 8. Introduce Moon Log poster Point out the Moon Log poster for keeping a class record of the appearance of the Moon. Arrange for a different student to enter the new data each day. Use a wet-erase marker to put the dates on each day of the Moon Log poster, starting with today’s date. Students can fill in their individual Moon logs for today based on what they saw during the class observation.

‘Tip’ the Moon at the correct orientation in their drawings. Correctly shade the unseen part of the Moon, leaving the visible part white. ‘Tip’ the Moon at the correct orientation in their drawings. Record the date and time in the appropriate location. 9. Assess progress: scientific practices As students work, circulate from group to group, and review a sample of students’ notebook entries. WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Students correctly shade the unseen part of the Moon, leaving the visible part white. Students ‘tip’ the Moon at the correct orientation in their drawings. Students record the date and time in the appropriate location.

Moon log responsibility The moon’s appearance changes DAILY. It’s YOUR job to record on your Moon log EVERY day/night. 10. Extend the investigation with homework Students will be looking for the Moon every day. Sometimes they will see it during the day, sometimes it will be in the evening or night. Tell students they are responsible for filling out their Moon logs each day, based on what they see. You might want to check their Moon logs every day for the first few days, then reduce it to a weekly check. 11. Revisit the focus question Tell students that in order to answer the focus question, they will need to collect data. Students will answer this focus question later in the course.

Powers of ten video http://scaleofuniverse.com/powers-of-ten/ An extension possibility.