Moon Mania

For about a month, or should I say one lunar cycle, we have been researching and learning about the moon.  We have learned so much!  We began our unit of study with a RAN (researching and analyzing nonfiction) chart.  On the chart, we wrote what we already thought we knew and what we were wondering about.  As we studied, we moved the post-it note facts around if we found text evidence confirming what we knew.  We also had a column for "we don't think this anymore" and "new information."  We added a ton of notes to the "new information" column.  One thing that the students really wondered about was the craters. We downloaded an app called Moon Globe.  Moon Globe allowed the students to get an up close and realistic look at the moon's surface.  Students learned that the craters had names.  They also discovered that the moon had white streaks called ejecta rays around some craters.  This made the students even more curious.

How were the craters made?  To answer this question we created a simulation experiment.  We covered the bottom of a plastic tub with flour then added a thin layer of coco to the top to represent the lunar soil that has been exposed to the sun.  We dropped different sized and shaped rocks into the tub and watched the impact.  Similarly in space, on a much larger scale, asteroids have battered the moon and created the craters on the moon's surface.  After the experiment, students did some excellent writing about what they noticed and learned from the experience.

We did another simulation of the sun reflecting it's light of the moon which results in the phases of the moon that we see.  We recorded our learning in our Launch Logs.  We also represented the phases using Oreo cookies and learned a fun song.  Yum!

 

Our experiments, the RAN chart, and our reading concluded with a ton of information.  The students did some writing and an art project the show what they found most interesting about our studies.  The projects show so much learning.  Check them out in the hallway!