Review

This article covers a long term lesson on the phases of the moon for upper elementary grades. The lesson integrates reading and writing as student develop their scientific inquiry skills. Th... See More

This article covers a long term lesson on the phases of the moon for upper elementary grades. The lesson integrates reading and writing as student develop their scientific inquiry skills. This is a great unit in helping students understand the value of observation and patterns and that it takes time to complete an experiment. The author uses all of the 5E’s in this lesson. I wished that this lesson was also geared more to different learning styles and differentiate. For students that struggle with writing, maybe providing sentence starters for each of the daily journal activities might be helpful. Also, giving students the opportunity to perform the different phases of the moon might be helpful especial for the early grade level students. I like how the author incorporates and highlight scientific terminology throughout the lesson. He also provides many opportunities for group work and discussion with small and big groups.

A Great Combo

Understanding the changes in the moon’s image is something that is best understood by students in middle school. However, observing the changes are more appropriate for the younger student.... See More

Understanding the changes in the moon’s image is something that is best understood by students in middle school. However, observing the changes are more appropriate for the younger student. This 5E model lesson is good and it also makes use of an interactive notebook. The use of both makes this a great activity to use with upper elementary students. At that grade level I would also use a reading book to introduce the unit.