Moon Mysteries

Moon Mysteries
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This is a teacher-led and teacher-narrated lesson for more open-ended discussion.


Learn more about the Anchor Layer here,
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This is Layla.
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Layla loves looking up at the sky at night. Discuss. What do you see in the night sky here? Have you ever seen something in the night sky that is not in this picture?
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Layla’s favorite thing to see in the sky at night is the Moon.
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One day, Layla was at the library. She found books with pictures of things in the night sky. She knew she had to check them all out.
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One of the books had pictures of the Moon. Layla couldn’t wait to see what was inside. The Moon was her favorite thing to see in the night sky!
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Layla opened the book. She read the first page. Read the first page together as a class.
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Layla turned the page. Discuss. How are these pictures different? How are they the same? Have you ever seen the Moon look like one of these pictures?
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Layla turned the page again. One picture completely surprised her. (Remember: these are real pictures!) Discuss. Which picture do you think surprised Layla? Why do you think that?
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Layla was so confused. She had seen the Moon look gray and white every night that she looked at it. But she had never seen the Moon look blue. Let’s see if we can figure out why it looks this way.
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Step
01/05
Get a See-Think-Wonder Chart, or make your own with a large sheet of paper. Your teacher will add your ideas to the class chart.
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Step
02/05
Discuss. What do you see in each picture? Your teacher will record your answers in the See column of your chart.
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03/05
Why do you think the Moon is gray and white in one picture and blue and white in the other? Come up with as many ideas as you can. Your teacher will record your answers in the Think column of your chart.
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Step
04/05
What do you wonder about the Moon? Your teacher will record your questions in the Wonder column.
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Step
05/05
Save your See-Think-Wonder Chart. You will review it after the first lesson in this unit!
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It's time to do some investigations! In this unit, you'll explore the Moon and stars.

At the end of the unit, you will use everything you've learned to predict when we will see the Sun, Moon, and stars in the sky.

Have fun, and stay curious!

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Activity Prep

Print Prep

Note: This lesson is part of this unit’s Anchor Layer. If you have the Anchor Layer turned on, we recommend teaching all of the lessons in this unit in order.

The anchor phenomenon for this unit is a set of surprising photos of the Moon.

During the introduction, students generate observations and questions about the phenomenon and create a list of possible explanations for the phenomenon.

Students will gather clues during and after each lesson in this unit to help them improve their understanding and explanations. It is important to encourage students to recognize that even if they don't know the perfect answer yet, they are going to learn a lot throughout the unit and will have an opportunity to revisit the phenomenon over time.

Preview activity
Number of students:
Moon & Stars Teacher Guide teacher-only resource 1 per class
See-Think-Wonder worksheet 1 per class
Prep Instructions

Before starting this lesson, review the unit Teacher Guide for an overview of the Moon & Stars Anchor Layer.

Set Up Your Classroom

Set up your classroom by creating a class "See-Think-Wonder" chart. You will start the chart today, and you will add to it over the course of the unit.

For the See-Think-Wonder charts, we recommend using chart paper or a space on your board that won't be erased, but here is a blank See-Think-Wonder chart if you would like to use it instead. We recommend that you create charts for the whole class, and record your student's thinking on it for them.

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