Teaching Planetary Science - Origin of the Moon

Resource for Grades 7-10

| Citation

Teaching Planetary Science - Origin of the Moon

Media Type:
Video

Running Time:
Size: 23.6 MB

Resource Produced by:

Collection Developed by:

Executive Producer Jill Peters

Producer Michelle Chen

Associate Producer Eliana Cruz

Content Producer Sybil Berry

Camera Greg Barna, Michael Pruitt-Bruun

Audio Ken Chin

Editor Michiel Pilgram

Re-recording Mixer Jon Berman

Music Supervision Rosie Fishel

Senior Budget Controller Rekha Menon

Intern Megan Schumm

Special Thanks to Herricks High School, Ward's

Director of Children's and Educational Media Sandra Sheppard

Collection Funded by:

Related Resources:

Teaching Planetary Science - Eclipses
(Video)

Teaching Planetary Science - Phases of the Moon
(Video)

This series of professional development videos correspond to three lessons taught by Andrew Cloud, an Earth and Planetary science teacher. Andrew’s class, a mixture of 9th and 10th graders, is an inclusion classroom instructed by team-teacher, Barbara Brochstein. In the first lesson, Andrew uses the “Evolution of the Moon” video to introduce the origins of the Moon. He then brings the Common Core State Standards into the science classroom by asking students to read the “Origin of the Moon” essay and to write down the main idea of each paragraph.

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Teaching Tips

Google Moon provides a photographic map of the moon with pan and zoom capability. It also shows the locations of the Apollo flight landings.

Use this resource to help frame your lesson and provide a deeper understanding of the history of Moon exploration. Click the charts button to reveal a set of geologic and topographic charts. Students can use these to study the topical composition of the moon and to investigate the commonalities and differences between the Moon’s composition and the Earth’s inner core.

Implementing the Common Core in the Science Classroom

Andrew Cloud brought the Common Core State Standards into his science classroom by selecting the Origin of the Moon background essay on PBS LearningMedia. He asked his students to read each paragraph of the text carefully and to write a topic sentence for each paragraph.

You may have also noticed that Andrew paired the Origin of the Moon background essay with the Evolution of the Moon video. After doing a search for supporting resources, Andrew felt that the Origin of the Moon essay was the best fit for the lesson he was teaching. Feel free to follow his lead and do the same.

Using Video

When showing a video always provide a Frame, a Focus and a Follow-up:

Frame

Provide a context that helps students pay attention to the main content of the video. Ask students questions about the topic explored in the video to activate prior knowledge.

Focus

Help students notice the important moments in the video by providing them with a specific focus, something to look for while they watch.

Follow-up

Provide an opportunity for students to summarize and discuss what they saw. Re-telling what they saw helps students consolidate their understanding and remember it.

Play the video multiple times to enhance understanding. Depending on your classroom set-up or the availability of computers or tablets, play the video for the entire class or encourage students to watch independently or in small groups.

Pause the video at particular moments to review content or let students take notes. Let students know it is okay to play the video as many times as necessary to gain a full understanding of the content.