Teach Primary Issue 19.5

WEEK 1 Learning objective l What is the Moon? How does it affect us? Ask pupils to spend a couple of minutes with a partner to come up with a definition of what the Moon is. Discuss ideas and identify some misconceptions that will need addressing (e.g. it’s not a planet!). Pupils may have already covered something about this in Year 5 science, or they may be about to do some work on it, so this can either act as retrieval practice or as a taster. Explore some definitions and terms such as satellite and basic facts, such as M E D I U M T E R M P L A N KS2 SCIENCE & GEOGRAPHY Download your FREE accompanying PowerPoint and worksheets at tinyurl.com/tp-MoonUnit H ow can theMoon, that’s so very far away, help us notice what’s happening on our doorstep? TheMoon is a source of wonder and has many influences on Earth; not least is its cultural significance. For instance, over millennia, indigenous people around the world have used theMoon as a calendar tomark the changing year, naming lunar months to reflect and remind themof the natural world in their home territory. This unit fuses science and geography and is designed to encourage children to look and notice more carefully at the natural world, and how it affects the way we live. that the Moon produces no light of its own and that it orbits the Earth roughly once a month (all these facts are available in the downloadable resources – link above). Check that pupils can correctly identify the Moon, Earth and sun in a diagram, and which is planet , satellite , and sun ( L1 slide 5 ). Pose and encourage questions as you go, building a collaboration of enquiry. Has anyone seen the Moon recently? What did it look like? Is it always the same shape? Identify that sometimes it appears full and round, sometimes it appears like a thin crescent, and sometimes it is not visible at all. Explain the phases of the Moon ( L1 slide 6 ) and introduce essential vocabulary such as waxing and waning. Use a short assessment to let pupils practise applying this to images of the Moon ( slide 9 ). Ask pupils why it might matter to think about whether the Moon is waxing or not? Explain that a long time ago, when people were more attuned to their environment, they planned around the Moon phases, thinking about when they might have more light in the evening for farming, hunting or travelling. Ask pupils how else the Moon might influence life on Earth today. Briefly explain that it affects light, tides, animal reproduction, navigation and migration. It also has an influence on many world religions ( slide 12 ). Finish by showing the iconic Earthrise images and video ( slides 13-15 ). Ask pupils how the image makes them feel about Earth, before playing them the astronauts’ responses. Assessment Can pupils use vocabulary correctly? Can they state some ways that the Moon influences life on Earth? Find assessment resources in the L1 download. WEEK 2 Learning objective l What can Moon names tell us about biomes? Recap the previous lesson with a short ‘true or false’ quiz ( L2 slide 2 ), then introduce or recap what a biome is with some examples, e.g. forest, hot desert HELLO, MOON DR PAULA OWENS Take pupils on a celestial journey to understand the Earth’s satellite and its role both in nature, and in culture DOWNLOAD RESOURCES AT 22 | www.teachwire.net