Moon Journal Write Up
I kept a moon journal for three nights. I recorded what the moon looked like and drew how it looked each night. On the third night I observed the moon three different times. Once around 7:00pm then around 9:00 pm and at 11:00 pm. When I was journaling and observing the moon it was in the first quarter phase of its cycle. As I watched the moon it seemed to move across the sky at night. Each time I went to journal about it again it looked as if the moon had moved towards the right in the sky. Also the moon looked like it was higher in the sky each time I went to journal about it. One hypothesis that I think about why the moon seems to look like it is moving towards the right in the sky is because the earth is rotating. The earth rotates one full rotation on its axis every 24 hours. Therefore we can tell we are moving but the moon is actually not moving that much. It is the earth rotating. Another hypothesis of why I think that the moon is higher in the sky at night is also because the earth is rotating on it axis. The same side of the moon is always lit up by the sun. We on earth see different amounts of the moon lit up because of the position of the earth and we call this phases of the moon. The moon does revolve around the earth every 28 days. So from the observations and the hypothesis I think that in the next week we will see the waxing gibbous phase of the moon, and then we will see the full moon.
I think that from observing the moon and journaling about it I have refreshed my memory about the moon’s phases and why we see different phases. This helped me to actually visualize the moon’s phases better. I think that it would be a great idea to have your students’ journal and draw the moon each night to see the phases. I also think that it is important to have them observe it three times in one night so that they can visualize the earth turning instead of the moon moving across the sky. I think this would be a great activity to have the children do in the classroom.
Attached below are the scan documents of my moon journal.
Moon Journal Rationale
Context: I kept a moon journal for my science class in block II. I watched the moon for three nights at 7:00 pm. On the third night I watched the moon, I watched it at three different times. Once at 7:00 pm, at 9:00 pm, and at11:00 pm. Each time I went out to look at the moon I drew and journal what I saw. This gave me a visual of how the earth is rotating on it axis, and how the moon is rotating. I wrote a hypothesis on what I thought was happening to the moon and the changes that were occurring and a reflection on what I did. I learned a lot about the moon from watching it. As I looked, it seemed to be moving through the sky and the phases of the moon.
Impact: I think moon journaling will impact student learning by doing this observing and drawing of the moon. The students will get a visual of the rotation of the earth and the moon. They will also get a visual of the moon’s phases. By having students draw what the moon looks like each night and having them journal about it will give them more knowledge about the moon so they will understand phases of the moon. The students can look at the journal of drawings of the moon and it will remind them of the phases of the moon and the rotations of the moon.
Alignment:
I met Standard 3, indicator 3 by having the students do the moon journal it will teach them about the rotation of the earth, the moon and the phases of the moon.
I met Standard 12 by this journaling of the moon the students will be drawing the moon as they see it each night. The teacher could work with the art teacher in the school and have them to teach the students about drawing the moon for the moon journals.
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