Elementary School Science

Input:
What is the most important content in this lesson?
To reach this lesson’s objective, students need to understand:

• What a solar and lunar eclipse is.

• What causes a solar eclipse and when do they occur?

• What causes a lunar eclipse and when do they occur?

• The definitions to the terms: umbra, antumbra, and penumbra.

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How will the learning of this content be facilitated?

• For the first few minutes, the students will fill out the “What I Know About Eclipses” worksheet.

• The teacher should begin class by showing the students the video “Solar Eclipse of March 20, 2015” (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjT5p6UlBDI). The video is about two and a half minutes long and shows what a solar eclipse looks like. After the video is over, the teacher should begin a discussion. The teacher should ask the students if they have ever heard of a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse. The teacher should explain that solar eclipses are more frequent than lunar eclipses.

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• After the video and discussion is done, the teacher will begin presenting the information on the Solar System. If it is possible, project each page of the teacher’s copy of the “All About the Solar System” Science Journal worksheet onto the board using a projector or put into a PowerPoint document and project.  The teacher’s copy of the journal has certain words/phrases that are bolded red and highlighted. It is important the teacher explain to the students those words/phrases are to be highlighted in their (students) journal. For this lesson, the teacher should review these pages:

• Page 62:  Words to Describe Eclipses

**  This page reviews the key terms associated with eclipses**

• Pages 63-64: What is a Solar Eclipse?

** These pages review solar eclipses, including why and when they occur**

• Pages 65-66: What is a Lunar Eclipse?

** These pages review lunar eclipses, including why and when they occur**

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• After the information has been presented, the students will break into pairs. Each pair will get a “Historical Lunar Eclipse” worksheet. The students will use computers/laptops/tablets to access the NASA website: https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEhistory/LEhistory.html. (Refer to the “Materials” section if computers/laptops/tablets are not available). The students will choose two historical lunar eclipses to view. Then, on the worksheet, the students will fill out the date of the eclipse, significant event, and what each location saw.  (A sample worksheet is included following the lesson plan) Allow the students about 20 minutes to complete the activity.  

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Closure,

• The students should reconvene and the teacher should discuss the activities.

• The students will then fill out the “What I Learned About Eclipses” worksheet.

• They will then share with the class, or with a partner, some things they wrote down in their “What I Learned About Eclipses” page.

**The students should keep both of the "What I Know" and "What I Learned" sheets in a folder to put them all together into a book when the unit is finished.​*