Day Sky, Night Sky
Day 2: I See the Moon

Today you'll read a poem about the moon to begin a fascinating study of the phases of the moon. The student will sequence and write about the phases.

During Music and Movement, the student can hide, just as parts of the moon hide in the dark or behind the clouds.

In Day 1, you created a day sky collage. Today, the student will make a collage of a night sky, where the moon could be the main feature.

Since phonics principles are best learned in context, you'll introduce the "super e" in the words game and hide and the "spooky oo" in moon. The main phonics lesson continues with middle consonants.

I see the moon. The moon sees me.
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What You Need Today General Supplies box containing required materials Calendar Time Calendar Package Thematic Assignment Booklet 3A - Day 1: My Sky Graph other materials as needed Language Arts Level A: Modern Curriculum Press Phonics, pages 69, 71, and 72 Thematic Assignment Booklet 3A - Day 1: My Sky Graph - Day 2: Moon Printing Sky Words chart prepared on Day 1 stuffed toys and simple props (optional) word boxes and index cards Collections Writing Dictionary Music and Movement space for playing hide and seek Silent Reading Time books, magazines, or other favourite reading material Math Time See Mathematics Module 3, Day 2. Project Time treasure box Let's Look Back Thematic Assignment Booklet 3A - Day 1: My Sky Graph Story Time mutually chosen reading material

Calendar Time

Time recommended: 10 minutes

Select activities that suit your student's interests and skill level. Refer to the Calendar Package for ideas.

Certain curriculum objectives are particularly suited to the calendar activities throughout this module, Day Sky, Night Sky. Include the following skills each day:

• Name, in order, the days of the week and the seasons of the year.

• Describe the time of day in general terms, such as morning, afternoon, or evening.

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• Sequence events within one day and over several days, as in the following example:

– get dressed

– make bed

– eat breakfast

– clean up

– do school work

Ask your student what happens first, second, and third or first, next, and last for situations like inviting company or going on vacation. Simple tasks, such as getting ready to go outside, can also be ordered into steps.

Be sure to discuss the weather and have the student draw a weather symbol on your calendar. Ask if the weather has changed from yesterday.

In addition, encourage your student to draw the shape of the moon on one side of the date every night for the next two weeks.

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Turn to Thematic Assignment Booklet 3A, to Day 1: My Sky Graph. Record what you see in the morning sky. Remind your student to check the sky again at noon, in the afternoon, and after dark.

 

Focus for Today Today's focus is the student's ability to sequence, or put in order, the events of daily life.

 

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Which comes first—cooking or serving? What's next?

Language Arts

Print this high-frequency word on a coloured index card. If your student is able to read the word at a glance, place it in the personal word bank. Then challenge the student to choose a theme or special-interest word.

If the student needs further instruction, print the word they on a sheet of paper or chalkboard.

Underline the th letter combination, and review its sound as in the key word think.

man: ©Image Club ArtRoom/EyeWire Collection/Getty Images
 

Teaching Tip There is a difference between the sounds of th in think and in they. The th in think is voiceless, causing no vibration in the voice box. The th in they is voiced, causing vibration in the voice box. Early readers do not always hear this distinction between the voiced and voiceless th. That is fine for now. Make both sounds, however, by placing your tongue between your teeth and pushing out air.

The student will need to memorize the ey letter combination. After some study, place the index card for the word they in the New Word Box.

Your student could also practise sight words related to the theme, such as sun, moon, or star. Print such words on white index cards, and study them together.

Also have the student add any new words to the Collections Writing Dictionary.

Phonics and Printing

Print the words game and hide on a chalkboard or paper. Introduce the concept of the silent or "super e" as follows.

We have talked about letters called vowels.

Can you tell me the names of the vowels? (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y)

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Today, you'll study a special kind of e.

The e at the end of the word game is called a silent or super e.
 

Super e

At the end of many words, an e is silent. It usually makes the vowel that comes before it say its own name.

In the word game, the super e taps the letter a and says, "Say your name."

To help your student remember the "super e rule," tap the child lightly on the head and say, "What's your name?" Have the student respond by saying his or her own name.

With the word game, super e taps the letter a and says "What's your name?"

Explain that when a vowel says its own name, it is called a long vowel. To show that a vowel is long, it is sometimes marked with a line above it.

In the word hide, the super e taps the letter i and says, "Say your name."

Have your student cut out a picture of a man and glue it onto an unlined sheet of paper. Under the picture, draw a base line with the letter a sitting on the middle of the line, as shown.

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Have the student use this page as follows:

• Name the letter for the beginning sound of the word man.
• Print the letter m to the left of the letter a.
• Name the letter for the ending sound.
• Print the letter n to the right of the letter a.

Point out that the letter a in the word man is a short vowel. The letter does not say its own name but says the "a" sound as in the word apple. The letter a in man is a short vowel sound, marked with a curved line above it.

You do not have to submit this assignment.

Turn to page 69 in Level A: Modern Curriculum Press Phonics and read the directions at the top of the page with your student. Then read the Word List below the directions, encouraging the student to read as many of the words as possible. Have your student complete the page independently. Mark the page, and have the student make any corrections needed.

Remove pages 71 and 72 from the phonics book. Help your student make this booklet. Point out that this is a story that tells what happened to Socks on moving day. Read the story aloud. Then ask the following questions to help your student consider the meaning of the story.

Why was Socks missing on moving day? (She was having baby kittens.)

How would family members feel when they couldn't find their pet? (sad, worried)

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What had Socks been doing when she was gone? (moving her kittens)

Note: You don't have to submit this story booklet to the teacher. When phonics pages are returned after marking, put them in order into a binder. You will complete page 70 in a later module.
 

Turn to Thematic Assignment Booklet 3A, and follow the directions to complete Day 2: Moon Printing.

Music and Movement

Time recommended: 10-15 minutes

Ask whether your student thinks the moon is hiding when part of it is in the dark or when it is behind the clouds. Discuss why or why not.

Whether the moon is hiding or not, the student can play a game of hide and seek. Involve others, if possible. If weather permits, go outside. The game will provide counting practice, allow the student to burn off some energy, and give you a fitness break.

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Finally, sing this traditional song in French or English. If you are not familiar with the tune, read it as a poem.

 

Au clair de la lune

Au clair de la lune, Mon ami, Pierrot, Prête-moi ta plume, Pour écrire un mot. Ma chandelle est morte, Je n'ai plus de feu; Ouvre-moi ta porte Pour l'amour de Dieu.      In the Evening Moonlight In the evening moonlight, My good friend, Pierrot, Lend to me your quill pen, Just to write a note. My candle is burned out, And my fire's out too; Your front door please open, Please, I beg of you.

©2001-2003 www.arttoday.com

Note: Familiarize your student with the ideas of an old-fashioned quill pen and writing by candlelight.

Language Arts

Reading

Read the following poem aloud twice. Note that the word quays is pronounced keys.

Ask the student while listening to consider what the poet thinks about the moon.

 

The Moon

The moon has a face like a clock in the hall; She shines on thieves on the garden wall, On streets and fields and harbour quays, And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees. The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse, The howling dog by the door of the house. The bat that lies in bed at noon, All love to be out by the light of the moon. R. L. Stevenson

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Discuss the poem as follows.

What does the poet say the moon is like? (a clock on the wall)

Why do you think the poet says the moon is like a clock on the wall?

Is the moon always like the face of a clock? (no)

Why do you think the moon doesn't always look round?

After the student responds, discuss the following information.
 

One part of the moon is always facing the sun. The other side of the moon is dark. The side of the moon that is lit by the sun is the only part that we can see. Since different amounts of the moon are lit by the sun on different nights, sometimes we see a whole circle, and sometimes we see just a small piece.

What does the word shine mean? (to give off light)

Do you think the moon shines?

In the poem, what things does the moon shine on? (thieves on the garden wall, streets, fields, harbour quays, birdies, squalling cat, squeaking mouse, howling dog, and bat)

What does the word thieves mean? (people who steal)

What do you think harbour quays are?

What kind of sound would a squalling cat make? A squeaking mouse?

Is the word squalling a good way to describe the sound a cat makes sometimes?

Is the word squeaking a good way to describe the sound a mouse makes sometimes?

Why do you think the people and animals like to be out by the light of the moon?

Do you like to be out by the light of the moon?

Read the poem aloud again. Ask the student to listen for rhyming words. Review that rhyming words have similar ending sounds.

Guide the student to identify the rhyming pairs hall and wall, quays (pronounced as keys) and trees, mouse and house, and noon and moon.

List these rhyming pairs on a sheet of paper or chalkboard, and discuss the similar letters and sounds at the end of three of the pairs. Review that even though the end letters in the words quays and trees are not the same, they are pronounced the same.

Print the word moon on a chalkboard or sheet of paper, so that your student can look closely at it. Point out the spooky oo in the word moon.

moon

Make the sound spooky by stretching it out.

moo—oo—oo—oo—n

Enrichment (optional)

Dramatic Play: Bear and the Moon

Check your local library for the book Moongame by Frank Asch. Turn Moongame into a play for Sharing Time. This ties in well with today's emphasis on sequencing.

Help the student arrange props and characters in order according to the story. Use stuffed animals as Bear's friends, and you do the speaking parts. Make props for a yellow flower, a piece of cheese, and a balloon. When everything is ready, read the story again, having the student act as Little Bear.

Writer's Workshop

Sequence Pie

As you draw the following seven shapes on a piece of paper to represent the visible phases of the moon, discuss each shape with the student and, under each shape, list something that is a similar shape. For example, you could use the words sliver or banana to describe the shape of the thin crescent moon. Then proceed with the directions that come after.

• Use the following verse to create a song about each shape. Sing to the tune of "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush," if you know it. Otherwise, make up a tune.

• On a piece of art paper or light-coloured construction paper, trace or draw the biggest circle that will fit. Divide the circle into seven pie-shaped sections and cut them out.
• In the first section, have your student draw the first phase of the moon and print a sentence about the comparison shape, as in the diagram. A more advanced student may print alone. For most students, you may share the pencil. For example, the student could print The moon, and you could print the rest.
• Draw and write about each phase of the moon in order, from the sliver of the crescent moon, up to full moon, down to the "banana" crescent moon. Note that the invisible new moon phase has been left out. When the sequence pie is finished, have your student mix up the pieces and put the pie back together again.
• Finally, have the student number the pieces from one to seven in the correct sequence.

Put the pieces in an envelope labelled as follows:

• student's full name
• module and day numbers, M3D2

Place the envelope in the student folder.
 

Teaching Tip It may take patience to watch a student struggle with a task that requires co-ordination and control of scissors or writing tools. You may be tempted to help so that the finished product looks better. However, the process is more important than the product. Generally, you'll be rewarded for your patience by the student's pride in accomplishment.

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Why does the moon look like cheese?

The moon looks like cheese because it seems to be full of holes and sometimes appears yellowish, too. The holes are craters in the surface, created when the moon was bombarded by huge rocks early in its history.

Speaking of yellow cheese, it must be time for lunch. Before you bite into any cheese, remember to check the sky again.

Silent Reading

Time recommended: 5-10 minutes

For books about the moon, sun, sky, or clouds, refer to Additional Resources near the beginning of this module or talk to your librarian about alternatives.

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Take a bite out of an interesting book.

Math Time

Time recommended: 45 minutes

Proceed with Mathematics Module 3, Day 2.

Project Time

Night Sky Collage

Today your student will create a Night-Sky collage to contrast with yesterday's Day Sky collage. Proceed as follows:

• Begin with black or dark grey construction paper.
• Have the student experiment with the techniques introduced in Day 1, Project Time.
• Use muted, or less vibrant, colours to give the impression of nighttime.
• Prepare a title strip as you did on Day 1.
• Label the back with the student's full name and M3D2.

Display your two sky collages side by side so it is easy to see similarities and differences. After a few days, place them both in your Student Folder.

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Sharing Time

Time recommended: flexible

Have the student practise decision making by choosing one or two projects to share with others.

What does your student think is most enjoyable or most worthy to share? It could be writing, drama, art, reading, or even teaching a phonics lesson to a willing audience.

Let's Look Back

Time recommended: 10 minutes

Ask general questions about the day, such as those that follow.

What was the most difficult part of today's school work?

Why did you find that difficult?

Which part did you enjoy most?

What would you like to find out about the moon?

Was it easy to think of things that were similar to each phase of the moon?

Was it easy to sequence the phases of the moon?

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Turn to Thematic Assignment Booklet 3A, Day 1: My Sky Graph. Observe the sky and record what you see.

Story Time

Time recommended: flexible

Is there anyone else who would like to join you for Story Time—a guest reader or guest listeners? Do you have any old favourites or new favourites to read?

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Remind your student to check the night sky before bedtime. Then turn to Thematic Assignment Booklet 3A, Day 1: My Sky Graph, and record your observations.

Look carefully at the moon tonight, if you can see it. Tomorrow you'll do more skygazing.

Glossary

quay: a wharf or dock used for loading and unloading ships

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