GROW · Science · Week 7A · Explore
The Moon's Journey
🧭
Science mission
Moon Detective: why does the Moon seem to change shape?
Moon Detective: why does the Moon seem to change shape?
Visual model: use it to predict and explain — not as decoration.
Aut1·W7 — Describe the movement of the Moon around the Earth.
🎯 Learning objective: I can explain why the Moon appears to change shape as it orbits Earth.
✅ Success criteria
- I can state that the Moon orbits Earth in roughly a month.
- I can explain that moonlight is reflected sunlight.
- I can explain that phases come from our changing view of the lit half.
ArrivalStarterI DoWe DoI Do 2We Do 2Independent evidenceExit + one Lundy close
v3 40-minute route · derived from current GROW lesson Science_Teesside/Grow/SCI_G_W7_The_Moon.html at main SHA 93d570041f4c · repository originals untouched.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Space → Voice → Audience → Influence runs through the lesson; it is not an extra activity at the end.
⏱ 4 min
Arrival
Staff influence opener — SAY, don’t record: “Last lesson your evidence showed ___. Today we are starting by remembering ___.”
Retrieve the previous lesson: Aut1·W6 — planets orbit because gravity bends their motion; models can show selected features without being to scale. Earth and the other planets orbit the Sun.
Not here last lesson? Everything you need is in the box above — read it, then answer.
◆ Supported — three retrieval questions and one lead-in
R1 Last lesson
Point to the part of your model that was accurate.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — Last lesson you built a Solar System model. Name one thing it showed well and one it could not show.
R2 Week 6
Point to Earth in the picture.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — Week 6: what holds the planets on their orbits around the Sun?
R3 Week 5
Say the one thing we change in a fair test.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — Week 5: why do we repeat measurements?
Lead-in Into today
Look at the Moon pictures. Point to the fullest one.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — The Moon looks a different shape each week. Does the Moon itself really change?
▲ Standard — three retrieval questions and one lead-in
R1 Last lesson
Last lesson you built a Solar System model. Name one thing it showed well and one it could not show.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — Last lesson: explain how you decided what your model was allowed to get wrong.
R2 Week 6
Week 6: what holds the planets on their orbits around the Sun?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — Week 6: explain how movement and gravity together produce an orbit.
R3 Week 5
Week 5: why do we repeat measurements?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — Week 5: explain how you would check an observation you could not repeat.
Lead-in Into today
The Moon looks a different shape each week. Does the Moon itself really change?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — The Sun always lights half the Moon. So why do we see different shapes?
★ Stretch — three retrieval questions and one lead-in
R1 Last lesson
Last lesson: explain how you decided what your model was allowed to get wrong.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Point to the part of your model that was accurate.
R2 Week 6
Week 6: explain how movement and gravity together produce an orbit.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Point to Earth in the picture.
R3 Week 5
Week 5: explain how you would check an observation you could not repeat.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Say the one thing we change in a fair test.
Lead-in Into today
The Sun always lights half the Moon. So why do we see different shapes?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Look at the Moon pictures. Point to the fullest one.
Rule: Arrival retrieves three times and then leads in. R1 is last lesson, R2 is the previous week, R3 is older material, and the lead-in opens today without teaching today’s concept.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Influence is made visible here: retrieve what the previous lesson actually showed before adding new Science.
⏱ 4 min
Starter👀 Notice❓ Wonder🎯 Predict🗣 Explain
🔍 Bridge into today
Look at four Moon pictures: crescent, half, full, almost invisible. What might be changing? You do not need the answer yet — choose a hypothesis.
🎯 Commit to a prediction
Before we look: does the Moon itself change shape?
Choose one. Say it, point to it, or press it.
Nothing here is right or wrong yet. Nothing is marked, scored or stored. A prediction still counts when it turns out differently. That is what makes the test worth running.
Frame 1 / 4
WHERE DOES MOONLIGHT COME FROM?
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Frame 2 / 4
HALF IS LIT
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Frame 3 / 4
OUR VIEW CHANGES
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Frame 4 / 4
PHASE ≠ ECLIPSE
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Low prior knowledge is expected. Notice, choose, predict or ask a question. The scientific explanation comes next.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Voice first: low-entry prediction or noticing before today’s explanation is taught.
⏱ 5 min
I Do
🧠 Watch the thinking, not just the finished answer.
Teacher-controlled model: reveal the invisible Science as you narrate.
✔ What this model helps us seeIt shows that the lit half always faces the Sun while the part we can see changes.
✘ What this model does not showIt leaves out the tilt of the Moon's orbit, which is why we do not get an eclipse every month.
Set the model: torch = Sun, ball = Moon, observer = Earth.
Keep the light direction fixed. Point out that half of the Moon is illuminated by the Sun.
Move the Moon around Earth: what changes is the observer’s view of the illuminated half.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Space first: the model makes invisible thinking visible while support staff observe access and readiness.
⏱ 5 min
We Do
Commit before reveal: What normally causes Moon phases?
Choose an answer. A first attempt is information, not a score.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Voice → Audience → Influence: everyone commits; the response decides re-model, recheck, adapt access or move on.
⏱ 4 min
I Do
🧠 Watch the thinking, not just the finished answer.
Contrast a normal phase with a lunar eclipse.
Phase: viewing geometry changes every month. Eclipse: Earth’s shadow actually falls on the Moon and is much less frequent.
Add reflected light: without sunlight, the Moon would not appear bright in the same way.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Space first: the model makes invisible thinking visible while support staff observe access and readiness.
⏱ 4 min
We Do
Explore together: Moon phase explorer
🌙 Phase explorer
Choose a phase. Connect Moon position, sunlight direction and the view from Earth.
SUNLIGHT →→→
What the observer sees
Half the Moon is illuminated; the visible fraction changes with viewing geometry.
Talk move: “What changed? What stayed the same? What does that make you think?”
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Voice → Audience → Influence: everyone commits; the response decides re-model, recheck, adapt access or move on.
⏱ 10 min
Independent
✏️ Your independent product / decision
Make or sequence a four-position phase strip or wheel. Do this for each position: SUNLIGHT DIRECTION → LIT HALF → WHAT WE SEE FROM EARTH. Then write one sentence about eclipses. Say how a phase and an eclipse differ.
🧪 PRACTICAL READY · HANDS-ON WHERE IT HELPS LEARNING
EquipmentTorch/lamp, foam ball, Earth/observer marker, four/eight phase cards, bright-room diagram alternative.
Safety / sensoryNever shine light into eyes. Any dimming is announced. Bright-room participation remains available.
Evidence targetPhase sequence/model + reflected-light explanation + phase/eclipses distinction.
10 minutes. Supported / Standard / Stretch are routes, not identities. Pupils can move when the core is secure.
◆ Match the four labelled phases. Put each one in its position. Follow the printed sunlight arrow.
Start with NEW · QUARTER · FULL · QUARTER only. Add the crescents once the core idea is secure. Stem: ‘The Moon looks ___ tonight. This is because the Sun lights one half. We can see ___ of that lit half.’
Fade it: remove the first prompt that is no longer needed; do not keep a scaffold because it was used once.
▲ Put the phases in order. Then explain one phase. Use reflected-light words in your answer.
Stem: ‘The Moon looks ___ tonight. This is because the Sun lights one half. We can see ___ of that lit half.’
Fade it: remove the first prompt that is no longer needed; do not keep a scaffold because it was used once.
★ An eclipse is not part of the normal phase cycle. Say why this is so. Then critique one limit of the model.
Talk about the observer and the viewing angle. Then compare the geometry of an eclipse.
Fade it: remove the first prompt that is no longer needed; do not keep a scaffold because it was used once.
Evidence can look different:
Phase strip/wheel + explanationPhoto of physical model paired with pupil reasoningScribed reflected-light explanationApproved digital annotated phase sequence
A photo on its own is not proof. Add what the pupil decided, explained, found or judged.
1 · Pupil decisionPrediction, choice, plan or question.
2 · Observable ScienceAction, model, product, result or re-attempt.
3 · Pupil meaningExplanation, evaluation or next step.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
The pupil authors a product/decision; adult support fades and evidence shows thinking, not attendance.
📖 WORD HELP
phasethe shape of the Moon we can see
orbitthe path one object takes around another
observerthe person looking
Use the scientific word first. Ask for help only when you need it. TA fade route: model the word. Then prompt for it. Then wait for it. Drop a step as soon as the pupil no longer needs it.
⏱ 4 min
Exit
◆ Supported
Does the Moon make its own visible light?
▲ Standard
Explain why the Moon appears to change shape during the month.
★ Stretch
Explain why normal phases are not caused by Earth’s shadow.
🔁 GROW Lundy close — ONE line only.
1) Pupil answers the Science question. 2) Adult genuinely receives it and gives one next step. 3) Pupil writes: “Next I will ______.”
No adult signature, initial or second receipt mark. If nothing needs changing, the next step can be transfer to a new example or greater independence.
✍ GROW written close — the pupil writes this line
“What I said, and what it changed:”
No adult initial is required. The adult is audience for this line, not verifier. There is no signature, initial, tick or receipt mark. The line closes when it is written and received.
If writing is hard: say it, and an adult writes down your exact words. Or point to what changed and say it aloud. Or draw it and give it one spoken caption. Or record it in the school’s own workflow. The line always stays. The route changes how you answer, not the Science.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Adult genuinely receives the exit response, gives one next step, and the pupil writes one closure line. No signature.