10) What phase of the moon would you see on this night?
a)
Waning Gibbous
b)
Waxing Gibbous
c)
Waning Crescent
d)
Waxing Crescent
Essay Questions (worth 10 points): Answer the question below on the
lines provided. Your answer needs to be answered in 8-10 sentences.
11) What causes the phases of the moon? As you answer this question,
keep in mind the relationship between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Drawing a picture of the relationship between
the Sun, Moon and Earth will help you answer the question. Use the back of this paper or a separate
piece of paper for your picture.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Performance Assessment (worth 30 points)
Objective:
The students will be able to explain how the visible shape of the moon follows
a predictable cycle which takes about one month.
Using
what you have learned about the phases of the moon, create a poster that illustrates
the phases of the moon. You will have one week to complete this
assignment. Your poster needs
include:
·
Illustrations of the eight phases
of the moon.
·
Label the phase of the moon under
the drawing of the phase the moon is in.
For example, if you are drawing a new moon, write “New Moon” right under
your drawing.
·
Add arrows to show the correct
direction of the moons orbit.
·
Drawings of the Earth, Moon and
Sun illustrating their relationship as the moon changes in the sky.
·
The time period between each
phase.
You
can use crayons, colored pencils, markers, paint, Styrofoam and so on to create
your poster. Your poster needs to neat
and easy to read. Be creative and have
fun!
Phases of the
Moon Quiz:
Multiple Choice (1 point each): Circle the correct answer. There is only one correct answer.
1) The phases of the moon are produced by…
a) the spin of the earth.
Distractor-This addresses the
misconception that the earth spins alone causes the
phases of the moon. During the lesson, the students
will learn the reasons for the phases of the moon.
b) the orbit of the
Earth around the moon.-Distractor-This
addresses the
misconception that the
Earth orbits the moon. It is the moon
that orbits
Earth.
c) varying amount of
sunlight reaching the side of the moon the faces Earth. Correct
d) varying amount of
sunlight reaching the side of the moon that faces the sun. Distractor-During
the lesson, the students will learn that the reason
we see the phases of
the moon on Earth is due to the differing amount of
sunlight that faces
Earth rather than away from Earth.
Answers to this question will help me identify if the students
understand that the moon gets its light from the sun and the moon faces
Earth. The students will identify that
the amount of sunlight changes throughout the month.
2) When the moon appears to be growing, what is it called?
a) waning-Distractor-This addresses whether the
students can differentiate
between what the moon is called when it grows.
This distractor is the opposite
answer.
b) waxing-Correct
c) new moon-Distractor-This phase of the moon is
neither growing nor shrinking. During the lesson, the students will learn
the difference between
the phases and
understand where the names come from.
d) full moon-Distractor-This phase of the moon is
neither growing nor
shrinking. The moon has reached the largest phase of the
moon. Again, the
students will learn the
differences in the names of the phases of the moon.
Answers to this question will identify whether the students can
differentiate the meaning of the different phases of the moon.
3) At a new moon…
a) the moon is between
Earth and the sun.-Distractor-This
is part of a the
correct answer. When a new moon appears, students need to
know that the
moon is located between
Earth and the sun where the light part of the moon
is facing the sun.
b) the side of the moon
facing Earth receives no sunlight.-Distractor-This
is
the other part of the
right answer. Students need to
understand that the
part of the moon that is
light is facing away from Earth.
c) the side of the moon
facing Earth receives full sunlight.
Distractor-This
is the full moon phase.
Students will need to differentiate how much sunlight
the moon gets during
different phases of the moon.
d) both a and b. Correct.
Answers to this question will identify if the students can explain in
words the new moon phase. The students will also need to identify the position
of the moon.
4) Why does the moon shine in the sky?
a) The moon gets light
from Earth. Distractor-This
addresses the misconception that Earth
gives moon its light and that is why we see
phases of the moon.
b) The moon gets light from the sun. Correct
c) Just like the sun,
the moon has its own light. Distractor-This
is a common
misconception that the
moon lights by itself. During the
lesson, I would
the students that the
moon is not like the sun and the sun provides light for
the moon.
d) Both (a) and (c). Distractor-I chose this because both
(a) and (c) address
misconceptions students
have about why the moon shines in the sky.
I want
to know if they understand
that the only source of light for the moon comes from the sun.
Answers to this question will identify if the students understand where
the moon gets its light from.
5) When the moon appears to be shrinking, what is it called?
a) waning-Correct
b) waxing-Distractor-Students will learn the
difference between waning
and waxing. Waxing is the opposite of waning.
c) new moon-Distractor-During the lessons, the
students will learn the
differences between the
phases of the moon and where the terms come
from for each phase.
d) full moon-Distractor-Again, the moon is neither
shrinking nor growing in
this phase of the
moon. The students will learn the
differences between the
terms in each phase of
the moon.
Answers to this question will identify if the students can
differentiate the descriptions of differing moon phases.
6) Why does the moon appear to move across the sky during the night?
a) The Earth rotates on its axis. -Correct
b) All objects in space
are moving.-Distractor-During the
lesson, the
the students will learn
that all objects are moving in the sky, but that is not
the reason we see the
moon moving through the sky.
c) The moon rotates
around the sun.-Distractor-This is
not the reason why
people on Earth see the
moon moving in the sky. During the
lesson, students
will learn that Earth
rotates on its axis and that is why the moon moves
across the sky.
d) The Earth rotates
around the moon.-Distractor-This
misconception will be
addressed during the
lesson. Earth does not rotate around the moon; Earth
rotates on its axis and
that is why the moon appears to be moving across the
sky.
Answers to this question will identify if the students understand that
Earth rotates on its axis. This is the
reason why people on Earth see the moon moving across the sky.
7) Which of the
following statements correctly describes the movement of Earth, moon and sun?
a) The sun and moon revolve around
Earth. Distractor-During the lesson,
the students will learn that the sun
does not revolve around Earth.
b)
The moon revolves around Earth, as Earth revolves around the sun.
Correct
c) The sun revolves around the moon, as
the moon revolves around Earth.
Distractor-During the
lesson, the students will learn that the sun does not
revolve around the moon-the sun does
not move at all.
d) The moon revolves around the sun, as
Earth revolves around the moon.-
Distractor-The
students will learn that Earth does not revolve around the
moon.
The moon revolves around Earth and it is Earth that revolves around
the sun.
Answers to this question will identify if the students can describe the
relationship of the moon, sun, and Earth as the phases of the moon are
changing.
8) Look at the
picture below. What phase of the moon
does the picture show?
a) Last Quarter-Correct
b)
First Quarter-Distractor-The students will need to differentiate between the
first quarter and last quarter moon-the first quarter is the opposite of the
last quarter (the right side would be bright and the left side would be dark).
c)
Waning Crescent-Distractor-The phase of the moon
indicates that the moon is shrinking and looks like a crescent. The crescent is smaller than the Gibbous-that
is why I did not add Gibbous as a choice-it would be an obvious distractor. The
lesson will teach the students the differences.
d)
Waxing Crescent-Distractor-This choice will help
identify if the students can correctly identify that the picture is not getting
larger nor is it a crescent. Same reason as (c).
Answers to this question will identify if the students can recognize
the pictured phase of the moon.
9) Look at the
picture below. What phase of the moon is
it?
a) Waning Crescent-Distractor-The following distractor
will help me identify if students can differentiate between a Crescent and
Gibbous. There are two phases with
Crescent and Gibbous-that is the reason for using the four choices.
b)
Waxing Crescent-Distractor-Students need to know the
difference between a Waxing Crescent and Waxing Gibbous-the Crescent is smaller
than the Gibbous. During the lesson, the
students will learn how to identify the different phases of the moon.
c)
Waning Gibbous-Distractor-Students will need to
differentiate between a Waning Gibbous and Waxing Gibbous to identify the
correct phase of the moon. The Waning
and Waxing Gibbous are opposites and students would need to how to identify the
differences.
d) Waxing Gibbous-Correct.
Answers to this question will identify if the students can recognize
the pictured phase of the moon.
Use the diagram
below to answer the question. The arrows
show the direction the moon follows.
Moon
10) What phase of the moon would you see on this night?
a) Waning Crescent-Distractor-Although the phase shown is
still a Crescent, students will need to the difference in the location of the moon
in relationship to the Earth and Sun.
The moon in this phase is growing and not shrinking-the students need to
be able to differentiate.
b) Waxing Crescent-Correct
c)
Waning Gibbous-Distractor-Students will need to
understand the difference in the location of this phase-they will need to
differentiate between Waning and Waxing-one is growing and the other is
shrinking-the location of the moon in relationship with Earth and Sun would be
different.
d)
Waxing Gibbous-Distractor-Again the students need to
be able to identify the relationship between Earth, Moon and Sun. This choice is a good distractor because the
phase is waxing-but the location of the moon is different-more of the side of
the moon that is bright is shown. The lesson
will teach the students how to identify the differing phases in relationship to
one another.
Answers to this
question will identify if the students are able to connect phase of the moon to
the position in the diagram.
Reliability and
Validity- This assessment was created with reliability and validity in
mind. All of the test questions are fair
because the students were taught the content included in the assessment. Students are only being tested on their
knowledge of the phases of the moon. All
of the questions are age appropriate where students are familiar with the
terminology included. I was careful not
to include words that are offensive or unfairly penalize the students. All of the students will be provided with equal
amount of lesson time where no student will feel unprepared. I can provide two forms of this test to
ensure reliability of test scores.
The objectives that are covered with this assessment are:
·
Identify the sun and moon as
objects in the sky.
·
Describe the motion of the moon
around the Earth.
·
Explain how the visible shape of
the moon follows a predictable cycle which takes approximately one month.
·
Describe the apparent movement of
the sun and moon across the sky through day/night and the seasons.
Essay Questions (worth 10 points): Answer the question below on the
lines provided. Your answer needs to be answered in 8-10 sentences.
11) What causes the phases of the moon? As you answer this question,
keep in mind the relationship between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Drawing a picture of the relationship between
the Sun, Moon and Earth will help you answer the question. Use the back of this paper or a separate
piece of paper for your picture.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I would use
skill-focused rubric to grade this portion of the assessment. I want to know if the students can identify
the causes of the phases of the moon and I will only grade them based on
whether or not the students can identify the reasons for the phases of the
moon. I would emphasize whether or not
the students explain the relationship between the Earth, moon and sun as I
grade their essays. I will include:
identifies the relationship between the Earth, moon and sun, identifies the revolution
of the moon around Earth; identifies the Earth revolves around the sun;
identifies that the lighted part of the moon always faces the sun; grammar and
punctuation (each worth two points).
Performance Assessment (worth 30 points)
Objective:
The students will be able to explain how the visible shape of the moon follows
a predictable cycle which takes about one month.
Using
what you have learned about the phases of the moon, create a poster that illustrates
the phases of the moon. You will have one week to complete this
assignment. Your poster needs
include:
·
Illustrations of the eight phases
of the moon.
·
Label the phase of the moon under
the drawing of the phase the moon is in.
For example, if you are drawing a new moon, write “New Moon” right under
your drawing.
·
Add arrows to show the correct
direction of the moons orbit.
·
Drawings of the Earth, Moon and
Sun illustrating their relationship as the moon changes in the sky.
·
The time period between each
phase.
You
can use crayons, colored pencils, markers, paint, Styrofoam and so on to create
your poster. Your poster needs to neat
and easy to read. Be creative and have
fun!
This
is best measured using a performance assessment because the students will apply
what they learned about the phases of the moon by creating a poster.
Using this form of assessment will allow me to make accurate generalizations
about student capabilities in understanding the phases of the moon. As I
created this performance task, I took into account the following:
First
of all, generalization ability that will allow me to make accurate
generalizations about what the students know about the phases of the
moon. If students are not able to accurately identify the phases of the
moon in the poster and essay, then I know that the students do not understand
the phases of the moon.
Second,
authenticity where students will be asked to use what they have learned and
apply it to the real world, where the students are required to "show"
the phases of the moon, but they will be asked to write about the phases of the
moon. This process can be applied to any subject (creating and writing an
essay).
Third,
multiple choice questions; that is my main objective is that the students can
apply what they have learned about the phases of the moon. That will be
the main focus although neatness of the poster and appropriate grammar and
spelling will be taken into consideration as I grade their projects.
Fourth,
teaching ability which is best task assessed in the form I have described
because I will be able to identify if the students can apply what they have
learned into this project. Students can read about the phases of the moon
and answer questions, but when they create a poster, I will be able to identify
if the students really understand the phases of the moon.
Fifth,
fairness that does avoid bias because students will be graded on content and
not how fancy the poster is; yet, neatness is important and this can easily be
done if students take great care as they create their posters. The essays
avoid bias in a similar way (students can write or type it). Also, poster
boards will be provided for the students as will pencils, crayons, and/or
colored pencils.
Sixth, feasibility
that will not require students to pay for anything-everything will be provided
(poster board is not expensive and writing materials are provided). I
will give the students a week to put this project together where the students
will present their projects in front of the class.
Finally,
score ability task will be scored using a rubric. Based on this rubric, I
will be able to tell if students have applied what they have learned about the
phases of the moon as they created their posters and written their
essays.
As (Kibuiszyn, T. & Borich, G. 2012) state, skill focused rubrics are formed around the skill that
is being measured and help teachers make instructional decisions.
The poster rubric will have the following criteria: Are there eight
illustrations of the phases of the moon, is the moon moving in the right
direction; are there illustrations of the earth and sun; was the
period between each phase of the moon included. The students
will be scored on a 1-4 scale where 1 is the lowest and 4 is the
highest. If the student has included all of the phases of the
moon, arrows have been drawn so that the moon follows in the right orbit,
illustrations of the earth and sun have been provided and the time period
between the phases are included the student will receive full credit.
If students have misconceptions or are missing parts of the phases of the moon,
then s/he will lose points.
In conclusion, this will be the last
assessment on the phases of the moon. The
students will have one week to complete this task. I will give them three school days to work on
it and the rest will have to be completed at home within the one week time
frame. The same objectives are covered throughout the topic of the phases of
the moon:
·
Identify the sun and moon as
objects in the sky.
·
Describe the motion of the moon
around the Earth.
·
Explain how the visible shape of
the moon follows a predictable cycle which takes approximately one month.
·
Describe the apparent movement of
the sun and moon across the sky through day/night and the seasons.
References:
Kibuiszyn, T.
& Borich, G. (2012). Educational
testing & measurement: Classroom application and practice (9th
ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ.
Mona
Bazzi; Previous Test, Retrieved from; personal notes Marygrove Community
College; 2011 Class.
