Alexis Turner

Clinical Reflection
November 12, 2014
During my time at Socrates Academy, I was able to observe and learn about who I am
going to be as a teacher and future educator. I had the privilege of teaching a science lesson plan
over two science periods. In the fourth grade class I was in, science was taught every day. When
planning with my teacher, the students were getting ready to start their Sun, Moon, and Earth
unit. We decided together that it would be a good idea for me to teach the students about the
moon phases. I love teaching the moon phases because it brings awareness to what is going on
around the students. Certain scientific topics or units can be difficult for students to relate to and
wrap their mind around the concepts. The moon is more delicate and simple because the students
are able to look into the sky at night and they can see the moon. If able to view the moon several
nights in a row, the students are able to see a significant difference in the appearance of the
moon. Plus, the moon is one of those magical sights that can never be duplicated.
The science lesson that I taught started out great. I listed my expectations for my students
before I began instruction. I made sure my students knew that they were to respect me, their
peers and cultivate a learning environment that was positive and encouraging. Whenever I set the
expectations, encouraging each other and themselves was important to me. I noticed a significant
decrease in behavior conflicts between the students after I told them to be encouraging to their
classmates.
I began the instruction portion of my lesson by bringing out the students science
notebooks. Fourth grade at Socrates has notebooks for every subject and notebook checks are

frequent each week. My cooperating teacher asked that I continue with this method. I agreed and
we began to go through the material. We began as a class with a poem to help remember the set
up for the phases. Moon on the right, getting bigger every night (Waxing). When the moon is
waning, it is fading to the left until theres no moon remaining. As a class we made up a tune
and sang this several times. I used an instructional video for guidance to deliver the content.
During the interactive video, there were sections where we could stop and I could ask
students questions, answer their questions, and go over the notes that they were adding to their
notebooks. The students were engaged with the video. To assist with the moon phases, I
purchased a piece of black poster board. During lunch the previous week, the students were
eating Salsaritas. The lunch containers had cardboard circles that on one side were metallic. I
collected them during lunch and stashed them away for this lesson. On the black poster board I
cut out the moon phases. I started with the outline for the new moon, and so on and so forth for
the remaining seven phases. A portion of the video went through each phase specifically. The
students drew each phase in their notebooks for reference when they needed to review for their
test.
As a class, we also made an anchor chart that compared Rotate and Revolve. For
rotate the Earth spins or turns on its axis. It takes 24 hours or one day. The causes of rotation are
day and night. For revolve, the Earth revolves around the sun. It takes 365 days or one year. The
causes are the seasons. The students copied this into their science notebooks. They were allowed
to use colored pencils, markers, and crayons.
The final activity that the students completed as an individual or in group was the Moon
Assignment. Students were given three choices to choose from. Choice one was to draw and

color a cartoon strip to explain the eight phases of the moon. Choice two was to write a song,
poem, or rap about the moon and its eight phases. Choice three was to write a story about the
moon, Earth, and sun. The students did an awesome job diving into this assignment and
becoming engaged and interactive with the material.
Reflection Questions:
How did the students connect this experience to their daily lives?
An important aspect of this lesson was to make the connection between science class and real life
experiences. While we were going through the information about the phases of the moon, we
talked about the moon at night. We talked about who has been paying attention to moon and how
the appearance changes.
How did I accommodate students with learning and physical differences?
During the moon assignment, one child was not engaged and did not want to participate. This
child has dyslexia and the assignments were difficult. This child is a brilliant artist and loves to
draw. This student made a fashion line and each piece of clothing showed a different phase of the
moon.
Did I use technology effectively?
During this lesson, I used technology for the instructional video. The students loved the graphics
and laughed at the corny moon jokes. This school did not have a lot of technology support.
Resources were limited. Fortunately, we had a projector in the classroom and the students could
view the video as a class.

What do I remember most about this science activity?

I remember most about the students interaction with the final assignment that I gave them. The
songs and raps that the students made were creative and hilarious. They incorporated the phases
of the moon very well. I truly believe they had a firm grasp of the phases.
Would I do it again? How would I plan differently the next time?
I would definitely do this lesson again. I would come up with one more hands-on activity that
would be tactile and resonate with the children. My favorite aspect was the Moon Assignment.
What did you learn about yourself as a learner and as a teacher during this lesson?
As a learner, I discovered that I was excited to learn the moon phases as I was preparing my
lesson. I wanted to become engaged with the content. I knew then that I needed to make my
lesson engaging so that my students would be engaged.