Free 6th Grade Motions On The Earth Lesson Plan

Topic: Motions on the Earth

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will understand the concept of the earth's rotation and how it causes sunset and sunrise.
• Students will be able to explain why a year has different seasons and how it affects the length of a day.
• Students will be able to describe the phases of the moon and their significance.

Materials

• A globe
• A flashlight
• Pictures of the different phases of the moon (optional)

Warm-up

• Ask students if they know what a day is. Write their answers on the board.
• Ask students if they know why there are different seasons and how they are caused. Write their answers on the board.
• Ask students if they know what the different phases of the moon are and what they mean. Write their answers on the board.

Direct Instruction

• Review the definitions of day, season, and moon phase. Ask students to repeat the definitions back to you.
• Explain that the earth is a sphere that is rotating on its axis. Ask students to imagine holding a ball in their hands and twirling it around their finger. This is what the earth is doing, but it is spinning much faster, and it takes 24 hours for it to complete one revolution.
• Explain that the different positions of the sun and the different seasons are caused by the tilt of the earth's axis. Ask students to imagine holding a ball in their hands and tilting it at different angles. When the earth is tilted at a certain angle, more of it will be facing the sun, and it will be warmer. When it is tilted at a different angle, less of it will be facing the sun, and it will be cooler.
• Explain that the phases of the moon are caused by the relative positions of the earth, sun, and moon. Ask students to imagine holding a ball in their hands and holding a smaller ball in the palm of their other hand. As they move the smaller ball around the larger one, they can see that the moon appears to change shape as it orbits the earth.

Guided Practice

• Pass out the moon phase worksheets and have students work in pairs to complete the exercises.
• Ask students to identify the phases of the moon that are shown in the pictures and write them down.
• Ask students to explain why the moon appears to be that shape at that time.

Independent Practice

• For independent practice, have students create a project that illustrates a leap year in their own way.
• Students can choose to illustrate a leap year using pictures, a written description, a creative presentation, or any other method they can think of.
• Provide students with additional materials such as construction paper, scissors, glue, and markers, if needed.

Closure

• As a class, review the key points of the lesson, including the definition of a leap year, the reason for leap years, and how to calculate a leap year.
• Ask students to share their leap year projects with the class, and discuss any interesting or novel ideas that they came up with.

Assessment

• Observe students during the independent practice activity to assess their understanding of the concept of a leap year.
• Collect and grade the projects that students completed for independent practice.
• Use a quiz or written assessment to evaluate students' knowledge of the definition of a leap-year, the reason for leap years, and how to calculate a leap year.