The Moon and Beyond: Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 3-5
Curriculum Focus: Astronomy/Space
Lesson Duration: One to two class periods
Program Description
What does it take to explore the last frontier? Segments cover telescopes, Earth’s atmosphere,
our neighboring planets, and the moon. The Telescope—Surveys the changes this instrument has
undergone, from early models to the Hubble Space Telescope, and introduces Galileo Galilei, the
first person to point a telescope towards the heavens. Life of a Star—Explores the sun as a star
from formation to burnout, illustrating the meaning of solar flare, nebulae, white dwarf, super
nova, black hole, and neutron star. Heavenly Bodies—Travels from tiny Mercury to faraway Pluto
to investigate the planets in our solar system. The Moon—Explains how Earth’s familiar satellite
makes our oceans move.
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The Telescope (6 min.)
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Heavenly Bodies (5 min.)
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Life of a Star (5 min.)
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The Moon (7 min.)
Onscreen Questions
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Why is it important to have the right tools to do a job?
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What tools do you use at home or at school?
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Why is a telescope an important tool for scientists?
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What did Galileo discover about the universe by using a telescope?
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What are the nine planets in our solar system?
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How are the inner planets different from the outer planets?
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Which planet other than Earth may have supported life?
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What is the evidence?
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What do you know about the Sun?
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How does it produce light and heat?
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What will happen when the Sun uses up its hydrogen?
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What might happen to a star much larger than the Sun?
The Moon and Beyond: Teacher’s Guide
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How do Earth and Moon affect each other?
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What force holds them together?
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What role does the Moon play in the rise and fall of the tides?
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Why do tides change?
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
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Name the planets in our solar system.
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Identify planets, the sun, and moon by images and descriptions.
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Describe characteristics of the sun and moon.
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Compare and contrast planets in our solar system.
Materials
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The Moon and Beyond video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
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Paper and pencils
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Index cards, 22 per student
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Glue or glue sticks
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Scissors
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Print and Internet resources with images and information about the planets, sun, and moon (see
step 3 below)
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Crayons, colored pencils, or markers
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Computer with Internet access (optional)
Procedures
1. Begin the lesson by discussing the planets in our solar system. Ask students these questions:
How many planets are in our solar system? What are the names of the planets? What makes
Earth a unique planet? Introduce the program The Moon and Beyond, telling students that as
they watch, they should write facts about planets, the sun, or the moon. They will use the facts
in a game.
2. After watching the program, hold a discussion about what the students learned. They will use
the facts they gathered to make playing cards for the game Planetary Match-Up, which they will
play with a partner. Explain that the objective of the game is to match a planet’s picture with the
correct facts.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
The Moon and Beyond: Teacher’s Guide
3. Give 22 index cards to each student. Have students write the name of a planet, “moon,” and
“sun” on two cards in pencil, making sure the name does not show on the opposite side.
Keeping the pairs together, students should glue or draw images of a celestial body on the
blank side of the appropriate card.
Images of the celestial bodies can be at the following Web sites:
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http://www.nineplanets.org/
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http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/
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http://www.the-solar-system.net/
4. On the other card in each pair, students should write two to four facts about the celestial body.
For example, the Jupiter card may read: “The fifth planet from the sun. More than twice as
massive as all the other planets combined.” Facts are available from the above Web sites. Allow
students time to make their cards in class or as a homework assignment. Make sure to tell
students not to share the information, or the game will be too easy.
5. To play the game, divide students into groups of three to five and assign each group a desk or
other flat area. To begin, one student leader in the group places his or her index cards in rows,
with the facts and picture sides facing up. The other students work together to match the facts
and pictures. When a planetary pair has been correctly matched, the student leader confirms the
information and removes the cards. The game ends when all the cards have been paired; no
student wins or loses.
6. Have the class play Planetary Match-Up until every student has been a leader in a group. Then
hold a class discussion about our solar system. Ask students these questions: What facts about
Pluto did you learn during the game? How are the sun and moon different? Which is the largest
planet? Which is the smallest? Which planets were easiest to identify, and which were most
difficult?
7. Suggest that students play Planetary Match-Up with a friend or family member at home.
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students’ work during this lesson.
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3 points: Students participated actively in class discussions and group games; used
materials appropriately; and made unique playing cards that correctly identified two to four
facts about each of the celestial bodies in our solar system.
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2 points: Students participated somewhat in class discussions and group games; used
materials somewhat appropriately without much intervention; and made playing cards that
correctly identified one or two facts about each of the celestial bodies in our solar system.
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1 point: Students did not participate in class discussions or group games; were unable to use
materials appropriately; did not finish their playing cards or made cards that identified one
or no facts about each of the celestial bodies in our solar system.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
The Moon and Beyond: Teacher’s Guide
Vocabulary
astronomer
Definition: Scientist who studies celestial bodies
Context: An astronomer works to discover interesting facts about our universe.
meteor
Definition: A bright trail or streak of matter in outer space that appears when it is heated by
friction with the Earth’s atmosphere
Context: A meteor is often called a falling or shooting star.
satellite
Definition: An object that orbits around another object in space
Context: The moon is our planet’s only natural satellite.
telescope
Definition: A tool that makes distant objects appear to be larger and closer than they are when
viewed with the naked eye
Context: Galileo discovered that he could see the stars more clearly by looking through a
telescope.
universe
Definition: All existing matter and space considered as a whole
Context: A telescope lets people see parts of the universe that they could not see with the naked
eye.
Academic Standards
National Academy of Sciences
The National Science Education Standards provide guidelines for teaching science as well as a
coherent vision of what it means to be scientifically literate for students in grades K-12. To view the
standards, visit http://books.nap.edu.
This lesson plan addresses the following science standards:
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Earth and Space Science: Objects in the sky
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL’s Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit http://www.mcrel.org/.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
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Science—Earth and Space Sciences: Understands the composition and structure of the
universe and the Earth’s place in it
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
The Moon and Beyond: Teacher’s Guide
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Language Arts—Viewing: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret
visual media
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
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http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
DVD Content
This program is available in an interactive DVD format. The following information and activities are
specific to the DVD version.
How To Use the DVD
The DVD starting screen has the following options:
Play Video—This plays the video from start to finish. There are no programmed stops, except by
using a remote control. With a computer, depending on the particular software player, a pause
button is included with the other video controls.
Video Index—Here the video is divided into four parts (see below), indicated by video thumbnail
icons. Watching all parts in sequence is similar to watching the video from start to finish. Brief
descriptions and total running times are noted for each part. To play a particular segment, press
Enter on the remote for TV playback; on a computer, click once to highlight a thumbnail and read
the accompanying text description and click again to start the video.
Curriculum Units—These are specially edited video segments pulled from different sections of the
video (see below). These nonlinear segments align with key ideas in the unit of instruction. They
include onscreen pre- and post-viewing questions, reproduced below in this Teacher’s Guide. Total
running times for these segments are noted. To play a particular segment, press Enter on the TV
remote or click once on the Curriculum Unit title on a computer.
Standards Link—Selecting this option displays a single screen that lists the national academic
standards the video addresses.
Teacher Resources—This screen gives the technical support number and Web site address.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
The Moon and Beyond: Teacher’s Guide
Video Index
I. The Telescope (6 min.)
Telescopes let us observe the moon and other large distant objects. Explore the history of the
telescope, an important tool for scientists.
II. Heavenly Bodies (5 min.)
Of the planets in our solar system, only Earth supports life as we know it. Take a close look at the
characteristics of other planets, too.
III. Life of a Star (5 min.)
Like all stars in the universe, the sun was born from cosmic dust and rubble. Learn about the life
cycles of stars.
IV. The Moon (7 min.)
Earth’s natural satellite is the moon, which affects the seas’ tides. Take a trip to outer space to learn
more about the moon.
Curriculum Units
1. Up Close and Far Away
Pre-viewing question
Q: What tools do you use daily?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What do telescopes do?
A: Telescopes let us observe large distant objects. Using magnification, telescopes show parts of the
universe that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
2. The Study of Planets
Pre-viewing question
Q: What makes Earth livable for plants and animals, including humans?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Do you think scientists will ever know everything about the nine planets?
A: Answers will vary.
3. A Star’s Life
Pre-viewing question
Q: What do you think will happen to Earth when the sun dies?
A: Answers will vary.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
The Moon and Beyond: Teacher’s Guide
Post-viewing question
Q: How are stars born?
A: Stars are born when gravity pulls together cosmic dust and rubble. Gravity condenses the
material and heats it up until nuclear fusion begins.
4. Our Natural Satellite
Pre-viewing question
Q: What do you know about the moon?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: How does the size of the moon compare to Earth’s size?
A: The moon is smaller than Earth, which is four times wider than the moon.
5. Gravity’s Force
Pre-viewing question
Q: How does gravity affect you?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What would Earth be like without gravity?
A: Answers will vary.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.