The Moon MEL

MEL Activity

There is one form of this MEL Moon Activity....a pre-constructed (pcMEL). The pcMEL limits student choices, which may be good for the first time the activity is introduced to a class or if you are working at earlier grade levels. Below the activity link are additional teaching resources that will help students learn more about fundamental scientific principles related to the Moon and its formation.

• Moon pcMEL

Overview

This article provides an introduction to the Moon pcMEL plus suggestions from classroom use including management tips, potential problems, and activity extensions.

Understanding the Formation of the Earth's Moon (Acrobat (PDF) 822kB Jun4 18)

Next Generation Science Standards Performance Expectation

HS-ESS1-6: Earth's Place in the Universe

• Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth's formation and early history.

Lateral Reading (LR) Resources

What does it mean for a source to be credible? Why should we investigate whether a source is credible before we read it? How do we decide whether online sources are credible? Use lateral reading to find out.

Use lateral reading to evaluate the credibility of three sources related to the formation of the moon.

These LR sources connect to Evidence #2: Simulations of other star systems show that planets form when smaller objects collide.

Use the LR Guiding Questions to evaluate the credibility of each source.

• LR Guiding Questions (Acrobat (PDF) 28kB Jun8 23)
• Source A: Dirty Collisions Shed Light on Planet Formation
  Show me information about the source
  Hide
  Space.com is an online platform dedicated to covering topics such as space exploration, astronomy, skywatching, and entertainment.
• Source B: 5 Facts You Didn't Know About The Moon
  Show me information about the source
  Hide
  Odyssey Online is a crowdsourced website that operates with volunteer writers and editors. Many authors are college students, and are paid for stories that receive lots of views.
• Source C: Planets and How They Formed
  Show me information about the source
  Hide
  Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) is a non-profit science institute dedicated to advancing science and education through its global network of robotic telescopes.

Lateral Reading Teacher Guide

Other Resources

This Plausibility Ranking Task (PRT), which may be completed prior to using any MELs, helps students to understand the role of evidence in supporting or refuting models.

• Plausibility Ranking Task (Acrobat (PDF) 76kB May6 24)

Digital Resources

This site from NASA, Moon Formation, contains images and animations describing the developments that lead to understanding how the Moon formed.

A new NASA and Durham University simulation adds to the current theory of the Moon's origin – the Moon may have formed in a matter of hours, when material from the Earth and a Mars sized-body were launched directly into orbit after the impact.

How Did the Moon Form? from a Natural History Museum in the United Kingdom shares research from Professor Sara Russell that describes the origin of the Moon.

ASTOMATERIALS3D is a virtual library for exploration and research of NASA's space rock collections in three-dimensions, enabling rotating of virtual specimens, adjustment of lighting, and viewing with lightweight red/blue 3D glasses, if desired. It includes an Apollo Lunar collection and an Antarctic Meteorite collection.