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Make a Moon Phase Chart with Cookies

3rd grade nonfiction passage about moon phases how-to: 206 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

3rd grade nonfiction moon phases how-to 206 words

Make a Moon Phase Chart with Cookies

The Moon seems to change shape from night to night. One week it is a thin curve. Another week it is a bright circle. These shapes are called phases. You can show them with cream-filled cookies and a sheet of dark paper.

You will need eight sandwich cookies, a plastic knife, a plate and a sheet of dark paper. Always wash your hands first, and ask a grown-up before you start.

First, twist each cookie open. Keep the half that has the cream on it. Now use the knife to scrape the cream into a Moon shape. Leave one cookie with no cream at all. That is the new Moon, when we cannot see the Moon at all.

Next, shape the others. Make a thin crescent. Then leave half the cream, for a half Moon. Make a fat shape that is almost round. Leave one cookie with all its cream, for the full Moon. Then do the same shapes backward as the Moon gets smaller.

Place the cookies in order on the paper. The Moon is always half lit by the Sun. We see more or less of the lit side as the Moon travels around Earth. The whole cycle takes about a month.

Questions

  1. What are the shapes of the Moon called? in the text

  2. How many cookies do you need? in the text

  3. What should you do before you start? in the text

  4. Which cookie shows the new Moon? in the text

  5. About how long does the whole cycle of phases take? in the text

  6. Why do we see different amounts of the lit side of the Moon? think about it

Words to know

phases
the different shapes the Moon seems to have
crescent
a thin, curved shape like a banana
scrape
to pull something off a surface with an edge
cycle
a set of steps that repeats again and again
lit
lighted up by a light, such as the Sun
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 187 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.1

The Moon seems to change shape each night. One week it is a thin curve. Another week it is a bright circle. These shapes are called phases. You can show them with cream-filled cookies and dark paper.

You need eight sandwich cookies, a plastic knife, a plate and a sheet of dark paper. Wash your hands first. Ask a grown-up before you start.

First, twist each cookie open. Keep the half with cream. Use the knife to scrape the cream into a Moon shape. Leave one cookie with no cream. That is the new Moon. We cannot see the Moon then.

Next, shape the others. Make a thin crescent. Leave half the cream for a half Moon. Make a fat shape that is almost round. Leave one cookie with all its cream for the full Moon. Then do the same shapes backward as the Moon gets smaller.

Put the cookies in order on the paper. The Sun always lights half of the Moon. We see more or less of the lit side as the Moon goes around Earth. The whole cycle takes about a month.

▲ This passage · 206 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.7

The Moon seems to change shape from night to night. One week it is a thin curve. Another week it is a bright circle. These shapes are called phases. You can show them with cream-filled cookies and a sheet of dark paper.

You will need eight sandwich cookies, a plastic knife, a plate and a sheet of dark paper. Always wash your hands first, and ask a grown-up before you start.

First, twist each cookie open. Keep the half that has the cream on it. Now use the knife to scrape the cream into a Moon shape. Leave one cookie with no cream at all. That is the new Moon, when we cannot see the Moon at all.

Next, shape the others. Make a thin crescent. Then leave half the cream, for a half Moon. Make a fat shape that is almost round. Leave one cookie with all its cream, for the full Moon. Then do the same shapes backward as the Moon gets smaller.

Place the cookies in order on the paper. The Moon is always half lit by the Sun. We see more or less of the lit side as the Moon travels around Earth. The whole cycle takes about a month.

■ Harder · 224 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.7

The Moon appears to change its shape from one night to the next. During one week it is a thin curve, and during another it is a bright, round disk. These changing shapes are called phases, and you can demonstrate them with cream-filled cookies and a sheet of dark paper.

You will need eight sandwich cookies, a plastic knife, a plate and a sheet of dark paper. Always wash your hands first, and ask a grown-up for permission before you begin.

To start, twist each cookie open and keep the half that carries the cream. Then use the knife to scrape the cream into the shape of the Moon. Leave one cookie with no cream at all, since that represents the new Moon, when the Moon cannot be seen.

Next, shape the remaining cookies. Make a thin crescent, then leave half the cream for a half Moon, then make a fat shape that is almost round. Leave one cookie with all of its cream to represent the full Moon. After that, repeat the same shapes in reverse order as the Moon shrinks again.

Arrange the cookies in sequence on the paper. The Sun always lights half of the Moon, and we see more or less of that lit side as the Moon travels around Earth. The entire cycle takes about a month.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put phases, crescent, scrape, cycle and lit on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 6 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Make a Moon Phase Chart with Cookies"?

It was written for 3rd grade. It has 206 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 1.7. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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