My kiddos and I have been diving in to our Astronomy Unit over the past two weeks-and we've been having a BLAST! Okay...did you at least get that reference? :)
One activity that I have been dying to do (and haven't ever done in the past three years) is use Oreo cookies to make the moon's eight phases. Moon phases can be a tricky concept for my little (well, not so little) sixth graders, and after reading the success that Jordan had, I just HAD to try this activity out! I headed straight down to our financial secretary, and was able to get my hands on a purchase order for the cookies, as I would be buying about 4 Oreos per student. Let's do the math shall we?
4 Oreos per student x 110 (ish) students = 440 OREOS!
That's a LOT of cookies people!
Before we began the activity, my kids and I reviewed the phases of the moon by doing a couple of hands-on activities featuring my inflatable sun, earth, and moon props. They are, as you can guess, a huge hit with the kids. We have many discussions about how to treat our precious inflatables, as in, ahem, don't hit or punch the sun.
Then, it was time for a pop quiz, and the Oreo madness! I gave each kiddo a paper plate and had them label the moon phases in order, and draw arrows to show the direction that the phases occur in first. I modeled my example using my document camera.
Then, I modeled for them (again, using the document camera), how to smear and shape the icing to represent the moon's phases! It was so much fun!
And guess what? They all waited to eat the cookies until AFTER I checked their accuracy. For those of you who do not teach middle school, that is a HUGE accomplishment!
I definitely recommend this activity for Astronomy! Oreos are definitely the moon's favorite cookie...okay do you get it now? :)
:) I get it! Also---I did this with my kids when we did astronomy and they loved it too!
ReplyDeleteI did this with my kiddos, too! They loved it! I didn't mind snacking on oreos either!
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