This lesson engages students in activity to help them understand the phases of the Moon, and why they occur. Students read literature, analyze it, and then apply it to the small group performance of one cycle of the Moon’s phases.

We aren’t mind readers, but we can still figure out why the author wrote a text and what an author thinks about the topic! This lesson will teach your students the main purposes for writing.

Provide students with an opportunity to closely examine the difference between a topic and main idea in a nonfiction text. Use as a stand-alone activity or a support for the Finding the Main Idea and Details in a Nonfiction Text lesson.