Reminder of Items That Must Be Included on ALL Entries

MOON JOURNALS

In your MOON JOURNAL you will observe the night sky, any 2 nights of the week, for 5 weeks in a row ( for a total of 10 entries). Remember to record the date and time of your observations.Even though the moon is the star of your journal, pay attention to other nighttime wonders. Let your eyes adjust to the darkness and then – look up! What do you see? Are there clouds? Is it a foggy or misty night? Is the wind blowing? Is the sky dark or filled with moon light? Do you see constellations or planets? Shooting stars? What do you hear? Crickets? Birds? Animals? Raindrops or wind? Cars or airplanes? Do you smell flowers, trees, or the smoky scent of a fire?

What does the moon look like? What shape is it? What time does it appear in the sky? What position is it in? Are the stars near it? Does it change from night to night? How? What does it remind you of? A banana? A silver dollar? Write down an observation. What were you doing when you discovered the moon? What were you thinking? How did it make you feel? There are many ways to record your impressions: scientific observations, poems, questions, diary entries, friendly letters, legends – the choice is yours!

Words will help you describe many of the things you see, but pictures will allow you to add color and moon to your journal entries. Looking carefully at the sky will guide you in choosing the right art materials to use: watercolors, chalk or oil pastels, crayons, foil, tissue paper etc. Be creative! You might want to start with a simple sketch and then experiment until you are pleased.

Just as important as your words and pictures are the questions that come to mind when you make your observations. Be sure to write down the things you want to know. Your questions will help all of us learn about the moon, the night sky, and ---who knows what else? Your journal is a place for discoveries, a place to watch and wait for surprises. Look up at the stars, focus your eyes on the moon, and let your journey begin!!

Reminder of items that must be included on ALL entries:

1.)The date and time of the observation

2.) An artistic rendering of what the moon looked like. The use of watercolors, oil pastels, colored pencils, chalk, glitter, tissue paper, foil, etc. is encouraged.

3.)A reflective writing piece (If you can’t find the moon, note that and your reflections can be on why it is missing from the night sky.) These written pieces may be in the form of poems, diary entries, friendly letters, paragraph observations, legends, etc.

Finished Moon Journals are due onFriday, January 9, 2015.