"Mommy? I think the moon is following us." This ready-to-teach packet turns a gentle bedtime story into three short lessons on story elements, counting and thinking like a scientist.
On the ride home, Nia notices that the moon stays with her. It's still there past a store, three houses and a very tall tree. So she tests it. She counts to three, ducks down and pops back up. Moon! Children follow Nia's notice, wonder, test, see steps and find out why the moon seems to follow us: it's very, very far away.
What's inside (20-page printable PDF):
3 sessions of 15–20 minutes each: Still There!, Nia's Test, and Goodnight, Moon
Video timestamps, a near-and-far walk and a paper-moon position-word game
Where Was Nia? (a story-order cut-and-glue page) and Count What Nia Passed (counting practice)
Think Like Nia (notice, wonder, test, see) and a Near or Far? cut-and-sort page
Where Is the Moon? (above, below, behind, next to), Who Said It? (Nia or Mom), Nia's Story in Order, a family Moon Watch journal and exit tickets
Standards: Common Core RL.K.1, RL.K.2, RL.K.3, RL.K.7, K.CC.B.5, K.G.A.1 and SL.K.1; Head Start ELOF P-SCI 1, 3, 4 and 5; NGSS 1-ESS1-1
Teaching-with-care notes, key words, differentiation, a family page, an answer key and source links
Works with the free video on Teach Between the Lines TV (about 2½ minutes).
License: one teacher, for use with their own students. Please do not share, post publicly or resell.