Prior Knowledge
(1) Earth, Sun & Moon are spheres.
(2) Earth, Sun & Moon are very different in size.
(3) The Sun appears to move across the sky through the day; however the Earth revolves around the sun.
(4) The Earth spins on its axis every 24 hours at a tilted angle.
(5) The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Observe the pattern in the Sun rising and setting.
(6) The Earth takes a year to orbit the Sun.
Learning Concepts: Moon Phases
(1) The Moon takes about 28 days to orbit the Earth.
(2) The Moon looks different during the course of a month because of its orbit.
Learning Objectives (Skills): Moon Phases
(1) Observe the pattern in the Moon Phases as it orbits the Earth in respect to your position and location on the Earth over a period of two months.
(2) Represent observations as a graph.
Moon Phase Lesson Plan for Elementary-Age Students
Understanding the phases of the moon can be a tricky concept for a child in elementary school. There are many different aspects of the phases of the moon that children should learn. A moon phase lesson plan should be educational, yet fun so the students can better understand the lesson they are taught. Some concepts of teaching about the moon phases will be reviewed here.
First, you should help the children understand moon phase activity (the cycle of the moon), which is divided into 4 parts: new moon (where you see no moon at all), first quarter (only half of the moon can be seen), third quarter (only half of the moon can be seen), and full moon (the entire moon can be seen).
Your moon phase lesson plan should explain the difference in these moon phases. Use pictures and diagrams or moon phase software that illustrate what these moon phases look like.
Your moon phase lesson plan should go over the earth and moons orbit. You should first explain that the earth orbits the sun. Explain that the earth orbits the sun in about 365 days. Next explain that the earth rotates on its axis a full circle in about 24 hours. Then explain that the moon orbits the earth. The moon takes about 28 days to orbit the entire planet of earth. Then you can explain how the position of the earth, sun or moon affects the phases of the moon and which part of the moon we can see.
Next, explain how the moon does not produce any light, it merely reflects light from the sun. You should also explain that the moon can be seen both during the day and night.
To help your students understand this concept, you may like to do a hands on experiment. For this experiment you will need a darkened class room, soft balls or styrofoam balls, and flashlights. Information on how to execute this experiment can be found at www.eduref.org. It will help you in teaching the phase of the moon. This experiment is approved for children in grades K-6.
Allow plenty of time for your moon phase activity. If your students have questions, be sure to answer them and clarify it by example, as the phase of moon can be a very confusing subject.
Keep it fun and interesting for the students. Remember that students will understand the phase of the moon better (and enjoy your lesson more) if you use a variety of teaching tools such as hands on experiments, diagrams, pictures, software and verbal explanations.
Moon Phases Vocabulary
/Definition
/Visual
Waxing
/When the moon looks larger each night.
/Waning
/When the moon looks smaller each night
/Crescent
/Part way between a half moon and a new moon, or between a new moon and a half moon.
/Gibbous
/"Part way between a full moon and a half moon, or between a half moon and a full moon."
/Full Moon
/Appears as an entire circle in the sky
/New Moon
/When the moon is not visible from Earth, because the side of the moon that is facing us is not being lit by the sun.
/1st Quarter
/Looks like half a circle with the right side lit by the sun; like the letter D.
/3rd Quarter
/Looks like half a circle with the left side lit by the sun; like a backwards D.
/Waxing Crescent
/Crescent moon between the new moon and first quarter
/Waxing Gibbous
/Gibbous moon between the first quarter and full moon
/Waning Crescent
/Crescent moon between the 3rd quarter and new moon
/Waning Gibbous
/Crescent moon between the 3rd quarter and new moon
/