Phases of the Moon

Standard 2:
- Earth and Space Science. Students will gain an understanding of Earth and Space Science
through the study of earth materials, celestial movement, and weather.
Objective 2:
- Observe and record recognizable objects and patterns in the night sky.
Strand a:
- Observe, describe, and record patterns in the appearance and apparent motion of the
moon in the night sky.
Objective:
- Students can identify the 8 phases of the moon.
Student Friendly Objective:
- I can explain why the moon’s appearance changes over the course of 27 days.
Vocabulary:
- sphere, phase, orbit, rotate, reflect, axis
Materials:
- 8 spheres with half the sphere painted black, a stand for each sphere to sit on, a diagram
of how the moon appears from earth during each of the 8 phases of the moon, 8 index
cards with the phases of the moon drawing & phase name (one card to represent each of
the 8 phases), a drawing of the sun, Moon Diagram sheets
Essential Question:
- Why does the moon move through 8 different phases?
Engage:
- Yesterday, we learned about the moon’s orbital pattern. Today, we are going to explore
how the moon’s orbital pattern around the Earth affects how the moon appears to us from
Earth. Today, I have set up a diagram for us to explore that will help us explain why the
moon’s appearance changes.
Explore:
- I will have moons set up at 8 different points in the room (in a circle). The class will be
split into 2 groups. The first group will be in the front of the classroom with me exploring
the phases of the moon diagram I have set up. The other group will be working
independently on a packet (this week is read-a-thon week so the students will be working
on a Dr. Sues packet in honor of his birthday).
- One half of the class will be invited to join me at the front of the room near the phases of
the Moon diagram. First, we will start by discussing some information about the moon
and the sun to help make the diagram make more sense.
- The Moon orbits the earth counterclockwise. Stand up and rotate your body
counterclockwise (help students spin in the correct direction if they are
struggling).
 - We use two specific words to describe the moon’s growing and shrinking. Can
anyone tell me what words we use, and which word describes the shrinking and
which word describes the growing?
- Waxing is growing (like maxing something out or adding wax to
something makes it grow).
- Waning is shrinking.
- Does the moon really grow and shrink every 27.3 days?
- No, but its appearance or what we see from Earth, grows and shrinks.
- Does the moon make its own light?
- No, the moon reflects the light from the sun. That light is reflecting back
down onto earth and that is why the moon appears to be glowing at night.
- “The diagram I have created will show us how the appearance of the moon changes while
the moon orbits the Earth. When I tell you to, you will each line up at the diagram one by
one, and I will let each of you have a turn to spin in the middle of the diagram, pretending
you are the Earth looking at the moon orbiting you. You will stand in the center facing
the white board that has a picture of the sun on it. Then you will spin counterclockwise
and look at how the moon’s shape changes. Try to focus on looking at the white part of
the moon, as that is representing the side of the moon that is lit up by the sun and the
black part of the moon is representing the dark side of the moon.”
- Students will line up and one by one get a chance to turn in the diagram. Once
they have exited the diagram their next instruction is to sit on the carpet and wait
for everyone to have a turn in the diagram. After everyone has had their turn and
is sitting, pass out one index card to each student and ask them to go inside the
moon diagram and find the moon that looks like the moon drawn on their card.
Remind students that they are looking at the white part of the moon as this is the
part of the moon that reflects the light and is seen from Earth. Once each student
has found their moon, we will check to make sure our phases of the moon starts
with a new moon, and correctly identifies each phase of the moon in order by
spinning counterclockwise.
- Now students will fill out the Moon Phases Diagram Sheet. When passing out the
diagram sheet, remind each student that white represents the part of the moon that
is reflecting light, and black (or in this case their pencils) represent the part of the
moon that is not reflecting light. If they get stuck and need help remembering how
the moon looks at each phase, they may go back into the diagram after everyone
has had one turn spinning in the center.
Explain:
- Why do I keep asking you to focus on the white part of the moon in our diagram and in
our drawings?
- The white part of the moon represents the part of the moon that is reflecting the
sun’s light.
- Why does a New Moon appear all black and a Full Moon appear all white?
 - During a New Moon, the part of the moon that is reflecting the sun is not facing
earth so the face of the moon that is facing Earth is not lit up.
- During a Full Moon, the sun is hitting the entire face of the moon that is facing
earth, so the entire face is reflecting light down on to us.
Extend:
- The sun produces heat and light. Does the Moon reflect heat and light from the sun?
Evaluate:
- Collect the Moon Phases diagram sheets that students made during this period to assess
their understanding of how the moon looks during each phase. This sheet will be used in
the next lesson to help guide students during the book making process.