At the completion of this lesson plan students will have a better understanding of what causes the phases of the moon.
Additional Resources:
Branley, Franklyn M. The Moon Seems to Change. 1987.
Simple text, but good photos and drawings about the phases and movement of the
moon. $4.50
Estalella, Robert. Our Satellite: The Moon. 1994.
General text about the moon,includes phases. Two page chapters, photo on one
side, text opposite. 32 pages.$6.95.
Smith, P. Sean. Project Earth Science Astronomy. NSTA, Arlington, VA, 1998.
ISBN 0-87355-108-7
Sneider, C. I. Earth, moon, and Stars. Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley,
CA, 1986.
The Universe at Your Fingertips: An Astronomy Activity and Resource Notebook.
Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA, 1995.
ISBN 1-886733-00-7
The moon rotates on its axis at the same pace as it revolves around Earth. As a result,the moon always keeps the same side pointed toward us throughout its orbit. Astronomers call the side we see from Earth the "nearside of the moon," and the side we never see from Earth the "far side of the moon."
During the moon's cycle, the actual shape of the moon never changes. It is always a sphere.We only see the moon because sunlight reflects back to us from its surface; it has no light source of its own. What changes is the portion of the moon that can be seen from Earth. Half of the moon is always illuminated by the sun.The half of the moon facing the sun is always lighted;but the lighted side does NOT always face Earth. As the moon circles Earth, the amount of its disk facing us that is lighted by the sun changes, altering how much of the lunar surface appears bright and how much is in darkness. The changes are known as phases, and repeat in a specific cycle. These are the primary phases: New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, Last Quarter. (It takes 27-30 days to go from one New Moon to the next.)
During the time it takes to move from one phase to another,the amount of the moon's surface lighted by the sun changes gradually; it's not an abrupt change from one phase to the next. (Many times students get the impression that changes are abrupt because they are only shown diagrams of the primary phases.)
There are times during the cycle when the moon can be seen during the day. These times are predictable. The following chart gives the times when each phase rises and sets.
PHASE | RISES | HIGHEST IN SKY | SETS |
New Moon | Sunrise | Noon | Sunset |
First Quarter | Noon | Sunset | Midnight |
Full Moon | Sunset | Midnight | Sunrise |
Last Quarter | Midnight | Sunrise | Noon |
Earth's shadow plays no role in the moon's phases, but the shadow of Earth does darken the moon during a lunar eclipse. Earth revolves around the sun once every year. The moon circles Earth about once per month. The plane of the moon's orbit is tilted a little (5 °) from the plane of Earth's orbit. When the moon is on the side of Earth away from the sun (Full Moon), it passes very close to Earth's shadow; however, because its orbit is tilted, the moon usually passes just above or below Earth's shadow. About once every six months the moon goes right through the shadow of Earth, creating a lunar eclipse.
This lesson is part of the Sixth Grade Science Teacher Resource Book (TRB3) http://www.usoe.org/curr/science/core/6th/TRB6/. The TRB3 is designed to be your textbook in teaching science curriculum to your students. This book covers all the objectives of each standard and benchmark. If taught efficiently, a student should do well on the End-of-Level (CRT) tests. The TRB3 is designed for teachers who know very little about science, as well as for teachers who have a broad understanding of science.
1-Use science process and thinking skills
2-Manifest scientific attitudes and interests
3-Understand science concepts and principles
4-Communicate Effectively Using Science Language and Reasoning
Invitation to Learn:
Ask the students what they see when they look at the moon. As the students describe
the various phases, give the appropriate phase card to the student. Teach the
correct term for each phase; New, First and Last Quarter, and Full Moon. Include
all the phases of the moon but do not name intermediary phases (waxing, waning,
gibbous and crescent are not vocabulary words students need to learn). Have the
students with the phase cards come to the front of the room. Assign the student
to arrange the cards in the order they would see them during the moon's cycle.
Start at New Moon and end with New Moon to emphasize that it is a cycle. Have
the students tape the cards to the board in the order they have determined. Do
not comment or evaluate the order at this time. Students will discover the correct
sequence for themselves in the next activity.
This activity works best in a dark room with a bright light at student eye level.
Adaptations:
This activity can be done using an overhead projector to represent the sun.
Have all the students stand opposite the projector.
Integration:
Read and discuss legends about the phases of the moon. Share poetry about the
moon and have the students write a moon poem.
Distribute Oreo Cookies and a plastic knife to the students. Have the students separate the cookies and use the white frosting to represent the illuminated portion of the moon that we see during each phase. The chocolate cookie represents the portion of the moon that is not illuminated. The cookies could be placed on a calendar on the appropriate days to demonstrate understanding of the cycle. (Teacher will need to provide information on the phase for the day the activity is conducted.)
Given a specific phase, the students will determine what phase they will be able to see in 24 hours, in 72 hours, in 1 week, or in 2 weeks.
Have the students complete the worksheet to show level of individual understanding.
This lesson is part of the Sixth Grade Science Teacher Resource Book (TRB3) http://www.usoe.org/curr/science/core/6th/TRB6/. The TRB3 is designed to be your textbook in teaching science curriculum to your students. This book covers all the objectives of each standard and benchmark. If taught efficiently, a student should do well on the End-of-Level (CRT) tests. The TRB3 is designed for teachers who know very little about science, as well as for teachers who have a broad understanding of science.