Using thisMoon Song (Animated Music Video), students learn about the phases of the moon through catchy, interesting lyrics.
Using thisMoon Song (MP3), students learn about the phases of the moon through catchy, interesting lyrics.
Send students on a read-the-room moon activity with 12 fact cards, a recording sheet and a Yes or No practice page for 1st and 2nd grade, answer key included, so learning about the moon feels like an adventure.
Full, half, crescent, wow!
First graders observe the moon and notice patterns. They learn that the moon seems to change shape over about a month, from a thin crescent to a full circle and back again, and that we call these shapes phases. They learn the moon doesn't make its own light; it reflects light from the Sun. They also notice that the moon can sometimes be seen during the day! The click comes when kids draw the moon each night for a week and see the pattern for themselves.
The moon is a sky show kids can watch from home. These moves build on that wonder.
Start the unit with a moon song and come back to it every day. The lyrics give kids words like crescent and full that they can use in their own observations.
Why it works: a catchy, repeating tune gives the brain a hook to hang words on, so sung text is remembered better (Wallace, 1994).
Try it withMoon Song (Animated Music Video)SongsOpen it →Send home a simple chart and have kids draw the moon each night for one or two weeks. Back in class, line up the drawings and look for the pattern together.
Why it works: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.
Try it withMoon ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Kids put pictures of the moon's phases in order. Seeing them side by side shows how the lit part grows and shrinks.
Why it works: children learn more from words and pictures together than from words alone (Mayer, 2009).
Try it withIts Just a Phase Phases of the Moon ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Moon fun for science time and bedtime.
Teacher favorites right now: Moon Song (Animated Music Video), Moon Song (MP3) and Moon Activity.
They learn the moon seems to change shape in a pattern called phases, that it reflects the Sun's light, and that it can sometimes be seen in the daytime.
The moon doesn't really change shape. As it moves around Earth, we see different amounts of its sunlit side. That makes it look like a crescent, a half or a full circle.
No. The moon reflects light from the Sun, like a mirror. That's why it shines at night.
The moon is bright and close, so we can often see it in the daytime sky when it is up at the same time as the Sun.
Loved by 2 million teachers & families
Printables, songs and games for every subject, Preschool through 6th. Ready to teach today, and kids beg for more.
