Using thisMoon Song (Animated Music Video), students learn about the phases of the moon through catchy, interesting lyrics.
This Drawing Moon Phases Worksheet gives 4th grade students eight circles to shade, one for every phase of the moon in order, plus two questions to explain what they see. An answer key is included.
This solar system activity is a Space Race game where 2nd to 5th Grade students spin, write and color the eight planets in order. Includes trivia cards, practice and answer key.
This Moon Phases Cookies Worksheet asks 4th graders to name all eight moon phases from drawings and explain what they see. An answer key is included, so it is ready to print and teach.
Using thisMoon Song (MP3), students learn about the phases of the moon through catchy, interesting lyrics.
This earth shadows the moon worksheet helps 4th grade students draw Earth's shadow, spot a total lunar eclipse, and explain when eclipses happen. An answer key is included for quick checking.
This Its Just a Phase Phases of the Moon Activity helps 3rd to 5th Grade students match, order and label the eight moon phases. A practice page and answer key are included.
Full, new and everything between
Fourth graders learn that the moon does not make its own light. It reflects sunlight, and the phases we see depend on how much of the lit side faces Earth as the moon orbits us. They learn the order of the phases, new → crescent → quarter → gibbous → full, and that a full cycle takes about a month. They also learn the difference between moon phases and a lunar eclipse, when Earth's shadow falls on the moon. The click moment is when students realize the moon is always half lit and we are only seeing part of that half.
Moon phases are tricky until kids see them. These moves make the sky make sense.
Give each student sandwich cookies and have them scrape off the filling to make each moon phase. Arranging them in order makes the cycle easy to remember, and kids get a snack.
Why it works: the U.S. Department of Education's guide for teaching elementary math recommends moving from hands-on objects to drawings to numbers.
Try it withMoon Phases Cookies WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Play a moon song at the start of the unit and come back to it every few days. The rhythm helps kids remember the phases in order.
Why it works: words set to a repeating melody are easier to recall than the same words spoken (Wallace, 1994).
Try it withMoon Song (Animated Music Video)SongsOpen it →Have kids sketch the moon every night for a month. Back in class, they compare drawings and figure out the pattern themselves.
Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).
Try it withDrawing Moon Phases WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Turn off the lights and try these.
ActivitiesHold a ball at arm's length in front of a lamp and turn slowly to watch the phases appear.
Open Its Just a Phase Phases of the Moon Activity →
WorksheetsAct out a lunar eclipse with a flashlight sun, a student Earth and a ball moon.
Open Earth Shadows the Moon Worksheet →
ActivitiesRotate through solar system stations and find where the moon fits in.
Open Solar System Activity →Teacher favorites right now: Moon Song (Animated Music Video), Drawing Moon Phases Worksheet and Solar System Activity.
As the moon orbits Earth, we see different amounts of its sunlit side. That changing view creates the phases from new moon to full moon and back.
A full cycle of moon phases takes about 29.5 days, or about one month.
Phases happen every month because of our changing view of the moon. A lunar eclipse is rarer and happens when Earth's shadow falls directly on the moon.
Look at the moon together each night and draw it. Try the lamp and ball model in a dark room.
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