Using thisMoon Song (Animated Music Video), students learn about the phases of the moon through catchy, interesting lyrics.
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.
Using thisMoon Song (MP3), students learn about the phases of the moon through catchy, interesting lyrics.
This Moon True or False Worksheet asks 3rd graders to judge eight facts about the Moon and rewrite one false sentence correctly. An answer key is included for fast, no-prep earth science.
This moon phases calendar worksheet gives 3rd graders a full 28-night calendar, four phases to shade, and two reasoning questions. An answer key is included, so moon phases take no prep at all.
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, half, crescent, repeat!
Third graders learn that the moon does not make its own light. It reflects light from the sun! As the moon orbits Earth, about once a month, we see different amounts of its lit side, and those are the phases: new moon, crescent, quarter, gibbous and full. Kids also learn the moon has no air, is covered in craters, and keeps the same side facing us. The click moment is when a student realizes the moon is not actually changing shape. We are just seeing it from a new angle.
The moon is right there in the sky every night, which makes it perfect for hands-on science. These moves turn moon facts into real understanding.
Darken the room, put a lamp in the middle as the sun, and give each kid a foam ball on a pencil. As they turn slowly in a circle, they watch the lit part of their "moon" grow and shrink. They will see every phase right in their own hands.
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 withIts Just a Phase Phases of the Moon ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Send home a moon calendar and have kids sketch the moon each night they can see it. Check in every few days in class: "What changed?" Looking again and again over weeks builds a much deeper picture than one lesson can.
Why it works: spreading practice out over days is one of the two most effective study methods in a major research review (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).
Try it withMoon Phases Calendar WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Play a moon song during morning meeting all week. Then pause the song and let kids finish the fact. Music gives them a hook to hang new vocabulary on, like orbit and crater.
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 →Shoot for the moon with these kid favorites.
WorksheetsKids decide if each moon fact is true or false, then defend their answer like real scientists.
Open Moon True or False Worksheet →
ActivitiesStudents build a model of the solar system and find where the moon fits in the big picture.
Open Solar System Activity →
SongsPlay the moon song and act out each phase with arms and bodies, from a skinny crescent to a big round full moon.
Open Moon Song (MP3) →Teacher favorites right now: Moon Song (Animated Music Video), Solar System Activity and Moon Song (MP3).
The main phases are new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter and waning crescent. The cycle takes about a month.
It doesn't! The moon is always a ball, and half of it is always lit by the sun. As it orbits Earth, we see different amounts of that lit half, which is why it looks like it changes.
No. The moon reflects light from the sun, kind of like a mirror. That is why we only see the parts the sun is shining on.
Go outside and look at the moon a few nights a week and draw what you see. You can also use a flashlight and a ball in a dark room to show how the phases happen.
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