To the teacher: This CPO Science PowerPoint presentation is designed to guide you through the process of presenting the lesson to your students. The presentation uses a 5-E teaching model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. The PowerPoint Slide notes indicate where you may want to bring in various lesson elements such as quizzes, readings, investigations, animations, and practice materials. Additional science background information is provided in the slide notes where appropriate. You can view these notes by selecting “View,” then “Normal.” You will see the notes pane at the bottom of the PowerPoint workspace. Additionally, the slide notes are available as a separate document, accessible from the lesson home page. The slides that follow are intended for classroom use. About the slide notes: The slide notes for this presentation are available in a separate document that you can print and look at while you use the slides. You can access the slide notes document from your teacher lesson home page. Enjoy the lesson!

What is the lunar cycle? Have you noticed that the Moon appears to “change shape” throughout the month? Can you name any of these Moon phases? ENGAGE: Encourage students to share their own experiences with observing the Moon from time to time. Show the Moon phase illustrations and see if they can name any of the Moon phases.

Time to investigate! Complete the lesson investigation: Phases of the Moon EXPLORE: Lead the lesson investigation: Phases of the Moon.

What causes the lunar cycle? The revolution of the Moon around Earth makes the Moon appear as if it is gradually changing shape throughout the month. What you see when you look at the Moon depends on its location relative to the Sun and Earth. EXPLAIN: See if students can explain why the lit portion of the Moon model in the investigation changed shape. See if students can interpret the illustration on the next slide, and relate back to the explanations made on this slide.

EXPLAIN: See if students can explain what this diagram shows. Don’t forget about the animated version of this illustration, which can be found on the student’s multimedia pdf lesson home page.

Moon Phases EXPLAIN: Help students learn and remember the names for the Moon phases. Assign Student Reading 8.7B Study the names of the Moon phases above. See if you can name the phases shown on the following slides.

Which phase is shown here? Notes: Waxing gibbous Which phase is shown here?

Which phase is shown here? Notes: Waning crescent Which phase is shown here?

Which phase is shown here? Notes: Last quarter Which phase is shown here?

Which phase is shown here? Notes: Full Moon Which phase is shown here?

Which phase is shown here? Notes: Waxing Crescent Which phase is shown here?

Which phase is shown here? Notes: First quarter Which phase is shown here?

Which phase is shown here? Notes: Waning gibbous Which phase is shown here?

Which phase is shown here? Notes: New Moon Which phase is shown here?

What is a lunar eclipse? Why doesn’t a lunar eclipse happen every month? ELABORATE: Once students understand that the relative positions of the Moon, Earth, and sun determine the Moon phases, see if they can extend this to an understanding of solar and lunar eclipses. Teaching notes: A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow. If you look at the lunar cycle diagram in slide 5, you may wonder why Earth’s shadow doesn’t cover the Moon when Earth is between the Moon and the Sun. Instead, you get a full Moon. The reason a lunar eclipse doesn’t occur very often is because of the 5 degree tilt of the Moon’s orbit. Because of its tilted orbit, in most months Earth’s shadow doesn’t block the sunlight from hitting the Moon. However, sometimes the Moon’s orbit is perfectly aligned with Earth’s orbit during a full Moon. Then, Earth’s shadow temporarily blocks the sunlight from hitting the Moon, causing a lunar eclipse. As the Moon continues to move in its orbit, it gradually moves into a position where the sunlight hits it again. During a lunar eclipse, the Moon is still visible and appears reddish because some of the sunlight is being refracted by Earth’s atmosphere into the shadow area.

What is a solar eclipse? Why doesn’t a solar eclipse happen every month? ELABORATE: Once students understand that the relative positions of the Moon, Earth, and sun determine the Moon phases, see if they can extend this to an understanding of solar and lunar eclipses. Teaching notes: A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s shadow falls on Earth. During a new Moon, the Moon lies between Earth and the Sun. At this time, only the unlit side of the Moon faces Earth. Most of the time, the 5 degree tilt of the Moon’s orbit causes the Moon to be slightly above or below the Sun in the sky rather than directly in line with it. During a solar eclipse, the new Moon is directly in line with the Earth and Sun. As a result, the Moon’s shadow hits part of Earth as shown in the illustration above. The darkest part of the Moon’s shadow is cone-shaped and falls only on a small part of Earth’s surface. Viewers in this region experience a total eclipse of the Sun because the light is completely blocked by the Moon. During a total eclipse, the Sun gradually disappears behind the Moon and then gradually moves out again. The Sun is completely blocked by the Moon’s shadow for about two or three minutes. In the diagram above, you can see that the Moon casts a larger, lighter shadow on Earth’s surface. Viewers in this region of the Moon’s shadow experience a partial eclipse. During this time, only part of the sun is blocked. Remember, you should NEVER look directly at the Sun—even during a total or partial eclipse.

Time for Practice! Complete the lesson practice activity: Moon Phase Flip Book ELABORATE: Guide students as they complete the practice activity: Moon Phase Flip Book

Show what you know! Try the lesson’s interactive quiz, or complete a quiz that your teacher can print out for you. Hint: You might want to review your lesson reading piece one more time before trying the quiz. EVALUATE: Print out the 10-question quiz for students to complete, or have students work individually at computers to complete the interactive quiz they can access from the multimedia lesson home page.