1. Moon Phases Moon Phases Unit Utah State Core 6th Grade 6 Lessons
9 Formative Activities (1 quiz)
1 Summative Assessment

2. The BIG Idea
Students will understand that the appearance of the moon changes in a predictable cycle as it orbits Earth and as Earth rotates on its axis.

3. Objective 1: Explain patterns of changes in the appearance of the moon as it orbits Earth.
Describe changes in the appearance of the moon during a month.
Identify the pattern of change in the moon’s appearance
Use observable evidence to explain the movement of the moon around Earth in relationship to Earth turning on its axis and the position of the moon changing in the sky.
Design an investigation, construct a chart, and collect data depicting the phases of the moon

4. Objective 2: Demonstrate how the relative positions of Earth, the moon, and the sun create the appearance of the moon’s phases.
Identify the difference between the motion of an object rotating on its axis and an object revolving in orbit.
Compare how objects in the sky (the moon, planets, stars) change in relative position over the course of the day or night.
Model the movement and relative positions of Earth, the moon, and the sun.

5. Must Know Vocabulary
Rotation – is the spinning of an object (i.e. planet) around an imaginary center line.
Orbit – is the path that an object follows around a central object.
Revolution – is to move in an orbit around another object.
Axis – is an imaginary line through the middle of an object, around which that object spins.
Reflection – the process of bouncing off.
Lesson 1
Before giving students any further information tell them that today they will be learning about how the Earth, other planets, and moons move. Ask students if anyone knows how the planets move in space. 1-2 minute discussion.
Now read aloud the passage “Galileo”.

6. Planetary Motion Planets revolve in an orbit around the Sun.
The Moon revolves in an orbit our planet, Earth.
Day and night on Earth are caused by Earth’s rotation on its axis as it revolves around the Sun.
Tell students that the word “planet” comes from a Greek word that means “wanderer” but our planets don’t wander in space. They travel around the sun in a fixed path called an orbit. As our planets orbit the sun, they also rotate. This means they spin like a top.
Tell students that day and night are caused by a planet’s rotation. A planet rotates when it spins like a top around an imaginary line through its center called an axis. As a planet rotates, one side is turned toward the Sun and the other side is away from the Sun. It is daytime for the side toward the Sun. It is nighttime for the side turned away from the sun.
This is a review of prior knowledge, but make sure students understand that even though we talk about the sun rising and setting, the sun does not really move. Explain that it just appears to move because we cannot feel the movement of the Earth as it rotates.
Activity #1: Planetary Motion
Be sure that students understand the idea of planetary motion by modeling before they continue with this activity.
This is a TPR (total physical response) activity. Take the students outside for this – there will be more room to move about.
Divide the class up into groups of 3. Student #1 will represent the Sun, student #2 will represent Earth, and student #3 will represent the Moon. Groups will demonstrate the relationships between those three objects and how them rotate and revolve around each other.

7. The Moon The Moon orbits (travels around) Earth.
The revolution of the Moon around the Earth makes the Moon appear as if it is changing shape in the sky.
From Earth we see the Moon grow from a thin crescent to a full disk (or full moon) and then shrink back to a thin crescent again before vanishing for a few days.
Activity #2: Reading Comprehension
Distribute copies of “Why Does the Moon Orbit Earth” and “Phases of the Moon” to each student. Each student will need a highlighter to identify important words and phrases before answering the comprehension questions on the side. I would suggest doing “Why Does the Moon Orbit Earth” together as a class so that you can model good study/reading skills. Assign “Phases of the Moon” as homework – this will be a good introductory assignment before continuing the unit.

8. Changes of the Moon
The different shapes that the moon appears to have are called the Moon’s phases.
The Moon goes through eight basic phases as it revolves around Earth.
The Moon completes an orbit and a lunar cycle approximately every 4 weeks.
Lesson 2
The Moon doesn’t always appear to be the same shape. That’s because half of the Moon is always dark. The other half is sunlit. As the moon orbits Earth, observers (us) on Earth see different amounts of the sunlit half. The different “shapes” of the Moon are called phases.
It takes our Moon 29.5 days to completely cycle through all eight phases. This is known as a Lunar month.
***The term blue moon has several meanings, including the second full moon that occurs in a month. But one of these meanings is also when the moon appears blue. Blue-colored moons happen very rarely (hence the saying, "once in a blue moon"). They are caused by minute particles in the atmosphere, which scatter light from the red end of the spectrum, letting more light from the blue end of the spectrum reach your eyes. Particles that have caused blue moons in the past have originated from volcanoes, dust storms, and large forest fires.

9. Changes of the Moon
The moon is lit by sunlight reflecting off it. That light reaches Earth as moonlight.
The lit part of the Moon always points the way to the Sun.
The part of the moon facing the sun is lit up. The part facing away from the sun is in darkness.

10. Changes of the Moon
The phases that you see depends on how much of the sunlit part of the moon you can see.
The lit part you can see depends on the alignment of the Moon and Sun, and your position on Earth.
***The moon can have an orange color at any time of the year. This occurs when there's a lot of dust, smoke, or pollution in the atmosphere. The size of those particles will determine the type of color you will see.

11. The Moon
The phases we will be discussing and observing are as we see the Moon in the Northern Hemisphere.
Did you know the countries near the equator see the crescent moon shaped like a smile?

12. The Moon Why are the phases different in each hemisphere?
The Moon orbits near the equator of the Earth.
In the northern hemisphere, we're standing on the opposite side of the globe from countries in the southern hemisphere.
We are essentially "upside down" from each other!
Therefore, we see the Moon from a completely different vantage point from each other.

13. The Moon
This is a video of the Moon’s phases as seen in the Northern Hemisphere.

14. FOUR BASIC SHAPES FULL CRESCENT QUARTER GIBBOUS Lesson 3
Activity #3 : Moon Phases Diagram
Pass out the “Moon Phases Diagram” worksheet to each student prior to showing the slides during the rest of this unit. Students will add drawings to this diagram as each individual phase is introduced.
QUARTER
GIBBOUS

15. The Moon passes through four major phases during a cycle that repeats itself every 29.5 days.  The phases always follow one another in the same order:
New moon
First quarter
Full moon
Third quarter

16. New Moon
The new moon occurs when the moon and the sun are on the same side of Earth. The moon is between the Sun and the Earth and therefore lost in the glare of the sun. We see the side which is not lit, so the moon appears dark to us.
We can’t see a New Moon because the lit side is facing directly away from the Earth. The New Moon rises at dawn and sets at sunset.

17. New Moon
Notice the new Moon appears on the sunlit side of Earth.

18. New Moon
This is a picture of a “young moon”, which can be seen a few days after the new moon.
The new Moon is invisible for two reasons. First, no light is coming to your eyes from the Moon. The sunlit side is on the far side of which you cannot see. Second, to look for the new Moon, you would have to look right into the Sun. The glare would be too bright to see the Moon.
Ask students to add this phase to their “Moon Phases Diagram”.

19. First Quarter Moon
The right half of the Moon appears lighted and the left side of the Moon appears dark.  During the time between the New Moon and the First Quarter Moon, the part of the Moon that appears lighted gets larger and larger every day, and will continue to grow until the Full Moon.

20. First Quarter Moon
Ask students to add this phase to their “Moon Phases Diagram”.

21. Full Moon
The lighted side of the Moon faces the Earth.  This means that the Earth, Sun, and Moon are nearly in a straight line, with the Earth in the middle.  The Moon that we see is very bright from the sunlight reflecting off it.

22. Full Moon
Ask students to add this phase to their “Moon Phases Diagram”.

23. Third (Last) Quarter Moon
Sometimes called Third Quarter.  The left half of the Moon appears lighted, and the right side of the Moon appears dark.  During the time between the Full Moon and the Last Quarter Moon, the part of the Moon that appears lighted gets smaller and smaller every day. It will continue to shrink until the New Moon, when the cycle starts all over again.

24. Third Quarter Moon
Ask students to add this phase to their “Moon Phases Diagram”.

25. Comparing the First- and Third-Quarter Moons
Compare the appearance of the third-quarter Moon and the first-quarter Moon. Remember the reflected light from the sun appears from right to left and disappears from right to left.
Activity #4: Ping-Pong Moon
Materials:
Ping-pong balls (1 per student)
Light source
Procedure:
Place the light source in the middle of the room. Students will stand in a large circle around it.
Give each student a ball.
Turn out the classroom lights to make the “moon phases” more visible.
The light represents the Sun. The ball represents the Moon. The student’s head represents Earth. Hold the ball in your hand so that the “moon” is between you and the “sun”.
Slowly turn your body counterclockwise keeping the Earth (you) facing the “moon”. Notice the edge of the shadow on the “moon” as it moves.
Stop once you have completed ¼ of a revolution and notice the appearance of the “moon”.
Continue turning counterclockwise until you have completed ½ of a revolution and the “sun” is behind your head. You will need to raise the moon slightly so the shadow of your head does not fall on the moon. Notice the appearance.
Continue turning counterclockwise until you have completed ¾ of a revolution. Notice the appearance of the moon.
Continue turning counterclockwise until you have completed a full revolution. Notice the appearance of the moon.
Have the students repeat the process as many times as needed to gain a clear understanding of the moon’s phases as well as the positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun during this process.
Discuss student observations. Make sure the students are aware that this activity is not to scale.
Have students write a 1 paragraph summarizing this observational experience. They should be able to explain why the appearance of the moon changes in words as well as illustrations that depict the positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun.
First-quarter Moon
Third-quarter Moon

26. There are also four other phases of the Moon used.
Lesson 4
Be sure students still have their copy of the “Moon Phases Diagram” worksheet to add to in today’s lesson.

27. Waxing Crescent Moon "Waxing" means increasing, or growing larger.
This Moon can be seen after the New Moon, but before the First Quarter Moon. 
The crescent will grow larger and larger every day, until the Moon looks like the First Quarter Moon.

28. Waxing Crescent Moon
Ask students to add this phase to their “Moon Phases Diagram”.

29. Waxing Gibbous Moon
This Moon can be seen after the First Quarter Moon, but before the Full Moon.  The amount of the Moon that we can see will grow larger and larger every day. 

30. Waxing Gibbous Moon
Ask students to add this phase to their “Moon Phases Diagram”.

31. Waning Gibbous Moon "Waning" means decreasing, or getting smaller.
This Moon can be seen after the Full Moon, but before the Last Quarter Moon.  The amount of the Moon that we can see will grow smaller and smaller every day.

32. Waning Gibbous Moon
Ask students to add this phase to their “Moon Phases Diagram”.

33. Waning Crescent Moon
This Moon can be seen after the Last Quarter Moon and before the New Moon.  The crescent will grow smaller and smaller every day, until the Moon looks like the New Moon.

34. Waning Crescent Moon
Ask students to add this phase to their “Moon Phases Diagram”.

35. Moon Phases Quiz Lesson 5
After beginning with the new Moon, the waxing crescent moon grows till it is about half full in the phase we call first quarter. From there it grows to full moon and then begins to shrink back to third quarter, waning crescent and finally back to new moon.
Reminder:
When the bright part is getting bigger, the Moon is waxing.
When it is getting smaller, the Moon is waning.
When the Moon is more than half-lit, it is called a gibbous Moon.
When the moon is less than half-lit, it is called a crescent Moon.
Activity #5: Moon Phases Quiz
Administer the “Moon Phases Quiz” worksheet as an independent assignment to judge acquired student knowledge. Be sure to turn the projector off while the students complete this assignment.
Activity #6: Moon Flip Book
For students who finish the quiz, the “Moon Flip Book” activity can be given as an Early Finisher assignment. Just for fun!

36. Review this immediately after the students complete the “Moon Phases Quiz”.
The Lunar Cycle (by days)
Day 1 – New Moon
Day 3 – Waxing crescent Moon (small)
Day 5 – Waxing crescent Moon (medium)
Day 6 – Waxing crescent Moon (large)
Day 7 – First-quarter Moon
Day 9 – Waxing gibbous Moon
Day 11 – Waxing gibbous Moon
Day 14 – Full Moon
Day 18 – Waning gibbous Moon
Day 21 – Third-quarter Moon
Day 24 – Waning crescent Moon
Day 28 – New Moon

37. The movie is an animated GIF created by Antonio Cidadao from a sequence of still images taken during March and April 1998.
Copyright Antonio Cidadao.

38. Let’s Review Moon Phases!
Review Lesson
Activity #7 :The Mystical Moon
Read through and highlight “The Mystical Moon” as a class. This packet will serve as an ideal study guide.

39. It’s Just a Phase Moonlight is reflected sunlight.
Half the moon’s surface is always reflecting light.
From Earth we see different amounts of the Moon’s lit surface.
The amount seen is called a “phase.”
The visible light moves (grows or shrinks) in a right-to-left motion.

40. The Phases New moon Waxing Crescent moon First Quarter moon
Waxing Gibbous moon
Full moon
Waning Gibbous moon
Third Quarter moon
Waning Crescent moon

41. Video Go to YouTube. Search “The Universe: Phases of the Moon”
Activity #8 : Oreo Moon Phases
Materials:
7 Oreos for each pair of students
1 plastic butter knife per pair of students
Paper towels
Phases of Moon Oreo Lab WS
Pencil
Procedure:
Create groups 2 people.
Distribute supplies to each group, while each student thoroughly washes their hands.
Have one member from each group carefully separate the Oreo cookies, making sure one side has all the frosting and the other side has none. (Use butter knife if necessary).
Use your butter knife to carefully scrape the frosting from the first cookie making a shape that resembles the waxing crescent moon phase. Do this first phase with the students and have each pair continue the rest on their own.
Continue to create the other moon phases in order with the remaining cookies. Urge the students to use their notes as a guide. Once the students are done check their work.
Once students have finished this activity they should understand that the moon is the Earth’s only satellite. The Moon rotates and revolves around the Earth in approximately the same amount of time each month. Due to the Moon rotating and revolving, we always see the same side of the Moon. We get to see the Moon go through different phases and occasionally we can see a solar or lunar eclipse.
Students will complete the “Oreo Moon Phases Lab” worksheet together as pairs.
After all pairs have finished creating the Oreo Moon phases, finish and discuss the Lab questions as a class.

42. Review Questions
How long does it take Earth’s Moon to complete one lunar cycle?
What is a new Moon and what causes it?
What is the difference between a waxing Moon and a waning Moon?
What is the difference between a crescent Moon and a gibbous Moon?
Sketch the Moon’s appearance 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and 4 weeks after the new Moon.
Have students write their short answer responses to these questions independently as a final formative assessment before the final summative assessment.
Activity #9: Charting the Moon
Final Activity – This activity will continue for one month after culminating the unit. Students will track the phases of the moon to reinforce their knowledge that the appearance of the moon changes in a predictable cycle as it orbits Earth and as Earth rotates on its axis. Pass out a copy of “Charting the Moon” to each student to use for monitoring the lunar cycle (one month).