Grades 3 - 4
In this lesson the students will discover how the position of
the earth, sun and moon cause the moon's shape to appear to change in the
night sky. Students will calculate the moon's circumference and its
from earth and will take part in demonstrations and activities that will
help them to better understand the phases of the moon. Through classroom
simulations students will become familiar with the names of each moon
and be able to predict the moon's monthly cycle of magic.
BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY #111: The Moon
Students will be able to:
- Define vocabulary terms related to phases of the moon.
- Identify the three different motions of the moon.
- Describe/illustrate or demonstrate the phases of the moon.
- Explain why the moon phases occur.
Pre-Viewing Activities/Demonstrations "How Big is the Moon?"
For the class:
"Moon Phases" For the class:
- a classroom globe
- twelve meters of string
- different sports balls (soccer, tennis, softball, ping-pong, and
spheres will work) "How Far Away is the Moon?" For the class:
- a classroom globe (12 inches in diameter)
- tennis ball
- string or twine (about 20 feet long)
- 1 empty paper towel tube or bottle
For each pair of students:
- overhead projector
- medium-sized ball (basketball or volleyball)
- 1 lamp socket with plug (no shade)
- 1 25-foot extension cord
- 1 75 watt clear light bulb
"Moon Magic" For each student:
- 1 two-inch styrofoam ball
- 1 meter stick
- 1 flashlight
- paper and pencil for recording
- 1 "Moon Magic" handout
- 4 index cards cut in half
It would be helpful if students have some prior knowledge of
the moon before beginning the activities. The moon is Earth's natural
(an object that travels around a larger object - can be natural or
and is our nearest neighbor in space. Because the moon is so close it
to be almost as big as the sun, but this is far from true. The previewing
activities are designed to engage the students' interest in our planet's
nearest neighbor _ the moon.
Here are some earth and moon facts that the teacher will find useful
to know: The diameter of the moon is approximately 3,150 kilometers. This
is about one fourth the diameter of the earth. This means that the
of the moon is also one fourth that of the earth.
How Big is the Moon?
This first previewing demonstration should be done in a whole group
Before starting this activity ask the students to make a prediction about
which ball (see materials list) they think represents the scale size of
the moon if the earth was really the size of the classroom globe.
Wrap string once around the equator of the classroom globe. It would be
appropriate to define this measurement as the circumference or distance
around the globe. Cut the string to that length. Select a student to
the string length (using metric and/or standard measurement).
Next, quarter the length of the string by folding it in half twice. Ask
the students, "How many other ways can you think of to quarter the
length of the string?" Discuss their answers.
Ask a student to find a sports ball (from the selected samples) whose
closely matches the length of the quartered string. Once the closest
has been found ask the students, "How many ways can you think of to
prove it is the correct one?" Discuss their answers. (For the average
classroom globe a baseball or softball is a good starting place.) Ask the
students, "How closely did it match your original prediction?"
It would be appropriate to discuss the word diameter and define it as the
distance across the sphere. Help the students to understand that the
and the circumference of the moon is one fourth that of the earth.
How Far Away is the Moon?
In the second pre-viewing activity students will learn how far away the
moon is from earth.
Here are more earth and moon facts you will find helpful to know: The
approximate circumference of the earth is 40,000 kilometers. The
distance between the earth and the moon is 400,000 kilometers. By placing
the smaller number above the larger, you create a 1 to 10 ratio. This
that the moon is ten times the circumference of the earth away from the
earth. (For upper-intermediate students a more in depth discussion on
would be appropriate.)
Again, ask the students to make a physical prediction. Place the globe on
a desk or table and begin to move away from it. Ask the students, "Tell
me when you think I am at the correct scale distance that the moon is
from the earth." Mark the spot.
Wrap the string once around the equator of the globe. Mark that length
along the edge of a table. Keep measuring out more string until its total
length is ten times earth's circumference. Cut the string and wrap it
a tube or bottle to keep if from tangling.
Next hold the roll of string near the globe. Have a student hold the free
end of the string against the moon ball and walk away from the globe
the string is completely unwound. (You will need to do this in a hallway,
multipurpose room or the playground.)
The stretched out string demonstrates the actual scale distance from the
earth to the moon. Ask the students, "How closely did it match your
The focus for viewing is a specific responsibility or task(s)
that the students are responsible for during or after watching the video
to focus and engage students' viewing attention.
Give the students these specific responsibilities while viewing the video
- Ask the students to watch for and be prepared to explain to the
two movements of the moon.
- Ask the students to watch for how and why the shape of the moon
during the month.
- Ask the students to watch for the names of these changes (phases)
and be prepared to draw a picture labeling each phase.
START the video at the point where Bill Nye is
in front of the Nye Laboratories' door and says, "Do you know the earth
goes around the sun, and the moon goes around the earth in a very
cycle? Very Predictable."
PAUSE the video. Ask the students what is meant by "predictable."
Elicit that a predictable cycle would be one that occurs on a regular
RESUME the video.
PAUSE the video after Bill Nye says "You see, the moon is always
the same, it never changes. It's the same size and shape." Ask the
students what two things about the moon are always the same. (size and
RESUME the video.
PAUSE the video after Bill Nye says, "But it looks different
to us here on earth because of the way sunlight hits it." Ask the
why the moon appears to change its shape. RESUME the video.
PAUSE the video after Bill Nye says "That's right, moonlight
is really sunlight." Ask the students if the moon gives off light of
its own. (No) Ask for a volunteer to explain what Bill meant by
RESUME the video.
PAUSE the video after Bill Nye says " . . and it changes because
the moon goes around the earth and the earth goes around the sun..."
Ask the students to explain the two movements that are causing the
in the appearance of the moon. RESUME the video.
PAUSE the video after Bill says, "Okay, let's say this baseball
diamond is the orbit of the moon." Ask the students what he meant by
an "orbit". Elicit that the orbit of the moon is the path it follows
as it travels around the earth each month. RESUME the video.
PAUSE the video after Bill Nye says, "Notice, right now when
you are standing on the earth (pitcher's mound) you can't see the moon at
all. Ask the students if anyone knows what we call it when the we can't
see the moon at all. RESUME the video.
PAUSE the video after Bill Nye says ". . and the reason you
can't see it is because the moon is between you and the sun." Ask the
students what do we call the moon phase when the moon is between the
and the sun and we can not see it. Elicit the answer new moon.
PAUSE the video after Bill Nye says, "Now, the moon orbits the
earth in this direction (he points to his left or your right)." Ask
the students to describe the direction of the orbit that Bill is pointing
to. Elicit that it orbits the earth in a counter-clockwise direction.
STOP the video after Bill Nye has completed his orbit around the
baseball diamond and says, "So with the orbits set up like this the
moon will end up on home plate."
Ask the students to describe what the moon looked like at each of the
Elicit the following responses: first base (half moon), second base (full
moon) and third base (third quarter moon), home plate (new moon). Then,
ask the students if they remember which direction the dark and light move
across the moon. (They both move from right to left.)
Help students use this information to predict what phase will occur next
when they are looking at the moon. Review which side of the moon is dark
or light with each phase. Ask a volunteer to draw and label these phases
of the moon on the chalkboard as the class shares their
Review with the students the motions of the moon. It revolves
around the earth and it follows the earth in its movement around the sun.
Discuss with the students and explain again that as the moon revolves
the earth, the amount of the lit surface that we can see slowly changes.
These changes are called the phases of the moon.
Review with the students the motions of the moon. It revolves around the
earth and it follows the earth in its movement around the sun. Discuss
the students and explain again that as the moon revolves around the
the amount of the lit surface that we can see slowly changes. These
are called the phases of the moon. It would be appropriate to point out
that the moon also turns on its axis taking about thirty days to make one
rotation. Because this is the same time the moon takes to travel around
the earth we always see the same side of the moon.
Moon Phases (Activity 1)
Explain to the students that they will work together to act out the
of the moon. Clear a large space in the room and set up an overhead
on one side. The projector represents the sun.
To form the "earth", have four students sit crosslegged on the
floor about 5 feet in front of the projector. Have them sit with their
touching and each child facing in a different direction (one toward the
projector, one directly away from it, one to the left, and one to the
These students will act as the official spokespersons responsible for
what the moon looks like.
Next, have the remaining students kneel in a fairly small circle around
the "earth." These students will represent the moon's orbit. (These
students will be passing the "moon" (medium-sized ball) from one
person to the next.
The "sun" (light from the projector) should strike the ball so
that half of its surface is lit, no matter who is holding it (otherwise
this activity will not work!) The students in the circle may need to
out or kneel closer together to ensure that the "sun" hits the
Turn off all the lights in the room and give the ball to the student in
the moon's orbit who is kneeling directly in front of the projector. Have
the student hold the ball directly over his or her head, making sure it
is in the light.
Ask the "earth," "How much of the moon appears to be lit?"
(none). Ask the other students, "What phase does this represent?"
Next have the students in the moon's orbit slowly pass the ball around
clockwise. As the moon travels along its orbit, have the spokespersons on
earth report what they see. Make sure the students hold the ball over
heads so the light strikes it.
Ask the other students, "What phase is the moon in?" (It will
be necessary to go around a few times before all of the phases of the
Moon Phases (Activity 2)
For this second activity students will work together in pairs. Each pair
will need a meter stick, a styrofoam ball, a flashlight, and paper and
for recording. Before getting started, have each student fold his/her
into four sections and label each section as A, B, C, and D. Students
use this paper for recording/drawing what they observe during this
Have one partner hold the ball directly in front and at arm's length
above the head. Ask the partner to measure a distance of 2 meters in
of the ball and to shine the flashlight on the ball. Remind the pairs
the person holding the ball is the earth, the ball represents the moon,
and the flashlight is the sun. In this first position A have the student
observe how much of the moon is lighted. This position represents the new
moon because no part of the moon is lit. Have the partners record or draw
what part of the moon is lit in the box labeled A.
Tell the student holding the "moon" to keep the moon at the same
height and turn to the left. This view will be drawn and labeled in box
B. The partner will continue to shine the flashlight directly on the
Once again ask the students to observe how much of the part of the moon
that can be seen is lighted and how much is dark.
Make sure the students notice that the movement of the light or dark
the moon is moving from right to left. So, in box B the student should
the first quarter moon. (The right side is lit and the left side is
Ask the partner to continue moving to the left until they have made 2
turns. Remind the students to draw and label each position. Box C should
have the full moon and box D would be the third quarter moon.
Let the partners switch and repeat the activity, once again, drawing,
and labeling the phases of the moon. The partners can compare their
and labeling. Make sure that the students notice the difference between
the first quarter and the third quarter moon. On the third quarter moon
the right side will be dark and the left side will be lit - just the
of the first quarter.
It would be appropriate to wrap up these two activities with a general
of the phases of the moon and their names. The students should be able to
predict which way the dark or light will move across the moon (right to
left) and in this final activity they will apply this knowledge when they
assemble a "Moon Magic Booklet."
Moon Magic (Activity 3)
Pass out the "Moon Magic' handout and have each student cut out each
picture. Next, ask the students to glue each picture onto a half-sheet
card. Remind the students that in our lesson we discovered the four main
phases of the moon cycle but that this activity will help them to see the
complete moon cycle as it appears in the night sky each month.
After each picture is carefully glued on to half an index card have the
students arrange the pictures in order of how they will appear in the
moon cycle. The booklet should start with the top picture indicating a
moon. After students have arranged the index cards in order from top to
bottom, have them staple the stack of pictures in the left corner to
their booklet. Tell them to "flip" through the booklet to watch
the moon's phases change! That's Moon Magic!
You may chose to explain and discuss with the students the following
for the additional moon phases covered in this final activity: waxing and
waning crescents, and the waxing and waning gibbous moons. The students
could label each picture in the booklet with the appropriate name for
Have students visit a local planetarium to study more about
the moon and our solar system.
Arrange for a class field trip to Craters of the Moon National Park,
astronauts experimented with their lunar land rover.
Have students utilize the internet or World Wide Web to research current
information and findings about our moon and the moons of other
Arrange for a guest speaker from NASA to visit the classroom to discuss
space exploration to the moon and beyond.
Arrange for Barbara Morgan, Idaho's Teacher in Space Candidate to speak
to the class about her training and preparation for a future flight into
Language Arts: Have the students write and illustrate a
book about the moon. Or, students could create their own story book
with pictures about the "Man in the Moon".
Math: The moon's gravity is one-sixth that of earth's. Have students work
in groups to calculate their moon-weight or the moon-weight of objects in
Science: Have students research solar and lunar eclipses and create
or models that explain how and why they occur.
Have students research how the moon's gravity affects earth's tides.
Students could research more about the moon's surface and its lack of
and present oral presentations to other classes.
Social Studies: Students can research the first lunar landing and present
information to the class on this historical event.
Students can prepare reports on famous astronauts that went to the
Send e-mail messages to NASA inquiring about any current information they
have about the moon or moon exploration.
Art: Using paper, paints, crayons or markers, etc., have students create
pictures of moon "creatures" and display these in a booklet.
Music/Technology: Have the students write a song about the moon and
their own musical video for Bill Nye's program on the moon. (Send it to
VIDEO AVAILABLE FROM
Taped from air. Contact your local PBS station for broadcast
Lesson Plan Designed by Master Teacher Wendy Eveland,
Elementary School, Meridian, Idaho
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worksheet associated with this lesson.
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