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Type of Lesson
Hands-on Activity
Time needed
1 hour (or one class period with follow-up the next day)
Objectives / Standards Addressed
- Describe, compare, and explain the motions of planets, moons,
and comets in the solar system
- Describe and explain common observations of the day and night
skies
- Explain common observations of the day and night sky
Summary of the Lesson
After completing this activity, students should understand that
the observed phase of the moon is determined by the moon's position
relative to the earth and sun.
Materials
Light bulb (suspended from ceiling or on a stand)
Styrofoam balls, 2-3 inches in diameter (1 per student)
Plenty of room in which students can rotate!
Procedure
1. Turn on the model sun and turn off the other lights in the
room. Have your students stand. Tell them in this system the lamp
is the sun and their head is the earth. Their nose is their hometown
on the surface of the earth.
2. Ask your students to stand so that it is noon in their hometown
(their nose should point toward the sun). Have them turn (rotate)
until it is midnight in their hometown. I have my students rotate
in a counter-clockwise position to simulate the direction as seen
from the North Pole. Midnight is when they have their backs to
the sun. Students can also rotate to show dawn and dusk in their
hometowns and get an idea why the sun appears to rise in the east
and set in the west.
3. Hand out the lunar lollipops (moons) and tell your students
that each should be held at arm's length away from their head.
Demonstrate how the moon orbits the earth in a counter-clockwise
fashion (from right to left). As students watch their moon, they
will see that it will go through phases similar to those of the
real moon.
4. Go through the 8 major phases of the moon with your students:
- New moon - moon is between the sun and the earth and they see
the shadowed side of the moon. A solar eclipse occurs in this
phase when the moon blocks light from the sun from reaching a
portion of the earth. Students can close one eye and simulate
this event.
- Waxing crescent - rotating from a new moon toward a first quarter,
backwards "c" shape will appear on the moon.
- First quarter - right half of the side of the moon facing earth
is lit. The right shoulder is pointed towards the sun.
- Waxing gibbous - rotating from a first quarter to a full moon.
- Full moon - earth is between the moon and the sun; the entire
lit side of the moon is visible on earth (students' backs are
to the sun and moons are lifted up to be lit). A lunar eclipse
occurs when the moon passes through the earth's shadow. Have your
students simulate this event.
- Waning gibbous - rotating from a full moon to a last quarter;
less and less of the moon is lit each night.
- Last quarter - left half of the side of the moon facing the
earth is lit; left shoulder is pointing to the sun.
- Waning crescent - rotating from a last quarter to a new moon;
a "c" shape of light is seen on the left side of the moon.
5. Have your students repeat the phases on their own as you circulate
through the room to correct any problems.
6. Evaluate the lesson by naming a moon phase and having your
students rotate until they are in the correct phase. Jumble the
phases to make it more of a challenge. Also include the two eclipses
and the correct moon phases when they occur.
Notes to the Teacher
Before this lesson, you'll need to do a little preparation. It
is important to make sure that the lights for the "sun" work.
Also, prepare the lunar lollipops by impaling the balls on a pencil,
bamboo skewer, or wood splint for a handle (or have the students
do this prior to the lesson).
Activity developed by Hank Thoenes
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