Download Moon Module - Science FEST

IT’S JUST A PHASE
INVESTIGATING EARTH’S MOON
By Alison Bouffiou
and Lauren Darbin
funded by the National Science
Foundation (DUE # 02-01981)
Topic:
The purpose of this module is for third graders to learn about the Moon. They
will be learning about the Moon’s phases, surface features, interior, atmosphere, history,
rotation, and revolution. The students will observe the Moon nightly and participate in
activities to further their understanding of the phases of the Moon. Learning about the
Moon will inspire the children and get them excited about science. Making observations
and drawing conclusions from them are an important part of science and asking third
graders to record their nightly observations will be a great foundation for their future
science careers.
Grade Level:
This module is designed for third grade students.
Pre-requisite skills:
None.
Time:
This module will take approximately four one-hour lessons. One full lunar cycle
or about a month of observations is needed for the students to see all of the phases of the
Moon.
Concepts:
The students will learn that:
S The Moon is mostly made of rock.
S The Moon has a core, a mantle, and a crust.
S The Moon has craters and maria.
2
S Craters are formed when comets, asteroids, and meteoroids hit the Moon’s
surface.
S
S
S
S
S
Maria are lava filled basins on the Moon.
The Moon’s light comes from the Sun.
Half of the Moon is always lit by the Sun.
Objects on the Moon weigh 1/6 of what they weigh on Earth.
Visitors to the Moon cannot hear any sounds because there is no atmosphere to
transmit noise.
S The Earth has an atmosphere, but the Moon does not because gravity is stronger
on the earth and it can retain its atmosphere.
S The Moon has less gravity than Earth because more massive objects have higher
forces of gravity.
S The Moon revolves around the Earth.
S Earth’s force of gravity keeps the Moon in orbit around Earth.
S The same half of the Moon always faces us (Earth) because the Moon rotates once
per orbit (revolution).
S There are different phases of the moon.
S The Moon’s phases are: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing
Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Waning Crescent.
S The Moon’s shape appears to change because we see the lit portion from different
angles as it orbits around the Earth.
S The Moon is about 4.5 billion years old.
S The Moon was formed when a planet the size of Mars hit Earth. The collision
produced a lot of debris in space from the Earth and from the impacting planet.
Most of the debris landed back on Earth, but a small amount of it collected under
its own gravity to form the Moon.
S A lunar eclipse is when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow
S A lunar eclipse can only occur during the full Moon phase.
3
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to identify and describe waxing and waning phases of the
Moon.
2. Students will be able to explain and demonstrate the rotation and revolution of the
Moon.
3. Students will be able to explain why we only see one side of the Moon.
4. Students will be able to explain the origin of the Moon.
5. Students will be able to define and label the inner layers of the Moon- the crust,
mantle, and core.
6. Students will be able to define and label the Moon’s maria and describe how
maria are formed.
7. Students will be able to define and label the Moon’s craters and describe how
craters are formed.
8. Students will be able to explain a lunar eclipse.
9. Students will be able to explain and apply the methods of observation.
10. Students will be able to develop questions.
Standards:
National Science Education Standards Grades K-4
*Earth and Space Science
Content Standard D: As a result of their activities in grades K-4, all students should
develop an understanding of
-Objects in the sky
-The Sun, Moon, stars, clouds, birds, and airplanes all have properties, locations,
and movements that can be observed and described.
-Changes in earth and sky
-Objects in the sky have patterns of movement. The sun, for example, appears to
move across the sky in the same way every day, but its path changes slowly over
the seasons. The Moon moves across the sky on a daily basis much like the sun.
4
The observable shape of the moon changes from day to day in a cycle that lasts
about a month.
-By observing the day and night sky regularly, children in grades K-4 will learn to
identify sequences of changes and to look for patterns in these changes. They can
draw the moon’s shape for each evening on a calendar and then determine the
pattern in the shapes over several weeks. These understandings should be
confined to observations, descriptions, and finding patterns.
-Emphasis in grades K-4 should be on developing observation and description skills and
the explanations based on observations.
Science Content Standards for California Public Schools Grade Three
*Earth Sciences
Objects in the sky move in regular and predictable patterns. As a basis for understanding
this concept:
-Students know the way in which the Moon’s appearance changes during the four-week
lunar cycle.
-Students know that Earth is one of several planets that orbit the Sun and that the Moon
orbits the Earth.
*Investigation and Experimentation
Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful
investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the
other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform
investigations. Students will:
-Repeat observations to improve accuracy and know that the results of similar scientific
investigations seldom turn out exactly the same because of differences in the things being
investigated, methods being used, or uncertainty in the observation.
-Differentiate evidence from opinion and know that scientists do not rely on claims or
conclusions unless they are backed by observations that can be confirmed.
-Predict the outcome of a simple investigation and compare the results with the
prediction.
5
Materials:
Shoeboxes
Cups
Poster Board
Flashlights
Glue
Large Balls
Small Balls
Flour
Books
Scissors
Powdered Paint
Paint
Spools of thread
Tubs
Large pad of easel paper
Vocabulary:
Phases- any stage in a series or cycle of changes
Revolution- the orbital motion of one object around another
Rotation- the spinning of an object around its axis
Orbit- the path of a celestial body during its revolution around another
Gravity- the attractive effect that any massive object has on all other massive objects, the
greater the mass of the object, the stronger the gravitational pull
Crater- a bowl-shaped cavity on the surface of a planet or Moon resulting from a collision
with interplanetary debris; a pit made by an explosion or impact
Rim- the edge of a crater
Rays- material thrown out by the expression surrounds the crater, the ejected debris
ranges in size from fine dust to large boulders
Maria- the lava filled impact basins on the moon, the darker areas
Lunar Eclipse- when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow
New Moon- we see none of the lit portion of the
Moon; the sky is dark
Crescent Moon- we see a sliver of the lit portion of
the Moon
First/Last Quarter Moon- we see half of the lit portion
of the Moon
Gibbous Moon- we see more than half, but not all of
the lit portion of the Moon
Full Moon- we see all of the lit portion of the Moon;
6
it’s a perfect circle; only one night in the lunar cycle
Waxing- getting bigger, for example, the Moon appears to wax, or grow, from a crescent
Moon to a first quarter Moon
Waning- getting smaller, for example, the Moon appears to wan, or decrease in size, from
Gibbous to Last Quarter
Astronomy Content:
Our nearest neighbor in space – the Moon – has been orbiting Earth for about 4.5
billion years. The Moon is about 384,000 km, or 238,464 miles, away from Earth. It is
believed that the Moon was created when a Mars-sized
planet smashed into the young Earth and scattered a huge
cloud of debris from Earth and the other planet into space.
Most of the debris landed back on earth but some of it
collected under its own gravity to form the Moon. The
Moon’s radius is about 1,700 km, or 1,055 miles, roughly
one-fourth of Earth’s radius. The Moon’s gravitational
field is much weaker than Earth’s because the Moon is
much smaller. Larger objects have more gravity. The force
of gravity on the lunar surface is one-sixth of that of Earth. Because the Moon has less
gravity, it cannot “hold on” to any air or water. Also, there are no plate tectonics, and no
ongoing volcanic or seismic activity, so features dating back to the formation of the
Moon are still visible today.
With no atmosphere to protect its surface, all objects hurling toward the Moon
make a deep impact. This impact is what we call a crater. The surface of the Moon is
covered with craters that vary in size from
small pits to giant basins more than 124 miles
across. The diameter of a crater is usually 10
times the diameter of the comet, asteroid or
meteoroid that hit the Moon and a crater’s
7
depth is about twice the comet, asteroid or meteoroid’s diameter. Craters are generally
circular, with high walls called rims, and rays, which are made of debris thrown out
during impact. Many craters are named after scientists, such as Fleming.
The dark areas we see when observing the Moon are called maria, or “seas.”
Maria were formed when comets, asteroids, and meteorites hit with such force that the
crust cracked and lava flowed through and solidified on the crater floors. There are
fourteen maria, all roughly circular. Some people imagine these dark areas to look like a
“man on the moon” or a “bunny.” The lighter areas on the Moon are known to be
elevated several kilometers above the maria and are called highlands.
Because the Moon rotates exactly once during
each orbit, or revolution, of Earth, we always see the
same side. The far side remained a mystery until the
Russian Luna 3 space probe traveled behind the moon
and sent back the first pictures in 1959. It looks very
different from the near side – with more craters and
very few maria. This is because the crust is thicker on
the far side and able to withstand greater
bombardment.
The Moon does not produce its own light. We
only see it because the Moon acts like a huge mirror, reflecting light from the Sun. Half
of the Moon is lit at all times. As the Moon orbits Earth it seems to change shape
because we see different amounts of its sunlit side. The different shapes are called
phases, and the Moon takes 29.5 days to pass from one full moon to the next, although
the Moon completes one orbit in about 27 ¼ days. This is because Earth’s motion around
the Sun means the Moon must complete more than one full orbit of the earth from one
full moon to the next.
The Moon is mostly made up of rock. The outer layer of the Moon, known as the
crust, is made mostly of rock rich in aluminum. Under that layer is the mantle, which has
two layers. The outer layer is composed of solid rock and the inner layer, close to the
small core, is made up of semisolid rock. The crust on the side of the Moon that we see
from Earth is thinner than on the far side of the Moon probably because of Earth’s
8
gravitational pull. The mantle is made up of heavier rock and was pulled closer to Earth,
while the crust moved slightly away.
Anytime one object casts a shadow on another, an eclipse is occurring. A lunar
eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow and can only occur at
full moon. The Earth’s shadow consists of two distinct regions – an umbra where
sunlight is completely blocked and a surrounding penumbra where sunlight is only
partially blocked. A penumbral lunar eclipse is when the Moon passes through the
penumbra. A partial lunar eclipse is when part of the Moon passes through the umbra,
and a total lunar eclipse is when the Moon passes entirely through the umbra. Penumbral
eclipses are difficult to notice because the Moon only slightly darkens. Partial lunar
eclipses are easy to see because part of the Moon’s face is clearly darkened. A total lunar
eclipse is the most spectacular because the Moon becomes dark and reddish because the
Earth’s atmosphere bends some of the red light from the Sun around the Earth and toward
the Moon. The dates of the next total lunar eclipses are November 9, 2003, May 4, 2004,
and October 28, 2004.
9
Activities:
What does it mean to observe? What is astronomy?
S Start by telling the students that you observed the Moon last night.
*During this discussion you can pass out their astronomy notebooks. A copy of
the notebook we made is included at the end of this module or you can make your
own if you wish.
S “Does anybody know what an observation is?” Students responses were: “To
look at something,” “To notice what something looks like,” “To watch what
something is doing” “To watch something for a long time.” Observing is to look
at or notice something and record or note what you see. When you observe an
object you look at it very closely and try to notice all its features. Ask them what
types of things they have observed before, such as animals or the ocean.
S “Does anybody know what astronomy is?” Some answers might include:
“Astronomy is about looking at the sky” “Learning about the Moon and the stars”
“Studying the planets” Astronomy is a branch of science dedicated to the study of
everything in the universe that lies above Earth’s atmosphere, and that includes
the stars, planets, and Moons. Astronomers often observe these objects. An
astronomer is a scientist dedicated to astronomy. “For the next few weeks you all
will be observing the Moon and therefore you will all be Junior Astronomers!”
S Have an overhead handy with “Questions we wondered about” typed on the top.
The children will come up with some amazing questions that you may not be able
to answer. Write their questions on the overhead and let them know you will
answer all of the questions by the end of the astronomy unit. See the website list
for great places to find answers to their questions. This overhead for questions
will allow you to have time to investigate the questions posed and keep you
focused on the content that you are teaching at that time.
*Here are some of the questions that the students asked us. These junior
astronomers had plenty of great questions for us.
1. Why doesn’t the Moon have gravity?
2. Why are Saturn’s rings made of gas and dust?
3. Do all the planets have a core?
10
4. Why is there no gravity in space?
5. What are the stars made of?
6. Why do all the planets revolve around the Sun?
7. Why is Pluto the coldest planet?
8. Is the Milky Way a galaxy belt?
9. Do stars die?
10. What will happen to the Sun?
11. How did we get names for all the planets?
12. If you were on the Moon, would you freeze?
13. What are black holes?
14. How did the planets get their colors?
15. What will happen to the Sun?
16. If all the volcanoes on Saturn erupted and it was floating in space, then
would it hit the Earth?
17. How did the planets get in space?
18. What causes rocks to hit the Moon?
19.Why can we see the Moon from Earth?
20. How does the Sun make light?
S “So I observed the Moon last night, by a show of hands, did anyone else observe
the Moon last night? Have we all seen the Moon at some point?” Then have the
students draw the Moon on the second page of the astronomy notebook or on a
blank piece of paper. Ask them to work on their own and not discuss what they
are drawing with each other. When they are done drawing have the students show
what their Moon looks like with their arms or hands. Some students will make a
circle with their arms over their heads, and some students may make a C shape
with their hands. Then have some students come up front and draw their Moon
on a large piece of easel paper. Try to choose students that have different shapes
drawn. If possible, choose students that have drawn a crescent, a quarter, a
gibbous, and a full moon. Have the students note that the Moon appears to
change and they will be learning why that is.
11
S “What do we think the Moon will look like tonight?” Have them vote on which
Moon they think that they will see tonight and record the numbers next to each
picture.
Maria
S Students may draw craters or maria on their Moons but not yet know exactly what
these features are. Ask them if they have observed that the Moon does not look
completely flat or all one color. Start by explaining the interior layers of the
Moon.
Mantle
Core
Crust
S Explain that there is a “near” side of the Moon that we see from Earth and a far
side of the Moon that we never see from Earth. Show the class pictures of both
sides of the Moon. Check out the websites we have listed to find some great
pictures.
S The side of the Moon that we can see has dark areas called maria. The crust is
thinner on the “near” side of the Moon. When large impactors struck the Moon
they cracked the crust and lava was able to flow through from the mantle forming
the maria. Ask the students if they have ever heard of the “Man on the Moon” or
the “Bunny” on the Moon and explain to them that people imagine the dark maria
make these pictures. Show the class an overhead and point out the flat, dark areas
called maria. Remember, the “near” side of the Moon is the side that we see from
Earth. It has a thinner crust and maria. The “far” side of the Moon is the side that
we never see from Earth and has a thicker crust and many more craters.
Craters
S Craters are bowl-shaped depressions on the surface of the Moon. Most craters
formed billions of years ago as the result of meteoric impact. To demonstrate and
amaze your students do the “Crater Demo.”
12
S Crater Demo: you will need a large tub of flour, powdered paint (any color)
a tube (about 3 inches in diameter, 12 inches long, and open on both ends), a
small, flat piece of wood, and a spoon. You may want to do this
demonstration outside. Fluff through the flour with your hands, as if sifting
it, to make it soft and then carefully smooth the surface of the flour, using the
side of the tube. Be careful not to pack the flour down. Put about four
tablespoons of flour and one tablespoon of paint into the tube with the piece
of wood covering the bottom of the tube. Cover the top of the tube with your
hand and shake it up to evenly distribute the paint. Then hold the tube a few
feet above the tub of flour and pull the piece of wood out.
S Ask the kids what everything represents. They
should say that the flour in the tube represents
an asteroid or a comet, the tub of flour
represents the Moon, and the result will
represent a crater. Point out the rim and the rays.
Smooth out the flour and repeat as many times as
necessary. If you have time you can let the kids try
it too. This simple demonstration really excites the
children and will last in their minds forever.
Why is it that we only see one side of the Moon?
S The Moon revolves around the Earth. Show them a model of the Sun, the Earth,
and the Moon. Move the Moon so that it is
revolving around the Earth. Ask the kids
“What does revolve mean?” When an object
is revolving it is going around another object
in a circular path we call an orbit. The Earth
revolves around the Sun. Ask the kids “What
does rotate mean?” Using the model, show
them the Moon rotating. When an object is
rotating it is spinning.
13
S For the next activity you will need to cut out two large circles and attach string to
them so that the child can wear it. One circle should look like the side of the
Moon that we see- it should have mostly maria- and the other circle should look
like the side of the Moon that we do not see- it should have lots of craters.
*Have a volunteer come up to the front of the class and wear the “Moon” like
a sandwich board.
Announce that this child
is now the Moon and the
rest of the class is Earth.
Ask the child to rotate.
The child should turn around or spin in place. Have the class notice that they
can see all sides of the Moon while the child is rotating.
Now pick someone else to become the Moon. Ask the
student to revolve around the “Earth” (the rest of the
students). As the student revolves, point out to the
students that we can see all sides of the Moon. So this
is not the way that the Moon revolves around the Earth.
The Moon revolves and rotates at the same time around
the Earth. Now ask another volunteer to come up and
rotate and revolve at the same time. The student will
most likely rotate several times as he or she revolves
around the classroom.
Once again, point out to the
students that we can see all sides of the moon.
This must not be how the Moon does it either!
The Moon actually only rotates once per one
revolution.
*The Moon’s rotation is equal to its revolution –
so the Moon keeps the same side facing the Earth
at all times. Now ask another volunteer to become
14
the moon and keep the side of the Moon that we see facing the “Earth” the
entire time. Have the student do this once. They will have to rotate exactly
once during the one revolution around the class. The class may not recognize
that the “Moon” is even rotating at all – because it is a slow rotation, so have
the student stop at each quarter of the revolution. Each time the student stops
have the class point to the direction that the “Moon” is facing. After the
revolution is complete, the students should have pointed to all four walls in
the classroom completing one rotation. Repeat this exercise frequently
because the concept of why we only see one side of the Moon is a difficult
one.
S How long does it take for the Moon to rotate and revolve around the Earth? Let
the students make their predictions and write them on the board. Some typical
answers might be:
1 Year
50 Years
5 weeks
3 days
10 days
1 Month
Then ask the students which word looks like or has the most in common with the
word Moon.
1 Year
50 Years
5 weeks
3 days
10 days
1 Month
15
Moon
How the Moon was formed
S Ask the students if they think asteroids and comets ever hit Earth. Let them know
that this did happen. And once a planet the size of Mars (about half the size of
Earth) hit Earth. Parts of Earth and that planet were flung everywhere. Have
children imagine a car crash. The wreckage from this crash actually formed
something else. Pieces of the Earth and pieces of the other planet formed another
object. “Can anyone guess what object that is?” The Moon! If they don’t get the
right answer you should give them some clues. Let them know that there are a
few different theories on how the Moon was formed, but this theory is the most
widely believed by astronomers.
Fun Facts
S All of the previous information is a lot for the children to take in. Depending on
your class’s abilities, you may want to break up this information. You might want
to have the rotation and revolution lesson on a separate day because this is a tough
concept. You might want to have the maria and crater lesson on a separate day
too. A lot of review will definitely be needed. You may want to end this part of
the lesson with some fun facts about the Moon.
Fun Facts
1. If we went to the Moon we would weigh less than we do here on Earth - 1/6 of
what we do right now. Take your weight, and divide that number by six and that
is how much you would weigh if you were on the Moon. If you weigh about 60
pounds then you would weigh about 10 pounds on Earth.
2. Explain what atmosphere is to the class. Atmosphere is the layer of gas around a
planet. The Moon does not have an atmosphere so you can hear anything on the
Moon. “So if we were on the Moon right now and I went to yell the class it
would look like this,” and open your mouth wide and pretend like you are yelling
but do not let any sound out. The children love this. Let the students pretend they
are on the Moon and let them have a conversation with each other. They will love
having the “silent” conversations.
16
Observing the Moon Assignment
S The students will be observing the Moon nightly and recording their observations.
(Hint – make sure that the Moon will be visible that night.) Use the boxes in the
astronomy notebook to record the appearances of the Moon. Have them turn to
the page with the directions for observing. Read the directions as a class. Then
have them all point to the box they will be drawing in tonight. Tell them to notice
the shape of the Moon, the color, and any maria or craters.
Phases of the Moon
S Let a few days of observing pass before you start teaching about the phases so
that the students will have some idea about how the Moon changes. First, discuss
what they have observed so far. Have a few students come up to the board and
draw what they observed. Make sure that everyone saw the same thing. Discuss
how the Moon changes in shape each night. Is it getting bigger or smaller?
S Read the class Sometimes Moon by Carole Lexa Schaefer. The story discusses
how the Moon has phases and compares each phase to an object. After the story
refer back to the children’s drawings of the Moon. Point to the Crescent Moon
(They probably will not know all of the official names of the phases yet) and ask
them what the story said that shape looks like; the answer is a boat. Write the
word Boat on the easel paper with the crescent moon on it. Do this for each
drawing. Then ask them if they think these are the words that astronomer use,
(basket, boat, cheeks…) and then let them know the real names for each phase.
The story also introduces Waxing and Waning. “Waxing is when the Moon
appears to get bigger and Waning is when the Moon appears to get smaller. The
actual size of the Moon never changes.”
17
S This is where you will begin to explain the phases of the Moon and why they
occur. “The Moon does not produce its own light. It reflects the light from the
Sun. No matter where the Moon is in its orbit half of the Moon is lit by the Sun.”
Use the model of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, and with a flash light show them how
the Moon is always half lit. “If half of the Moon is always lit, then why does the
lit part appear to change?” Because the Moon is revolving around the Earth and
we see different portions of the lit half. The lit part of the Moon doesn’t always
face Earth, but when it does it is called full Moon and we see the Moon look like
a perfect circle. The next day we begin to see less of the lit portion of the Moon
and this phase is called a Gibbous Moon. The Moon continues to wane as
revolves around Earth and we see a Quarter Moon and then a crescent. Then the
dark portion of the Moon faces Earth and we cannot see the moon, this is called
New Moon. As it continues in its orbit, we then see a crescent, a quarter, a
gibbous, and then a Full Moon again. It takes about 27 days to go through all of
the phases. “In the story we heard two different words that began with the letter
W. Can anyone remember those two words?” They are waxing and waning. A
waxing Moon is when the Moon appears to be getting bigger and we begin to see
more and more of the lit portion. A waning Moon is when the Moon appears to
be getting smaller and we see less and less of the lit portion.
Boxed Moon
S For the students to understand why we see the phases of the Moon the next
activity is called a Boxed Moon. (Directions on how to make the Boxed Moon
are on page 43). This exercise shows how the Moon is always half lit, but when
you look at it from different angles you see different parts of the lit portion. Have
students work in groups of twos or threes and make sure the desks are set up so
that they can walk around the box and look in every hole. After the students have
enough time to look at each “phase” have the students turn to the page in their
notebooks that has eight circles for each phase. Have the students look in each
hole and fill in each circle to look like what they are seeing (shade in the dark
areas).
18
S This exercise will help them learn the names of every phase- New Moon, Waxing
Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last
Quarter, Waning Crescent- and to be able to recognize each one.
*Some of the handiest instruments we made to aid the learning are
pictures of each phase that we enlarged, cut into circles, and laminated.
These can be used to quiz the students on the names of the phases. Or you
can have the students come up to the front of the class and put the circles
in order.
S Assignment: Have the class continue their observations, but now after they draw
the Moon they can also label what phase it is.
Astronauts
S Ask the students, “What do you think the Moon is mostly made of?” See if they
can come up with the answer – Rock.
19
S “Does anybody know what an astronaut is?” An
astronaut is someone who travels into space.
Astronauts have landed, walked, and driven on
the Moon. Neil Armstrong was the first Man on
the Moon and Buzz Aldrin was the second. A
total of twelve astronauts have landed on the
Moon – between 1969 and 1972. The astronauts
on the Moon took photographs, recorded
measurements, and set up experiments. They
have brought back around 2,000 moon rocks,
and those rocks let us know what the moon was
made of and how old the Moon is.
S “How old do you think the Moon is?” Let the children make guesses and then let
them know that the Moon is about 4.5 billion years ago (see if they know how
many zeros a billion has - 4,500,000,000). “Why did the astronauts have to use
radios in their helmets to talk to each other on the Moon even when they were
standing right next to each other?” See if they remember that the Moon is
completely silent because there is no air to transmit sound. Then show the class a
picture of an astronaut in his space suit. “The space suit looks really heavy do
you think it was hard for the astronauts to walk around on the Moon?” You can
act this out for them by pretending to not be able to walk because you are in an
extremely heavy spacesuit. They may remember that the space suit is not heavy
on the Moon because things on the moon weigh 1/6 of what they do on the Earth.
“Why do things weigh less on the Moon?” Things weigh less on the Moon
because the Moon has less gravity than Earth. Larger objects have more gravity
than smaller objects. Quiz the class by holding up different objects and asking
which one has more gravity – the larger objects have more gravity. Next show
the class a picture of an astronaut’s footprint in the sand on the Moon and let them
know that the footprint will remain there for millions of years. “Why will the
footprints last for so long on the Moon? Footprints do not last that long on Earth.
20
What does Earth have that the Moon does not have?” The Moon does not have
living things, water, or wind to erase the footprints.
Eclipses
S Next begin to discuss eclipses. “Can anyone tell me what an eclipse is?” An
eclipse is when one object blocks the light from another object. A lunar eclipse is
when the Earth blocks the sunlight from the Moon. The Moon appears to be an
orange-red color because the light is refracted from the Earth’s atmosphere. A
lunar eclipse only happens when the Sun,
Earth, and Moon are in perfect alignment at
Full Moon.
S “So why don’t we have an eclipse every
month at full Moon?” Use the model and
explain that the Moons orbit is usually
slightly tilted up or down and that is why an
eclipse does not occur every month.
S An activity for eclipses can be done with an
overhead transparency light, a small
circular object, and your Moon sandwich board. Turn the light on and put the
circle close to the light to create a circular shadow. Then have a student move the
“Moon” through the shadow to create an eclipse.
Review
S Let the class know that the test is coming up and you will be reviewing. Go over
everything that they have learned so far about the moon.
1. The layers of the Moon – crust, mantle, and core
2. How a crater is formed
3. The parts of a crater – rays and rim
4. The names of the phases of the Moon
5. How maria was formed
6. Revolving and rotating
7. How old the Moon is
8. What the Moon is mostly made of
21
9. Waxing and waning
10. The origin of the Moon
11. Why the Moon appears to change
12. Where the Moon’s light comes from and what portion of the Moon it lit at all
times
13. The Moon’s motion
Optional Activity: Formation of the Solar System
S As you have seen the students asked some amazing questions. Many of the
questions were related to the formation of the Solar System, such
as: “What made the Sun?” or “How did the planets crash into
each other?” In order to answer these questions we decided we
needed to conduct a lesson on the origin of the planets and their
moons.
S Our solar system started out as a large cloud of gas and dust.
This cloud began to collapse under its own gravity. As it
collapses, different clumps of gas and dust within the cloud may
be moving in random directions at random speeds. The random
motion of the clumps in the cloud become more orderly as the
cloud collapses, changing the cloud’s original lumpy shape into a
rotating, flattening disk.
S A great way for the students to observe a similar effect is with a
bowl of water and some pepper. Materials needed are: 1 paper
bowl per student, water to fill half of each bowl, and two small
pepper packets per student, which you can get from fast food
restaurants. Pass out the bowls, pepper, and fill each bowl with
water. A helper here would be great. Then direct the students to
sprinkle the pepper on the water. Have the children use their
fingers to stir the pepper in random directions (not in circles). You can do this
activity with them with a clear bowl on the overhead projector. Then have the
children remove their fingers and watch the pepper settle down into a slow
rotation. The water molecules are always colliding like the gas and dust clumps
22
were colliding in the cloud. Have the students note that no matter how they stir
the water, the pepper almost always settles down into a slow rotation in one
direction or the other. Next clean up the bowls and move on.
S As the cloud collapsed it began to rotate faster and faster. To understand this
concept, have the students imagine a figure skater spinning. When the skater
wants to rotate faster she pulls her arms in. A decrease in the size of a rotating
mass must be balanced by an increase in its rotational speed. As the cloud began
to contract and rotate it became denser and hotter. It was hottest at its center and
something began to form here. Can anyone guess what started to form here?
What is at the center of our solar system? The Sun.
S So the Sun began to form in the middle of this flattened, rotating cloud. What
else began to form? The planets. The dust grains began to form clumps. Once
these clumps formed, they grew rapidly by sticking to other clumps. Have the
students imagine a snowball thrown through a snowstorm, growing bigger as it
encounters more snowflakes. Ask the students, “Which clumps would get larger
faster: big clumps or small clumps?” Ask the children if they have ever jumped
into the balls at Chucky Cheese. “If I jumped into the balls and one of you
jumped into the balls, which one of us would touch more balls?” I would touch
more balls more balls because I am larger and I have more surface area. As the
clumps grew larger, their surface areas increased and consequently the rate at
which they swept up new material accelerated. They gradually grew into objects
of pebble size, baseball size, basketball size, and eventually into objects a few
23
hundred miles across. By that time, their gravity was strong enough to sweep up
material that would otherwise not have collided with them. In the early solar
system, the rich got richer, and almost all the material was swept up into nine
large planets.
Integrated Theme-Based Activities
1. Math – Students can practice division finding out how much things way on the
Moon. Objects on the Moon weigh 1/6 of what they do Earth. Let the students
know the weight of objects on Earth. When they divide that number by six they
will know how much that object weighs on Earth.
2. Field Trip – Take the students to a museum or planetarium. Try to find a museum
that has Moon rocks and/or astronaut materials.
3. Guest – Have a professional astronomer come to the class to answer the students
questions. When we had an astronomer come in the students were jumping out of
their chairs with excitement.
4. Technology – If your school has a computer lab let the students explore some
websites about the Moon.
5. Writing – After the kids observe the Moon have them write a poem about the
Moon.
6. Spelling – Have the students play the word game. The object of the game is for
the students to spell out the word, as a group, when the teacher calls out a word.
Choose words from the Moon lesson, such as crater or crescent. You will need to
write each letter of the alphabet on each envelope. Divide the class into groups
of eight or ten students. Each group will need a complete set of envelopes. Each
player gets a couple of lettered envelopes. The envelopes should contain pieces
of paper with the letter written on them because some words have two or more of
the same letter (for the word crescent, the students would have to pull an E out of
the E envelope and a C out of the C envelope). After the teacher calls out a word
each group tries to spell the word using their envelopes, and the first team to
correctly spell the word gets a point.
7. Books –
Anderson, Stephen Axel. I Know the Moon. New York: Philomel Books, 2001.
24
Conrad, Donna. See You Soon Moon. New York: Knopf, 2001.
Desimini, Lisa. Sun and Moon: A Giant love Story. New York: Blue Sky Press,
1999.
Kimmel, Eric A. A Cloak for the Moon. New York: Holiday House, 2001.
Scheer, Julian. By the Light of the Captured Moon. New York: Holiday House,
2001.
Notebook:
This next section is our notebook. It consists of 16 half pages. We punched 2 holes in the
top and tied it with ribbon or used brads so that a page could be added if necessary.
25
My Astronomy Notebook
The Moon
Name: __________________
Draw the moon.
26
What will the moon look like tonight?
How do I observe the moon?
1. Go outside sometime between 7:30 and 9:00 pm.
2. Look around the sky until you find the moon
3. Once you find the moon, look at it and notice its
shape.
4. Draw the moon that you see on the observation sheet.
5. Make sure you are drawing the moon in the correct
box for that day. If you cannot observe the moon one
night, make sure to skip that box.
27
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Friday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Saturday
Sunday
28
Thursday
Thursday
Monday
Friday
Monday
Friday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Saturday
Sunday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Saturday
Sunday
29
Thursday
Thursday
On the next few
pages, use words or
pictures to show
the meanings of
each vocabulary
word.
RotationRevolutionPhasesNew Moon-
30
Full MoonCrescent MoonGibbous MoonFirst/Last Quarter MoonWaxingWaning-
CraterRimRaysMariaLunar Eclipse-
31
OrbitGravity-
Directions for observing the “Boxed Moon”
*Look in each hole and notice what portion
of the ball is lit.
*Remember, you are Earth, the ball is the
Moon, and the flashlight is the Sun.
*As you move around the shoebox you will be
viewing every phase of the Moon.
*As you look through the “Boxed Moon” shade
in the part of the circle that is not lit.
Make sure that the name of the phase on the
shoebox matches with the name on the paper.
32
New Moon
Waxing Crescent
First Quarter
Waxing Gibbous
Full Moon
Waning Gibbous
Last Quarter
Waning Crescent
Assessment:
Name __________________
33
Junior Astronomer
The Moon Quiz
Please fill in the following blank spaces on this page using the correct word from the
word box. Every word will be used one time.
1.
Mantle
Rim
Lava
Quarter
New Moon Crust
Gibbous
Rays
Full Moon
Core
Crescent
Maria
Crater
These are the layers of the Moon.
2. A
into the Moons surface.
is formed when a comet or an asteroid crashes
Label the two parts of a crater–
3. Label the names of the phases of the Moon.
4. The dark areas on the moon were created when
through the crust. These areas are called
34
flowed
Circle the best answer for each question.
5. When an object is spinning it is –
a. Revolving
b. Rotating
6. When one object goes around another object it is –
a. Revolving
b. Rotating
7. What is the Moon doing?
a. Revolving
b. Rotating
c. Revolving and Rotating
8. How old is the Moon?
a. 400 years old
b. 400,005 years old
c. 4,500,000,000 years old
d. 4,500,500,500,500 years old
9. What is the moon mostly made of?
a. Cheese
b. Water
c. Rock
d. Crust
10. When the lit area of the Moon is getting bigger, it is –
a. Waxing
b. Waning
11. When the lit area of the Moon is getting smaller, it is –
a. Waxing
b. Waning
12. Which side of the moon has a thinner crust and has maria?
a. The “near side”- the side that we see from Earth
b. The “far side”- the side that we do not see from Earth
13. Which object has the most gravity?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
Use the back if you need more space.
14.Describe how the Moon was formed.
35
15. Why do we only see one side of the Moon from Earth?
16. Where does the Moon’s light come from?
17. How much of the Moon is always lit?
18. Is the Moon moving? Describe its motion.
19. Explain why the Moon appears to change.
Name
_KEY__________
Junior Astronomer
36
The Moon Quiz
Please fill in the following blank spaces on this page using the correct word from the
word box. Every word will be used one time.
crust
2.
Mantle
Rim
Lava
Quarter
New Moon Crust
Gibbous
Rays
Full Moon
Core
Crescent
Maria
Crater
core
mantle
These are the layers of the Moon.
crater
2. A
into the Moons surface.
is formed when a comet or an asteroid crashes
rays
Label the two parts of a crater–
rim
3. Label the names of the phases of the Moon.
NewMoon
Crescent
Quarter
Gibbous
4. The dark areas on the moon were created when
through the crust. These areas are called
maria
Circle the best answer for each question.
37
lava
Full Moon
flowed
5. When an object is spinning it is –
a. Revolving
b. Rotating
6. When one object goes around another object it is –
a. Revolving
b. Rotating
7. What is the Moon doing?
a. Revolving
b. Rotating
c. Revolving and Rotating
8. How old is the Moon?
a. 400 years old
b. 400,005 years old
c. 4,500,000,000 years old
d. 4,500,500,500,500 years old
9. What is the moon mostly made of?
a. Cheese
b. Water
c. Rock
d. Crust
10. When the lit area of the Moon is getting bigger, it is –
a. Waxing
b. Waning
11. When the lit area of the Moon is getting smaller, it is –
a. Waxing
b. Waning
12. Which side of the moon has a thinner crust and has maria?
a. The “near side”- the side that we see from Earth
b.The “far side”- the side that we do not see from Earth
13. Which object has the most gravity?
a.
b.
c.
d.
These are some of the good answers that we got when we tested the students.
14.Describe how the Moon was formed.
38
“Earth and another planet the size of Mars crashed into each other and all the
little pieces formed together and the Moon was made.”
“A planet the size of Mars crashed into Earth and it broke into pieces and got
together and made the Moon.”
15. Why do we only see one side of the Moon from Earth?
“We only see one side of the Moon because the Moon rotates and revolves
at the same time. The Moon rotates once for every revolution.”
16. Where does the Moon’s light come from?
“The Moon’s light comes from the sun.”
“It’s light comes from the sun.”
17. How much of the Moon is always lit?
“Half of the Moon is always lit.”
“It is always a half lit.”
18. Is the Moon moving? Describe its motion.
“Yes, it does move when it rotates and revolves.”
“It’s moving because it is rotating and revolving around Earth.”
19. Explain why the Moon appears to change.
“The Moon appears to change because it has different phases.”
“It revolves and rotates.”
“The Moon appears to change because the moon rotates and revolves.”
“The Moon moves around the Earth and it rotates and revolves around Earth
and that’s how it moves.”
39
Resources:
1. Bennet, Jeffrey, Megan Donahue, Nicholas Schneider, Mark Voight. Cosmic
Perspective. Addison Wesley Longman: New York, 1999.
2. Chaisson, Eric, Steve McMillan. Astronomy Today. Prentice Hall: New Jersey,
1999.
3. http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html
Here you can obtain the times of moonrise, moonset, and the Moon’s phase by
specifying any date and location. This is an extremely useful site. We used this
site to check to see if the Moon would be visible on any particular night. When
assigning observations you want to make sure the Moon will be visible. And it is
extremely helpful to have a site that shows a picture of the phase for any given
date.
4. http://explorer.scrtec.org
The explorer is a collection of educational resources for the K-12 math and
science educators.
5. http://visitor.broaddaylight.com/spacekids
This site allows you to ask any astronomy question and have it answered by an
expert.
6. Schaefer, Carole Lexa. Sometimes Moon. Crown Publishers: New York, 1999.
7. Science Projects and Activities
8. www.ameritech.net/users.paulcarlisle/MoonCalendar.html
This site has Moon Calendar that was designed primarily for Elementary School
students. It shows the phases of the Moon for each day of a selected month from
3999 BC to 3999AD.
9. www.brainpop.com
This was one of our favorite sites that we came across. It has movies and quizzes
for every subject. The students will love these educational cartoons.
10. www.nasa.gov
The NASA website.
11. www.scienceteacherstuff.com
This site is a portal to take you to some of the best science sites.
40
12. www.scientificsonline.com
At this site you can purchase a Moon globe.
13. www.teachnet.com/lesson/science/
This site is very useful because it has lesson plans for every subject.
41
This can also be done with a basketball and the light from an overhead projector.
42
43
44
45