CU 3.03The Moon and Its Phases
With a lamp and a ball, the child sees why the moon seems to change shape, then orders phase cards and watches the real moon for a month.
Presentation
Search videos (opens YouTube in a new tab)- 1
Show a photograph of the full moon: 'The moon travels around the earth. It has no light of its own. Sunlight makes it shine.'
- 2
Darken the room and turn on the lamp. Say: 'The lamp is the sun. Your head is the earth.'
- 3
Give the child the ball on the stick and help them hold it a little above their head at arm's length.
- 4
Ask the child to turn slowly in place, watching the ball. Stop at four points and name what they see: new moon, half moon, full moon, half moon.
- 5
Repeat, noticing the thin crescent shapes between.
- 6
Lay out the phase cards and order them through one month, starting with the new moon.
- 7
Send home the moon watching chart: each clear night, draw the shape of the moon.
What catches the child’s eye
- The ball turning from a thin bright edge to a full glowing circle as the child turns
- Seeing the moon in the daytime sky
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Learn the words waxing (growing) and waning (shrinking)
- Spot the moon in the daytime sky
- Compare the home moon chart with the phase cards
- Look at photographs of the moon's craters and the footprints left by astronauts
Control of error
The phase cards are numbered on the back in order; the real moon each night checks the child's chart.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Explains that the sun lights the moon
- Names new, half, and full moon
- Orders the phase cards
- Keeps the moon chart for most of a month
Guide note
Holding the ball a little above head height keeps the head's shadow from covering it at full moon. The guide places the hot lamp and keeps its cord out of the turning space.