These six moon related activities are presented within six topic headings: observing the moon (including the phases), the origin of the moon, and tides. This is chapter six of the online book Eyes on the Sky, Feet on the Ground, an exploration into astronomy as a classroom tool for learning how to theorize, experiment, and analyze data. The activities are fully illustrated and contain detailed, step-by-step ... Full description.

This activity has students use construction paper and coat hangers to construct lunar calendars to learn about different phases of the moon. This lesson could serve as a starting point for a unit on space or space exploration. Students will be able to identify four phases of the moon (new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter). Prior to the construction phase students will access websites, ... Full description.

In this lesson, students learn about the Moon's changing appearance and its pattern of movement. Through class discussion, activities, and multimedia resources, students will learn to identify the phases of the Moon, understand that it completes one revolution around Earth per month, and recognize that the Moon is visible sometimes at night, sometimes during the day, and sometimes not at all. Full description.

This exercise has students use a simple physical model of the Earth, sun, and moon to understand why the moon changes phases from the perspective of Earthly observers. Students hold up balls representing the moon in a room with a single light source (representing the sun). As they turn relative to the sun, holding the "moon" out in front of them, they will see changes in how much of the side that ... Full description.

This guide introduces teachers to the use of Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data in the classroom. MOLA data is used to create global topographic maps of Mars and to provide information about properties such as surface roughness, elevation, cloud coverage, brightness, and water flow. This dataset consists of two years of altimetry data on Martian surface features; it can be used to teach Martian ... Full description.

This National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) site provides classroom resources about the Moon. A teacher's guide contains basic detailed information about the Moon, such as the lunar landscape, craters, and Moon rocks. The lesson plan and activities sections cover phases of the Moon, lunar landforms, a Lunar Prospector model, and orbits. Full description.

This lesson demonstrates the link between the tilt of the Earth's axis to the plane of the ecliptic and seasons of the year, length of day, effectiveness of sunlight, and polar day and night. It discusses how the inclination of the Earth's rotation axis causes seasons of the year, by varying the length of the local day and the angle at which the Sun's rays arrive on the surface of the Earth, and to ... Full description.

This site contains an activity in which students work in small research groups to describe and explain seasonal phenomena. They begin by documenting and describing seasonal fluctuations in the maximum angular height of the Sun, average daily temperature, maximum shadow length, and amount of daylight in a 24 hour period. After examining local seasonal trends, students analyze data from a variety of ... Full description.

In this activity, students measure the circumference of a wheel using four different methods. The first method is similar to the method used by the Greek philosopher, Eratosthenes, who made an excellent estimate of the circumference of the Earth around 330 B.C. by assuming that the Earth is a sphere and that the sun's rays are parallel when they reach the Earth. In a second method, students measure ... Full description.

In this activity, students will use Moon and tide data from the internet to construct charts and answer questions about the patterns they see. They will be reminded that the Moon has something to do with ocean tides and will discover what the connections are. They will also discover when tides, moonrise and moonset, and phases of the Moon occur. Full description.