Starry-eyed astronomers draw different views of the Moon in order to introduce its phases. Then they experiment with a ball and a lamp to recreate the phases. A demonstration ensures every pupil understands the process, and the evaluation portion requires scholars to predict future Moon phases.

Concepts

solar eclipses, lunar eclipse, gravity, the moon

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Try to align the lesson with a real solar or lunar eclipse to observe the phenomenon, rather than just viewing it through photos

Classroom Considerations

• Requires prior knowledge of the Sun, Earth, and Moon system as well as knowing about the existence of other stars
• Experiment requires a very dark room

Pros

• The lesson is in a 5E format
• Materials are all readily available
• Includes connections to Einstein's predictions and if they stood the test of time

Cons

• None