The Moon
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo Moon Landing in your school. Here are lots of ideas and activities all about the Moon.
The Moon
Aimed at primary learners, this resource provides a lesson which looks at the phases of the Moon and how we observe it from the Earth. A detailed lesson plan incorporates subject knowledge, classroom activities, structured educational films, possible misconceptions and questions which check understanding. The film clips show the phases of the moon, the first moon landing and how the Moon’s phases affect life on Earth. Also included is information on gravity, the tides and how to model solar and lunar eclipses.
Paxi and Our Moon: Phases and Eclipses
In this short animation Paxi, the friendly alien from Space, explores our moon. Paxi looks at the orbit of the Moon and explains the phases of the moon as seen from the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The animation also highlights key concepts related to the moon and demonstrates how solar and lunar eclipses occur.
Daytime Moon Viewing
This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, uses daytime viewing of the Moon to reinforce ideas learned in the classroom about light, shadow and the Moon itself. Advice is given on the best times to view the Moon, and the compulsory and optional equipment needed. By viewing the Moon during the day, students will be able to study six of the eight phases of the Moon during school hours with the direct assistance of teachers. The Royal Observatory Greenwich resource, Phases of the Moon, can be used as an extension activity.
Footprints on the Moon
In this lesson, students will learn a bit more about the Apollo missions and what the Astronauts did at the landing sites. They will then perform an experiment to determine which material, sand or flour, is most like the lunar soil, and observe samples of these under the USB microscopes to determine which is most like the actual soil samples returned from the Moon. By looking at the shapes of the particles, they will then explain why the Apollo astronaut’s footprints are still on the Moon 50 years later.
The Rotating Moon
This animated clip explains how we always see the same side of the Moon and that the Moon used to spin much faster and has since become gravitationally tidally locked to the Earth. This is the case with most moons within the solar system.
Moon Landing: Apollo 11
The astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the moon. From NASA, these images illustrate the story behind "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Truly a milestone moment in space exploration.
Phases of the Moon
This Teaching Astronomy and Space video, from the Institute of Physics (IOP), Teachers TV and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), illustrates a simple demonstration of the phases of the Moon.
Using a light source and a small ball, the Moon's phases can be seen by a central observer representing the Earth. Students can take turns to be the observer or alternatively a web cam could be used to show the whole class.
Please refer to the information and acknowledgements for this resource.
