The document discusses facts about the Earth and the Moon. It begins by providing basic information about the spherical shape and orbital movement of the Earth, and its rotation on its axis that causes the day-night cycle. It then discusses details about the Moon, including that it is Earth's only natural satellite, its composition of rock and craters, and how its phases are caused by the positioning of the Moon in relation to the Sun and Earth during its orbit. The document uses various links and videos to help explain these concepts to students in an engaging way.

1. The Earth and the Moon
Emily
Atkinson
Grade:
3
Objective:
Students
will
understand
that
the
shape
of
Earth
and
the
moon
are
spherical
and
that
Earth
rotates
on
its
axis
to
produce
the
appearance
of
the
sun
and
moon
moving
through
the
sky.
Describe
the
appearance
of
Earth
and
the
moon.
Describe
the
movement
of
Earth
and
the
moon
and
the
apparent
movement
of
other
bodies
through
the
sky.
http://www.flashearth.com/
Here
is
a
view
of
the
Earth
from
space!
Before
clicking
on
the
next
link,
list
some
things
you
already
know
about
Earth:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~kidpower/earth.html
A. Here
are
some
facts
about
Earth.
Maybe
there
are
some
things
you
didn’t
even
know
about!
1. How
many
days
does
it
take
the
Earth
to
make
one
COMPLETE
orbit
around
the
sun?
2. How
much
of
Earth
is
covered
by
water?

2.
3. How
many
satellites
does
Earth
have?
What
is
it
called?
http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/spacesciences/observingsky/motion1.htm
Motion
of
the
Earth
Click
play
to
watch
the
motion
of
the
Earth
http://www.windows2universe.org/the_universe/uts/earth2.html
B. Earth’s
rotation
1. What
is
the
Earth
rotating
on?
2. Is
Earth
on
a
vertical
or
horizontal
axis?
To
what
degrees
is
it
“tipped”?
3. How
long
does
it
take
Earth
to
make
on
full
rotation?
What
do
we
call
one
rotation?
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/dr-­‐marc-­‐earth/en/
Ask
Dr.
Marc
about
the
rotation
of
the
Sun
and
Moon!
Click
on
the
link
that
says
“Why
is
Earth
rotating?
Did
it
always
have
the
same
rotation
period?
Will
it
always
have
the
same
rotation
period?”
Before
clicking
the
next
link,
list
some
things
Dr.
Marc
said
about
why
the
Earth
rotates
and
its
rotational
period:
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/moons_and_rings.html
C. The
Moon
–
facts
and
information
1. What
is
another
name
for
the
Moon?
(First
sentence)
What
is
it’s
diameter?
2. How
many
regions
make
up
the
Moon?
What
kinds
of
regions
are
they?
3. What
is
the
Moon’s
top
layer
made
of?

3.
4. What
is
under
the
Moon’s
top
layer?
Go
back
to
Dr.
Marc!
What
does
he
have
to
say
about
the
Moon?
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/dr-­‐marc-­‐earth/en/
What
does
he
know
about
our
Moon?
List
some
things
Dr.
Marc
says
about
the
moon.
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/Birthday/birthdayphases.html
D. The
Phases
of
the
Moon
1. Define
what
PHASES
are:
2. How
long
is
the
Moon’s
complete
cycle?
3. How
many
phases
of
the
Moon
are
there?
What
are
they
called?
4. What
are
some
other
names
for
these
phases?
(Bottom
of
the
page)
http://www.fearofphysics.com/SunMoon/phases.html
E. Causes
of
the
Moon
Phases
1. Because
the
Moon’s
light
is
just
a
reflection
from
the
Sun,
what
causes
the
Moon
phases?

4. http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/moon_phases/
Watch
the
Phases
of
the
Moon!
Now
that
you
know
what
each
phase
looks
like
tonight,
look
at
the
moon
and
see
what
phase
it
is
in!
Come
back
to
school
tomorrow
with
an
answer
and
a
picture
you
have
drawn
of
the
moon.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/earth_sun_moon.shtml
F. Watch
this
video
on
how
the
Earth,
Moon
and
Sun
all
rotate
together!
Make
FULL
SCREEN,
Click
PLAY
and
play
with
the
number
of
hours,
days
and
months
1. Can
you
make
the
Earth
orbit
just
once
around
the
Sun?
How
many
MONTHS
does
it
take?
2. Can
you
make
the
Moon
orbit
just
once
around
the
Earth?
How
many
DAYS
does
this
take?
3. Can
you
make
the
Earth
turn
just
once
on
its
axis?
How
many
HOURS
does
this
take?
4. Click
on
LABELS
and
then
click
on
each
magnifying
glass
to
find
out
more
details
about
the
Earth,
Moon
and
Sun.

5.
Answer
Sheet
A. Facts
about
the
Earth
1. Makes
one
complete
orbit
around
the
Sun
every
365.27
days.
2. Is
mostly
covered
by
water
(75%).
3. Has
a
total
of
1
satellite
(the
Moon).
B. Earth’s
Rotation
1. The
Earth
is
rotating
around
an
axis
(called
its
rotational
axis).
2. Some
objects
rotate
about
a
horizontal
axis,
like
a
rolling
log.
Some
objects,
such
as
a
skater,
rotate
about
a
vertical
axis.
The
Earth's
axis
is
tipped
over
about
23.5°
from
vertical
3. The
Earth
rotates
around
once
in
24
hours
-­‐
that's
a
rate
of
1000
miles
per
hour!.
The
time
it
takes
for
the
Earth
to
rotate
completely
around
once
is
what
we
call
a
day.
It's
Earth's
rotation
that
gives
us
night
and
day.
C. The
Moon
–
Facts
and
Information
1. The
Earth's
one
natural
satellite,
the
Moon,
is
more
than
one
quarter
the
size
of
Earth
itself
(3,474
km
diameter).
2. While
there
are
only
two
basic
types
of
regions
on
the
Moon's
surface,
there
are
many
interesting
surface
features
such
as
craters,
mountain
ranges,
rilles,
and
lava
plains.
The
structure
of
the
Moon's
interior
is
more
difficult
to
study.
3. The
Moon's
top
layer
is
a
rocky
solid,
perhaps
800
km
thick.
4. Beneath
this
layer
is
a
partially
molten
zone.
Although
it
is
not
known
for
certain,
many
lunar
geologists
believe
the
Moon
may
have
a
small
iron
core,
even
though
the
Moon
has
no
magnetic
field.
D. The
Phases
of
the
Moon
1. The
revolution
of
the
Moon
around
the
Earth
makes
the
Moon
appear
as
if
it
is
changing
shape
in
the
sky.
This
is
caused
by
the
different
angles
from
which
we
see
the
bright
part
of
the
Moon's
surface.
These
are
called
"phases"
of
the
Moon.
2. The
Moon
passes
through
four
major
shapes
during
a
cycle
that
repeats
itself
every
29.5
days.
3. Below are pictures of the four major shapes and a description of each.
New Moon: The lighted side of the Moon faces away from the Earth. This means
that the Sun, Earth, and Moon are almost in a straight line, with the Moon in
between the Sun and the Earth. The Moon that we see looks very dark.

6. First Quarter: The right half of the Moon appears lighted and the left side of the
Moon appears dark. During the time between the New Moon and the First
Quarter Moon, the part of the Moon that appears lighted gets larger and larger
every day, and will continue to grow until the Full Moon.
Full Moon: The lighted side of the Moon faces the Earth. This means that the
Earth, Sun, and Moon are nearly in a straight line, with the Earth in the
middle. The Moon that we see is very bright from the sunlight reflecting off it.
Last Quarter: Sometimes called Third Quarter. The left half of the Moon appears
lighted, and the right side of the Moon appears dark. During the time between the
Full Moon and the Last Quarter Moon, the part of the Moon that appears lighted
gets smaller and smaller every day. It will continue to shrink until the New Moon,
when the cycle starts all over again.
4. There are also four other phases of the Moon sometimes used. They are as follows:
This is known as a Waxing Crescent Moon. This Moon can be seen after the New
Moon, but before the First Quarter Moon. The crescent will grow larger and larger
every day, until the Moon looks like the First Quarter Moon.
This Moon is known as a Waxing Gibbous Moon. This Moon can be seen after
the First Quarter Moon, but before the Full Moon. The amount of the Moon that
we can see will grow larger and larger every day. ("Waxing" means increasing, or
growing larger.)
This Moon is called a Waning Gibbous Moon. This Moon can be seen after the
Full Moon, but before the Last Quarter Moon. The amount of the Moon that we
can see will grow smaller and smaller every day. ("Waning" means decreasing, or
growing smaller.)

7. This Moon is called the Waning Crescent Moon. This Moon can be seen after the
Last Quarter Moon and before the New Moon. The crescent will grow smaller and
smaller every day, until the Moon looks like the New Moon.
E. Causes
of
the
Moon
Phases
1. So
here's
where
the
phases
of
the
moon
come
from:
Unless
it
moves
behind
the
Earth,
half
of
the
moon
(that
faces
the
Sun)
is
always
lit
by
the
Sun.
That's
why
the
moon
always
appears
like
a
bright
round
ball
in
the
left
video.
But
look
at
where
your
green
city
viewpoint
is
in
the
left
video;
sort
of
off
to
the
side
of
the
moon.
You
are
not
looking
at
the
moon
directly-­‐-­‐
from
the
side,
you
see
part
of
the
lit
side,
and
part
of
the
dark
side.
How
much
of
each
depends
on
exactly
where
you
are,
and
where
the
Sun,
Moon,
and
Earth
are.
What
the
moon
would
look
like
from
your
green
city
is
shown
in
the
right
video.
F. Video
on
Earth,
Moon
and
Sun
1. 12
months
2. 28
days
3. 24
hours
4. Earth
i. What
is
it?
The
Earth
is
a
planet
made
of
rock,
air
and
water.
ii. What
shape
is
it?
Roughly
spherical,
like
a
slightly
squashed
ball.
iii. How
big
is
it?
It
has
a
circumference
of
about
40,000
km
iv. How
fast
does
it
move?
The
Earth
travels
around
the
Sun
once
every
year,
at
the
speed
of
about
100,000
km
per
hour.
v. Did
you
know?
The
Earth
also
spins
on
its
axis
(an
imaginary
line
through
its
center)
once
every
24
hours
5. Moon
i. What
is
it?
A
large
ball
of
rock
that
moves
around
the
Earth
ii. What
shape
is
it?
Roughly
spherical
iii. How
big
is
it?
About
a
quarter
of
the
size
of
the
Earth
iv. How
fast
does
it
move?
The
Moon
travels
around
the
Earth
once
every
28
days,
at
a
speed
of
over
3,000
km
per
hour
v. Did
you
know?
Sometimes
we
see
the
whole
Moon,
and
sometimes
we
see
only
part
of
the
Moon,
This
is
because
of
the
way
the
light
from
the
Sun
falls
on
it
6. Sun
i. What
is
it?
The
Sun
is
a
star,
it
is
very
hot
and
it
gives
us
heat
and
light
ii. What
shape
is
it?
Roughly
spherical
iii. How
big
is
it?
The
Sun
is
more
than
100
times
bigger
than
the
Earth
iv. How
hot
is
it?
15
million
degrees
at
the
center
v. Did
you
know?
Our
Sun
is
just
one
of
about
400
thousand
million
stars
in
the
galaxy
we
call
the
Milky
Way