Moon and Tides Lab lesson plans
Each one is a class period with everything to run it: a teacher plan, a student worksheet, an exit ticket with answers, and the standards it meets. Students need no account, and a free class saves their work.
Moon and Tides Lab: Why Does the Moon Change Shape?
About half of people say the phases are Earth's shadow. Students write down their own idea first, then drag the Moon round its path and watch it over a beach grow from a crescent to a half Moon to a full Moon. The Sun always lights half of it; the phase is how much of that lit half faces us. Earth's shadow, switched on, points away from the Sun, nowhere near a crescent.
FreeMoon and Tides Lab: Why Isn't There an Eclipse Every Month?
There is a full Moon every month, so why not an eclipse every month? Students predict, then jump from full Moon to full Moon and watch a side view where the Moon passes above or below Earth's shadow. Laying the orbit flat makes every full Moon an eclipse. The real path is tipped about 5 degrees, so eclipses come only when a full or new Moon falls near a crossing point, in two seasons a year.
FreeMoon and Tides Lab: Why Are There Two High Tides a Day?
Most students expect one high tide a day, under the Moon. On an ocean planet the Moon stretches the sea into two bulges, one under the Moon and one on the far side, and a beach turning through a day gets two high tides. Adding the Sun's smaller stretch shows spring and neap tides. Then real coasts from NOAA: Boston's two tides, Eastport's five meters, Pensacola's one a day.
FreeMoon and Tides Lab: Where Is the Moon Tonight?
Many students think the Moon is only out at night and that Australia sees a different phase. Students start with a half Moon in the afternoon sky, play the day until it sets after midnight, then solve three puzzles: name a phase from above, place the Moon to make a picture, and set the clock to the moment a full Moon rises. The same night in Sydney shows the same phase, turned over. For homework, they predict tonight's Moon and go out to check.