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Students will use oreos to create the phases of the moon. Each student needs 4 oreos and a paper plate. After the students know the phases of the moon and the significance of waxing and waning we would create the phases using the oreos. After they create their phases they may consume their creations while creating a foldable that they will place in their science journals. I am not a huge fan of this resource, but it was one of the better ones I was able to find.

This collection is meant to be of the best resources we can find. If you don't love this one, please remove it from the collection. Also, please note that the moon phases are incorrectly represented in the oreo image included here.

This link allows students to either move the moon around the earth and see the phases, or they can click what phase they want to see and the moon jumps to the position it would be in when in the sky. Bellow the big picture you can also advance the moons position around the earth day by day. Using this simulator may dispel so misunderstandings about what causes the phases of the moon. There are several different views of the same information so students can choose which ever one makes more sense to them to look at. As I also said above there are several different ways to manipulate whats in front of you. I would most definitely use this in a chapter about the moon. I might have a worksheet that asks students to show me where the moon would be at each phase, I might follow that with questions about why they think the moon looks the way it does. I love this tool, it was introduced to me in astronomy. I love how easy it is to use. Again you can manipulate it day by day, you get to see what the moon would really look like up in the sky if you had the chance to see it, and you get to see and understand what rotates around what.( We rotate around the sun, the moon rotates around us.)

I think this would be a great extension activity following a lesson over the phases of the moon as students will be showing their understanding of these phases using Oreo cookies. Each student is given 8 split Oreo cookies and one plate with the phases of the moon on the bottom of the plate. Students will use their spoon to move the cream off the cookie to model the correct phase of the moon. After completing eight correct moon phases with their cookies, the student will label each phase of the moon with the correct name strip which is provided. Once the student has correctly labeled the 'moons', they may eat the cookies and take the plate home. This is a great way to check and make sure students have an understanding of this material. It also makes it fun for the students as they are able to finish the assignment by eating their cookies!

This is a simple, yet, very effective way for students to understand just what is happening during moon phases. It is a very simple activity to put together that has the students sitting in a circle around the "moon" which is stationary and half is colored black. Each student, sitting at different angles draws what it is they see demonstrating the moon phases. I love this activity, it easily illustrates any misconceptions that students may have about the moon and its phases. I could see this being a very useful lesson and activity when discussing the moon, and illustrating how parts of the moon don't actually disappear. I've always thought that being able to visualize things were the best way to learn.

This is a lesson that teaches kids about the phases of the moon by using Oreos. It's originally for Kindergarten students according to the website that I found it on, however, one of my college professors used this activity in my Physical Science class and it's still the reason how I know the moon phases. I would definitely use this in my classroom at any grade level because no matter how old you are, Oreos are always a great tool for learning! I could see myself using this in my classroom after a presentation of this unit and after they are introduced to other pictures, I would set up stations or something for them to identify what moon they're trying to make, and then replicate that with their Oreo. This was one of my favorite activities as a young adult, so I'm sure any student and any age could really learn a lot with this as well as having fun with science! Who knows, maybe one little Oreo activity could birth the passion of a future astronomer in my classroom!

This site poses questions for the kids and gives the answers. Nice 8 phases of the moon chart and provides more links.

The Children's University of Manchester produces this page. It is absolutely fabulous! The website is interactive, teaching students about a variety of different subjects in a way that is appealing to children. The brief lesson could be used as a quick introduction to a topic, or a quick recap over a topic. The site I have linked to is about the phases of the moon. The children can see a short animated clip showing the sun with the earth and moon orbiting around it. The clip has facts throughout, and a brief quiz at the end. I would highly recommend incorporating this site into your classroom!

This is a step-by-step explanation of a moon phase lesson. Gives a logical order to the lessons. Provides an idea for a hands on experiment too. Give many more moon links.

A clear calendar by month and year. Nice way to compare one month to another. Can select Northern or Southern hemispheres.