Phases of the Moon – For Kids!

Are your students starting to learn about the moon and how it appears to look different each night? Observing, describing and recording patterns of objects in the night sky will give your students the foundational knowledge that many things in our world follow predictable patterns. This will lay the necessary groundwork before students learn how and why these patterns occur.

Teach Starter has created a moon observation project that your students can use to track how the moon changes shape over time. 

This moon-tracking project includes the following pages:

• rubric
• journal cover
• moon KWL chart
• moon observation templates for each week
  • space for students to record the date, time, observations, and draw the current moon phase
• moon phase research page
• writing prompts.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your science lessons. 

In addition to individual student work time, use this moon observation activity to enhance learning through whole class lessons or remote learning assignments. 

If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

For students who need additional support, consider eliminating the number of observations that are required. Students can make 2 or 3 observations each week rather than every day.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

If there are students who are in need of a challenge, challenge them to complete a drawing showing the different moon phases in the correct order.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. 

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more activities and resources that cut down on lesson planning time:  

teaching resource

Oreo® Moon Phases Worksheet

Explore moon phases with Oreos® in this tasty worksheet.

teaching resource

Moon Phases – Cut and Paste Activity

Create a diagram showing the different moon phases and their names with this cut-and-paste activity sheet.

teaching resource

Moon Phases Tic-Tac-Toe (Small Group)

Identify and remember the different phases of the moon with this small group tic-tac-toe game.