Practical Demonstration

• Middle school students have problems understanding why our moon has phases, as do many adults for that matter. A practical demonstration in a large empty room can help. Have four students stand back-to-back in the center of the room with powerful flashlights shining outwards. This represents the Sun. Have another student walk slowly around the "Sun" in a wide circle, holding out a beach ball to represent the Earth and its orbit. Now have a third student orbit the "Earth," holding out a smaller, preferably light gray ball, to represent the Moon. Darken the room for a very powerful 3D lesson on the Moon's phases.
  
  

Science Class

• Science Class.net has a huge selection of appropriate lesson activities for grades five to nine. The activity groupings are rather arbitrary, warns the site's administrator. However, there are plenty of choices, including: activities and labs; study/review notes and games; and suitable literacy/vocabulary development exercises. Several of the activities, such as "Arranging the Moon," are useful as printable worksheets. Others, such as "Earth/Moon/Sun Positions and the Moon's Phase" are designed for online use.
  
  

Make a Moon Clock

• A good lesson for groups or the whole class centers on making a Moon clock. This will let your students know the Moon's position in the sky and its phase at any given time. You can download a useful template and instructions developed by teachers. Basically, students need to cut out some parts of the template and then use research skills to find out the Moon's current phase by checking the day's newspaper. This gives them the information to "set" their Moon clock. The clock demonstrates the Moon's current and proceeding phases, indicating whether it is a waxing or waning crescent or gibbous Moon.
  
  

Other

• There are many relevant interactive whiteboard resources available, which can form the core of middle school lessons. The SMART Exchange web site, for example has nearly 70 free resources, as of June 2011. NASA likewise offers many educational materials that middle school teachers can use in lessons, such as a video explaining why the shape of the Moon seems to change. The Oracle Think Quest Education Foundation website includes some useful projects by students for students.