Observing and Discussing the Sun and Moon

Today's discussion began by discussing each group's question they wanted to explore by observing the moon:
Is moon predictable? Does it travel?
It was hard to tell if it was moving and to check on the moon every hour.
How does the size of the moon change?
The weather was usually overcast which made it difficult to see the moon. When I saw the moon, the right side was lit.
Look at the moon morning, noon, and night to see how the shape of the moon's shape changed.
It appears that the moon is really “thin” right now, which makes it hard to find.
Which way does the moon rise and set?
The moon appears to follow the same path every day/night.


Later, we performed the “Moon Dance” so that students were able to gain a better understanding of how different phases of the moon work, and how various types of shadows are made. Each person was given a ping pong ball to represent the moon. Emily turned the classroom lights off and we used a light bulb to represent the sun. Everyone began turning the ball to their left and observed how the ball became more and more lit until the ping pong ball was fully illuminated (representing a full moon), and continued to turn until the side of the ping pong ball that was facing them was not lit at all (representing a new moon).