Lesson 5

Detailed Teacher Delivery Guide
Opening and framing (0–5 minutes): Welcome learners, display the lesson title and read the learning objectives aloud. Briefly connect the lesson to prior work on the Moon and Sun, then emphasise that the lesson focuses on how the three bodies interact. Establish the safety expectation at the outset: no one should look directly at the Sun, and any discussion of eclipse viewing must refer only to certified solar filters or projection methods.
Starter and scale model (5–15 minutes): Present the basketball and small ball without immediately naming their scale relationship. Ask learners to estimate the Moon’s size and distance if Earth were represented by the basketball, and collect several predictions before revealing the figures. Position the model objects visibly, explaining that the diameters can be represented approximately but that the classroom spacing is not to scale. Use the Sun comparison to draw out the key idea that apparent size depends on both physical size and distance.
Teaching lunar phases (15–35 minutes): Keep the lamp fixed as the Sun and have one learner hold the Moon model while another represents Earth, or demonstrate the movement yourself. Pause at each of the eight positions so learners can compare the illuminated half of the model with the portion visible from Earth. Repeatedly reinforce the sentence, “Half of the Moon is always illuminated; the phase depends on how much of that half we can see.” Model the first two entries on the phase diagram, then release learners to complete the remaining positions. Circulate and check the direction of sunlight, phase order, and shading before moving on.
Teaching eclipses (35–55 minutes): Build each alignment slowly using three labelled objects or learners holding cards. For a solar eclipse, ask the class to identify where the Moon’s shadow falls; for a lunar eclipse, ask which body enters Earth’s shadow. Introduce umbra and penumbra only after the basic alignment is secure. Tilt the Moon’s orbital path slightly to demonstrate why perfect alignment does not occur every month. Use a hinge question such as, “At full Moon, which eclipse is possible, and what extra condition is required?” Require learners to justify the answer using the order of the three bodies.
Teaching tides (55–70 minutes): Draw Earth with two tidal bulges and explain that the model is simplified but useful for showing the pattern. Rotate Earth through the bulges to connect the diagram to repeated high and low tides. Then compare the straight-line arrangement at new and full Moon with the right-angle arrangement at quarter Moons. Ask learners to state both the Moon phase and the resulting tide type, rather than memorising “strong” and “weak” in isolation.