The (Earth - Sun - Moon) System — Lunar Eclipse

About this lesson

This lesson focuses on the lunar eclipse and the phases of the Moon. It explains that the Moon is a dark body reflecting sunlight, and its revolution around Earth takes about 29.5 days, which equals its rotation period, so we always see one side. The lesson describes the phases of the Moon throughout the Arabic (lunar) month, including the full moon phase, and introduces the concepts of shadow and penumbra using a practical activity with a lamp, an opaque ball, and a screen. It then explains the lunar eclipse as occurring when Earth aligns between the Sun and the Moon, blocking sunlight, and distinguishes between total and partial eclipses. The lesson also addresses why a lunar eclipse does not happen every full moon due to the 5-degree tilt of the Moon's orbit. It includes activities, evaluation questions, a historical note about Christopher Columbus using a lunar eclipse in 1504, and a task to write a report on solar eclipses.