The Moon is visible at some point during most nights. If you observed the Moon from one night to the next you would notice that the Moon rises 50 min later each night. With close observation you would see a little bit more or a little bit less of the Moon each night, depending on its phase.
The Moon’s location, relative to Earth and the Sun, determines how much of the Moon is visible to us. Half of the Moon is always illuminated by the Sun, while half is always dark.
In this activity students will model the phases of the moon and record their observations.