10 Activities to teach students about Earth, Moon, and Sun

Why teach Earth, Moon, and Sun?

The Earth, Moon, and Sun system is one of those topics that naturally sparks curiosity. Students look up at the sky and ask big questions: why does the Moon change shape? What makes the Sun rise and set? Why do we have seasons? These are questions worth exploring, and they sit at the heart of elementary and middle school science standards.

Beyond the sense of wonder, understanding how the Earth, Moon, and Sun interact gives students a foundation for grasping larger scientific concepts like gravity, orbital mechanics, and energy transfer. It’s also a topic that lends itself to hands-on experiments, cross-curricular connections, and rich discussion, making it a rewarding unit to teach at any grade level.

Whether you’re introducing the concept to second graders or revisiting it with middle schoolers who are ready for deeper analysis, the activities below offer practical ways to bring the Earth, Moon, and Sun system to life in your classroom. Each one pairs well with ClickView video resources, so you and your students have a strong visual anchor for every concept.

Understanding the Earth, Moon, and Sun system

The Earth, Moon, and Sun exist in a system of constant motion. As the Moon orbits Earth, our planet is simultaneously orbiting the Sun — a cosmic dance that produces day, night, seasons, and Moon phases. These first three activities help students visualize the scale and mechanics of this system.

1) Use scale models to show size and distance

One of the trickiest things for students to wrap their heads around is just how vast the size differences are between the Earth, Moon, and Sun. A simple fruit-and-vegetable model makes those differences tangible.

• Gather a large piece of produce like a watermelon or pumpkin to represent the Sun, a grape or cherry tomato for Earth, and a blueberry for the Moon.
• Place the “Sun” in the center of a flat surface. Using string or student volunteers, take turns making Earth revolve around the Sun, then the Moon around Earth.
• Challenge students to make both orbits happen at the same time. It’s a great exercise in coordination and observation.
• Have students record their observations and compare them with classmates. Ask: Does the scale surprise you? What would happen if the Moon were much bigger or much smaller?

This activity pairs well with The Spherical Earth for middle school students, or The Earth, Moon, and Sun Miniclip for elementary classes. Both provide a visual introduction that sets the stage for the hands-on modeling.

2) Build a cosmic clock to map orbits

An analog clock face offers an intuitive framework for showing how the Earth, Moon, and Sun interact over the course of a year. This one works especially well for students who benefit from a visual or kinesthetic approach.

• Print out or draw a large clock face on poster board. Gather three small objects to represent the Sun (yellow ball), Earth (blue ball), and Moon (small white ball).
• Place the Sun at the center of the clock. Position Earth at the 12 and the Moon near Earth.
• Assign one student to slowly move Earth clockwise from number to number, explaining that each hour represents one month of the year.
• Assign another student to move the Moon in small ellipses around Earth as it travels.
• Point out key “times” on the clock. For example, the six o’clock mark could represent the summer solstice, and returning to 12 marks the winter solstice.

Use these discussion prompts during the activity:

• Does the Moon ever move directly between the Sun and the Earth? What’s that called?
• How does Earth’s position around the Sun affect its seasons?
• What time of year does the three represent? The nine?

For deeper exploration, have students watch Seasons and the Sun or How Does the Earth Move? to connect the model to real orbital mechanics.

3) Experiment with Earth’s rotation

This classic globe-and-lamp experiment helps students see how Earth’s rotation creates day and night, and how its tilted axis produces seasons. It’s simple to set up and surprisingly effective — even older students find it clarifying.

Materials: a globe, a directed light source such as a shadeless table lamp, and a table or desk.

• Place the lamp in the center of the table and the globe to one side. Turn off the overhead lights. The illuminated side of the globe represents daytime, and the dark side represents night.
• Spin the globe and watch how the light moves across different parts of the surface. Ask students to explain what they observe.
• Slowly move the spinning globe in a circle around the lamp. This demonstrates Earth’s revolution around the Sun. Have students describe how the tilted axis affects which parts of the globe receive direct light at different points in the orbit.

Follow up by screening Day and Night or Movements of the Earth for a concise video summary that reinforces the experiment.

Exploring Moon phases and features

Have you ever had a student ask why the Moon looks different every night? Moon phases are one of the most observable — and most misunderstood — concepts in this unit. These activities give students a concrete, hands-on way to explore why the Moon appears to change shape.

4) Model Moon phases with a flashlight

This is a go-to demonstration for a reason: it works. A flashlight and a styrofoam ball are all you need to recreate how sunlight reflects off the Moon at different points in its orbit.

• In a darkened room, have one student hold the flashlight (representing the Sun) while another holds the styrofoam ball on a pencil (representing the Moon).
• A third student stands in the center, acting as “Earth.” The Moon-holder slowly circles Earth while keeping the flashlight pointed at the ball.
• Students observe how the lit portion of the ball changes shape depending on the Moon’s position relative to the flashlight and Earth.
• Have students sketch what they see at four or five key positions and label each phase.

Before or after the demonstration, watch Why Does the Moon Change? with younger students, or Phases of the Moon from the Cycles and Seasons series with middle schoolers. Both videos reinforce the concept with clear visuals and narration.

5) Create Moon phase cookies

Looking for a way to make Moon phases memorable (and delicious)? This activity uses round sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, to represent the eight phases of the Moon.

• Give each student eight cookies and a Moon phase chart for reference.
• Students carefully split each cookie and scrape the cream filling to match the shape of each Moon phase: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent.
• Line up the finished cookies in order on a paper plate or piece of cardstock, and label each phase.
• Photograph the results before students eat their work.

This activity pairs naturally with the Phases of the Moon Miniclip, which gives a quick animated overview that’s ideal for elementary classes.

6) Simulate crater impacts

The Moon’s surface is covered with craters — evidence of billions of years of meteoroid impacts. This messy, memorable experiment lets students investigate how craters form.

• Fill a shallow tray with a layer of flour, then lightly dust the top with cocoa powder to create a “lunar surface.”
• Drop small rocks or marbles from varying heights into the tray.
• Have students observe and describe what happens on impact. How does the height of the drop affect the size and depth of the crater? What about the size of the rock?
• Discuss how craters on the Moon are formed by meteoroid impacts and why the Moon has so many more visible craters than Earth.

Extend the activity by having students research what happens when meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere instead. For younger students, All About the Moon provides an engaging overview that covers lunar features, including craters.

Investigating gravity and tides

Gravity is the invisible force that holds the entire Earth, Moon, and Sun system together. It keeps the Moon in orbit around Earth, Earth in orbit around the Sun, and closer to home causes the ocean’s tides. These next two activities make that invisible force visible.

7) Demonstrate tidal forces in a tray

This quick experiment gives students a visual model of how the Moon’s gravitational pull creates tides on Earth. It’s particularly effective for younger students who are encountering the concept for the first time.

Materials: a large tray, water, a foam ball (Earth), and a smaller ball (the Moon).

• Place the foam ball in the center of the tray and add water around it.
• Use the smaller ball as the Moon and slowly move it around Earth.
• Gently tilt the tray toward the small ball to simulate how the Moon’s gravitational pull affects water on Earth’s surface. The water moves toward the “Moon,” representing a high tide.
• Have students predict what will happen before each step, then compare their predictions to the results.

Extend the activity with a scientific write-up, including a hypothesis, method, results, and conclusion. The ClickView video Tides from the Cycles and Seasons series is a strong companion resource for middle school students, while The Moon and the Tides works well for elementary classes.

8) Explore gravity with video and discussion

Sometimes the best classroom activity is a well-structured discussion anchored by a strong video. Gravity is an abstract concept, and video can make it concrete in ways that textbooks often struggle to do.

• Start by screening Over (to) the Moon from the Crash Course Kids: Introduction to Gravity series. This short video explains how gravity works between large masses in space, using approachable language and visuals.
• Follow up with Defining Gravity for a broader look at what gravity is and why it’s so important.
• After viewing, pose these questions: if the Moon is pulling on Earth’s oceans, is Earth pulling on the Moon too? What would happen to the Moon’s orbit if Earth’s mass suddenly doubled? What keeps us from floating off the planet’s surface?
• For middle school classes, add Gravity on Earth and Space and The Great Escape (Mass, Force and Gravity) to deepen the discussion and connect it to Newton’s laws.

Have students write a short exit ticket explaining gravity’s role in the Earth, Moon, and Sun system in their own words.

Connecting to real life and culture

The Earth, Moon, and Sun system isn’t just an abstract science topic; it touches everyday life in ways students might not expect. From the calendars we use to the missions we launch into space, these final two activities help students see the real-world relevance of what they’ve been learning.

9) Track a lunar calendar across cultures

Throughout history, people have used the Moon to track time. A lunar calendar follows the Moon’s 29.5-day cycle through its phases, and many cultures still use it today. This activity blends science with social studies and makes for a rich cross-curricular lesson.

• Introduce the concept of a lunar calendar and how it differs from the solar-based Gregorian calendar most students are familiar with.
• Explore how festivals and observances like Lunar New Year and Ramadan follow the Moon’s phases. Discuss why the dates of these celebrations shift each year on the Gregorian calendar.
• Have students create their own lunar calendar for one month by observing the Moon each night (or using an online Moon phase tracker) and recording what they see.
• Older students can research the Moon Festival in Chinese culture and present on how the celebration connects to the harvest, family, and the Moon’s beauty.

This is also a natural opportunity to connect with an English Language Arts (ELA) unit on myths and legends. Many cultures have stories explaining the Moon’s appearance, from the Native American legend of the Rabbit on the Moon to tales of werewolves and moonlight. Students can read a myth, then write their own.

10) Design a Moon mission

Few things spark student engagement quite like the idea of going to space. This collaborative activity channels that excitement into a structured project that draws on science, engineering, and teamwork.

• Watch The First Moon Landing and Race to the Moon to give students historical context on the Apollo missions and the space race.
• Divide students into small groups and challenge them to design their own Moon mission. Each group needs to plan a spacecraft, select tools for exploring the lunar surface, and define scientific objectives for their trip.
• Elementary students can focus on drawing and describing their spacecraft, while middle school students can incorporate research on real mission constraints like fuel, distance, and life support.
• Each group presents their mission plan to the class. Encourage questions and peer feedback.

For a cross-curricular writing extension, have students write the story of their mission in first person, drawing on the realistic fiction genre. Alternatively, use creative writing prompts like: “What would happen if the Moon disappeared?” or “If the Moon could talk, what stories would it tell about Earth?”

Videos on the space race, Neil Armstrong, and what astronauts do all make strong companion resources for this activity.

Tips for ongoing integration

Once you’ve run a few of these activities, you’ll likely find that the Earth, Moon, and Sun system keeps coming up naturally across your curriculum. Here are a few ways to keep the learning going:

• Start a Moon journal. Have students observe and draw the Moon every night for a month, then compare their sketches to a printed Moon phase calendar. It’s a low-effort, high-impact routine that builds scientific observation skills over time.
• Connect to current events. Upcoming eclipses, rocket launches, and lunar missions provide real-time relevance. The ClickView video on solar eclipses and lunar eclipses are ready to go whenever the next event makes the news.
• Use video as a warm-up. Short ClickView clips like The Sun in Space (under a minute) or Why Can I See the Moon During the Day? work well as bell-ringer prompts that spark quick discussion before a lesson.
• Build a mindfulness moment. Try the Full Moon Belly Breathing video for a calming activity that ties back to the topic, a nice way to start or end a class.
• Encourage student-led exploration. Point students toward the ClickView Earth and Space Science topic page for elementary or Earth’s Place in the Universe for middle school. Let them explore related videos and bring questions back to the class.

The Earth, Moon, and Sun system is one of those topics where curiosity does most of the heavy lifting. With the right activities and resources, you’re giving students not just scientific knowledge, but a sense of connection to the world and the sky around them.

Sources

1. NASA (2024). “Moon in Motion.” Available at: https://moon.nasa.gov/moon-in-motion/overview/ (Accessed: 21 April 2026).
2. Next Generation Science Standards (2013). “Earth’s Place in the Universe.” Available at: https://www.nextgenscience.org/ (Accessed: 21 April 2026).