Student slideshow: English | Spanish

Teacher printout: English & Spanish

Now that each student has a Moon Book, encourage them to use it and become a moon-watcher.

Tell students there’s a secret to finding the Moon each night — you need to know WHEN to look for it.

Check this Moon Phases Calendar and find out what the Moon looks like today.

Then, print these instructions on the best times to look for each moon shape.

Activity: Find the Afternoon Moon!

Surprise your students by showing them the Moon in the middle of the afternoon! All you have to do to choose the right day (and hope it’s not cloudy).

Here’s how to find the day to look for the afternoon Moon:

1. Go to the Moon Phases Calendar and set it to your month.
2. Look for the day on which the Moon is a half moon that’s bright on the right side.
3. On that day, look for the Moon in the eastern sky in the afternoon.
   

If you want to know the exact time of moonrise and moonset that day, you can get it from the Farmer’s Almanac by entering your date and location.

The time of moonrise and moonset changes with the shape of the Moon. Like the Moon’s appearance, the time of moonrise and moonset has a cycle. Every night, the Moon looks different – and it rises later than it did the night before.

Learn about the names that Native Americans gave to the full moon at different times of year.

Over the course of the year, the moon is full at least twelve times. Many Native American cultures gave each full moon a name that linked it to natural events that happen at the same time as that full moon. You may have heard of the Wolf Moon (January) and the Snow Moon (February), named by the Algonquin peoples. Our favorite Moon name is Someone’s Ears are Freezing Moon, a name that comes from the Oneida people in upstate New York.

Ask your students: If you were going to name the full moon this month, what would you call it? If you need inspiration, check out this list of moon names, compiled by the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA).