10 Best Phases of the Moon Worksheets (Free)
Star gazing and looking at the moon is spectacular, especially on a cloud-free night. These free phases of the moon worksheets are a great way for kids (and adults) to learn about the different phases.
As our son received a telescope for Christmas we wanted to understand more about the moon. So we have created these free phases of the moon worksheets for you to print out.
I have to say that although these worksheets are definitely aimed at kids, I learned lots of things too!
Grab our free phases of the moon word search too. This is a great addition to these worksheets.
For more solar system fun download our free planet coloring pages.
You are going to love all of our homeschool printables we have over 200 free worksheets.
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8 Phases of the Moon Printable
This is a no preparation worksheet, so perfect if you have left lesson planning until the last minute. As you can see all you need is paper and pens for these moon printables.
Supplies Needed:
- cardstock (printer paper will also work)
- coloring pens
Instructions:
Print out the moon worksheets below, they will print out on 10 full pages. Make sure to check the printer settings.
Although there are 10 free pages to print out in these phases of the moon worksheets, there are actually only 8 phases of the moon!
Phases of the Moon In Order
- New moon
- Waxing crescent
- First-quarter
- Waxing gibbous
- Full moon
- Waning gibbous
- Third-quarter
- Waning crescent
Printable Moon Phases Worksheets
The first 8 pages that will print out are the actual moon phases.
The new moon is barely visible and occurs when the Earth and moon are aligned and the sun and earth are on opposite sides of the moon.
A waxing crescent moon occurs when the moon begins to become visible again after a New Moon.
The first quarter moon occurs when the moon reaches the first quarter of its orbit around the earth. It looks like a half-moon but remember the moon is a 3D shape.
A waxing gibbous moon means the visibility of the moon is getting bigger. It is bigger than a semicircle but smaller than a full moon.
The full moon is visible when the moon is on the opposite side of Earth than the sun.
A waning gibbous moon comes after the Full Moon. The amount of moon visible begins to decrease. More than half of the moon is still visible.
The third quarter moon is the opposite view of the First Quarter moon. It looks like half of a moon but remember the moon is a sphere.
A waning crescent moon has less than half of the moon still visible.
The final two worksheets are a labeling activity, can the students name each phase of the moon?
The final worksheet, which is actually the very first activity is about what the kids want to find out about the phases of the moon.
Additional resources about the moon
If the kids are interested even further in stargazing and finding more about the moon, I highly recommend investing in a good telescope.
We have the Celestron Star – Sense one and it is super powerful. It takes a while to set up, but it is so much fun to look out on a clear night.
Of course, I can’t write about the phases of the moon without mentioning the NASA website.
They have lots of free and interesting facts and go over things in more detail. So if you want even more moon resources I would definitely check them out.
For younger children, I am absolutely loving this Montessori phases of the moon puzzle. It lists all 8 phases and it is of excellent quality.
Download the Free Moon Worksheets
Make sure you choose the correct paper size and click on the shrink to fit button. All of our free printables work better when printed on cardstock (this is the one we use and love.)
I think you will also enjoy:
- Free printable science worksheets
- Homeschool science curriculum
- Have fun while learning about the planet, with our free planet memory game. See who can match the planets first.
- Water cycle worksheets
Last Updated on 1 June 2023 by homeschoolof1