Learning Map

Phases of the Moon

Explain the phases of the Moon as the changing angle of sunlight on the lunar surface as seen from Earth, and describe how solar and lunar eclipses occur

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If your child noticed the Moon looking like a thin crescent one night and a full circle two weeks later, could they explain what has changed and why — and describe what happens during a lunar eclipse?

Where this sits on the map

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Builds on
Earth & Space Vocabularyages 8–11Explaining moon phases requires 'lunar phases', 'waxing', 'waning', and 'eclipse' vocabulary
The solar systemages 9–10Explaining Moon phases requires understanding the Sun–Earth–Moon geometry established in KS2
Earth's rotation and day/nightages 9–11Understanding Earth's rotation and the concept of shadows supports the eclipse explanation
Phases of the Moonthis skill · ages 11–12
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Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 ACARA

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9S6U02low confidenceYear 6 · Science understanding

describe the movement of Earth and other planets relative to the sun and model how Earth’s tilt, rotation on its axis and revolution around the sun relate to cyclic observable phenomena, including variable day and night length

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

All Space Systems & Earth's History skills →