Before students do any projects, they need to have a general understanding of the science involved. Any project not based on knowledge will just turn into confusion. Introduce the topic by reading out loud in the classroom. Students need to understand the basic concept that a lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through the shadow of the earth, and a solar eclipse is when the moon passes in front of the sun. They also need to learn about planetary motion and to understand why eclipses are uncommon.
Stanford University suggests having the students make models representing the earth, the sun and the moon. They can use a small lamp to represent the sun. They should stick pencils into balls and manipulate the balls in front of the lamp like the moon and earth rotate around the sun. In this way, they can explain how the earth and moon move around the sun and how eclipses occur. Dennis Schatz, who designed the project, reminds fourth-grade teachers that kids love balls and to make sure they pay attention and don't just play with the earth and moon.
Have students conduct field research on solar and lunar eclipses before and after the actual event. Have them observe the sun and moon and record their findings. According to Oracle Thinkquest, the solar eclipse is dangerous for students to look at, so make sure they know they cannot look directly at it; however, they can still record notes without staring at the sun. Make sure to get parental cooperation with this project. Lunar eclipses sometimes occur after bedtime, so it would be imperative to get support from mom and dad.
Instruct students to make two charts on poster paper. Label one chart "Similarities between solar and lunar eclipses," and the second chart "Differences between solar and lunar eclipses." Require the students to make comparisons between the two and then contrast the two. They could supplement their findings with illustrations. This is a great way to incorporate the compare/contrast method in the classroom. Miriam Jean Dreher and Jennifer Letcher Gray point out in a scholarly text that "teachers can use compare-contrast texts to help bridge the gap between what students already know and the new content teachers are presenting." They also indicate this style is a great way to engage English language learners. This method is an outstanding way to build analytic thinking in young minds.