Create specific moon lesson objectives. These will be what you want the children to learn, understand or discover through the instruction and activities that you plan. For example, the objectives for a third-grade class might be to understand the difference between the moon's surface and the Earth's, compare the distance between the moon and the Earth and the Earth and the sun in numeric digits, recognize and state the phases of the moon, and explain who the first person to walk on the moon was. Make a bulleted list of these objectives and place them at the top of your plan.
Make a list of fast facts to discuss with the children. Either write these down on a paper and tell them to the students or make an oversized list on a dry-erase board or large piece of poster board. Some facts to include are the moon's distance from Earth (238,855 miles), mean radius (1079.6 miles), length of year (27 Earth days) and surface temperatures (a range from 387 below zero to 253 above on the Fahrenheit scale).
Design at least one hands-on activity. This will help the children learn in a more experiential way. One way to accomplish this is by doing simple arts-and-crafts projects about the moon. Younger children can try making different phases of the moon out of cut paper plates, while older students can make moon models by covering balloons with papier-mâché or plaster and paint.
Help your students conduct some of their own lunar research. Take a trip to the school library and have them check out books on the subject or search the Web for information. Use child-friendly sites such as NASA (http://lunarscience.nasa.gov), Scholastic (scholastic.com) or Kid's Cosmos (kidscosmos.org).