http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/time/index.html

Name:                            Woodlands Junior School
Curriculum Concepts:    Cycles of day and night, Moon phases
Level of Information:     Beginner

This simple website is contained in 2 pages, one that examines cycles of day and night and the other examining the Moon phases. The first section explains why there is day and night and contains a real-time map showing current areas of day and night. This neat map is updated every 5 minutes as long as the page remains loaded. The second section explains why the Moon displays different phases and provides images of each phase. Further down this page, there’s a section that displays the Moon’s phase on everyday of the current month. The bottom of this page contains a tiny glossary of terms.

This is a very simple website clearly geared towards younger students. Fonts are large and colourful. The explanations are very basic. The images are very nice and the constantly updated day/night map is an unexpected treat. With only 2 pages, navigation is kept to a minimum for younger students. This is a very good site for both teachers and younger students to use.

http://www.calvin.edu/~lmolnar/moon/index.html

Name:                            Calvin College Lunar Phases Web Tool
Curriculum Concepts:    Cycles of day and night, Moon phases
Level of Information:     Intermediate to advanced

This informative website provides a detailed examination of cycles of day and night and lunar phases. It is designed as a whole lesson in itself, so it’s a very good resource for teachers. The first section is an introduction that briefly covers the shape and movements of the Moon and the Earth. With this prerequisite knowledge in mind, students proceed to the second section where they learn about the relationship between Earth’s orientation and time of day, the relationship between the Moon’s appearance and time of month, and the relationship between the Moon’s apparent direction and its appearance. Interactive applets displaying the lunar phases allow users to experiment with the examined concepts. The third section is a self-quiz, again using an interactive applet. The final section contains information beyond just the basics, providing a good starting point for keen students in searching out reference materials for more in-depth answers.

Aside from the interactive Java applets always located at the top of each section, this website looks quite plain. The background is plain white with normal-looking fonts. Older students shouldn’t have problems understanding the explanations, but younger students may get confused by the sometimes technical elaborations, particularly when covering the concept of direction. However, when viewed as a lesson plan, this site is very well organized and presents concepts in a logical manner. The always-present menu makes navigation easy. The final section, which offers information beyond basics, is a thoughtful inclusion for keener students. There are plenty of links to other astronomy resources. This is a very good site for both teachers and all students to use.