Have you heard all the buzz about this year’s North America total lunar eclipse? On the evening of March 13 into the morning of March 14, 2025, there will be a total lunar eclipse across the ENTIRE contiguous United States. The next total eclipse that will cover the entire contiguous United States will not be until 2038! Now, that’s something to be part of! For this reason, celebrating and incorporating the eclipse into classroom activities can make it a memorable experience for you and your students. Here are a variety of engaging Lunar Eclipse activities for ELA 4th & 5th grade that you can incorporate into your classroom.
Lunar Eclipse Theme Ideas
Kids love a good theme and this day will be the perfect excuse to have one. Have students dress up for the day.
Two Ideas:
- Dress up in blue, green, white, or black clothing.
- Wear galaxy related clothing.
Lunar Eclipse Snack Ideas
Kids get really excited about snacks, so here are a few fun snack ideas. (As always, make sure your students do not have an allergies to these foods.)
Candy & Gum Ideas:
- Milky Way
- Eclipse Gum
- Orbit Gum
Snack Ideas:
- Moon Pie
- Moon Cheese
- Powdered Doughnut Holes (as moon)
- Oreo Cookies (use to demonstrate eclipse then eat them)
- Bananas (as crescent moon)
Lunar Eclipse Game Ideas
Indoor Games:
Infusing some lunar eclipse themed games are an engaging idea. Some of these games can be used as a part of your test prep review.
Have students complete a review sheet. For each answer they get correct, they get a turn at the game.
- Tic-Tac-Toe (Sun vs Earth)
- Pin the earth over the moon (Give each student a numbered earth and a blindfold. One at a time, students come up to the poster, put their blindfolds on, get spun 3 times, and then walk forward to pin their earth on the poster. The closest moon to cover the entire sun wins.)
Outdoor Games:
- Hide and Seek
- Step on the shadow (played like freeze tag, but they step on each other’s shadows)
ELA Activities
As an upper elementary teacher, we know how important it is to tie the activities to standards, especially with state testing right around the corner. Below are some fun Lunar Eclipse ELA Activities for ELA 4th & 5th grade classrooms.
Word Work Ideas:
- Introduce moon themed idioms to your students. Have students learn their meaning, write sentences using them, and create illustrations for them.
- Teach students the meaning of the root word luna. Have them look up the meaning of different words that contain the root word, and have them make the connections.
- Help students expand their learning of homophones and synonyms related to the total lunar eclipse. Ex. sight, site, & cite
Parts of Speech Grammar Ideas:
- Challenge students to come up with adjectives that describe the moon.
- Have students implement their knowledge of simple verb tenses and progressive verb tenses by conjugating verbs related to the moon.
Writing Ideas:
Give students a prompt related to the total lunar eclipse happening this year. The next total lunar eclipse that will again will be visible by the entire contiguous United States of America will be happening on New Year’s Eve 2038. That’s 13 years from now!
Have students write about their lives in 13 years or how they think they will be celebrating this unique New Year’s Eve. Have them brainstorm, preplan, and complete a final draft. Then, have them share with some of their peers.
Reading Challenge:
I LOVE a good reading challenge. Anything to give students some free time to read a self chosen book. Since this lunar eclipse is happening in 2025, give students 25 minutes of uninterrupted reading time. Then have them quickly jot down the title, author, and a summary of what they read.
Puzzles:
Students love puzzles because they are fun. Teachers love them because they are versatile and expose students to new vocabulary. Using lunar eclipse themed puzzles in the classroom is a great fast finishers option or morning work activity to incorporate in the classroom.
Just for Fun Activities
It’s pretty awesome that this eclipse lands at the end of the week. That makes it a great opportunity to incorporate some lunar eclipse themed Fun Friday activities. These can include a finish the drawing activity or how many words can you make.
Hopefully you found a couple of lunar eclipse activities you can implement into your 4th or 5th grade ELA classroom for this unique event. If you wish to grab these already made Lunar Eclipse activities for 4th & 5th Grade, they are available for you.
Wishing you and your students a wonderful Lunar Eclipse Day!
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