THE MOON AND ITS PHASES: BETWEEN THE AVAILABILITY OF OBSERVATION AND THE CHALLENGE OF UNDERSTANDING

Abstract

The Moon is one of the most common celestial bodies in our daily lives, and the teaching of the Moon's phases is present in textbooks, Brazilian and foreign official curricula and researches in Astronomy Education. However, the same researches indicate it is a difficult subject for students to learn. Therefore, this bibliographical research proposes to answer: why, despite the availability of observation of the phenomenon of the phases of the Moon, the understanding of how it occurs proves to be complex, not only by students of Elementary, Middle and High-School Education, but also by teachers in training and in service? The research also looked for answer: in what aspects this kind of difficulty reveals itself? What care and guidance can help to explore this theme in the training of students and teachers alike? The results indicated difficulties related to the understanding of the phases by the students, the influence of textbooks and the work with scales, reference frames and spatiality. The precautions and guidelines indicated address how to employ direct observation of the Moon, possible strategies and materials for teaching the subject, how to work with scales and references and the age group indicated to work with it.