We officially celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd, but as teachers, we know how important it is to try and sprinkle environmental activities in all year long.
If we ever have a chance of preserving our planet for future generations, it’s vital that we teach our students the importance of protecting it. Afterall, education is the most powerful catalyst for change!
Unfortunately, there is a TON on our plates already, so if we’re going to squeeze in more activities, they need to be easy and low prep! Don’t worry, these ideas will both inspire your students and give you some much needed planning time back.
So, let’s dive into some incredibly fun and impactful Earth Day activities that you can incorporate throughout the school year! Grab a cup of coffee (or beverage of choice) and let’s get started!
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
Earth Day is a great opportunity to teach your students the importance of reducing waste, reusing materials, and recycling!
Keep your lesson engaging by playing a fun movement game! Divide students into teams and set up stations with recyclable materials. Students race to sort the materials into the correct bins, teaching them about recycling while fostering teamwork.
Water Conservation Posters
Another topic to discuss with your students is water conservation. It’s important that our young learners become familiar with ways they can reduce water usage at home and at school.
Have your kiddos brainstorm ideas with their classmates for saving water. They can then create posters with their water-saving tips and strategies. Simple actions like turning off faucets while brushing teeth, fixing leaky faucets, or taking shorter showers are some great examples!
Planting and Gardening
A great way to connect with the Earth is by getting our hands in the soil and planting!
Allow your students to plant seeds in a school garden or in pots. Teach students about the importance of plants for the environment and how they help clean the air. You could also discuss the parts of a plant or the life cycle of plants.
Protect Our Earth Game
After discussing ways that we can help protect our planet and actions that can harm our planet, give this fun sorting game a try!
You can attach the Earth pictures to containers. One bin is for things that help Earth and the other bin is for things that can harm Earth. Students can look at the cards one by one and sort them into the correct containers.
This activity is great to use in centers, small groups, for write the room activities, checking for understanding or vocabulary support for writing projects!
Nature Walk
Take students on a nature walk around the school grounds or to a nearby park. Encourage them to observe and appreciate the natural world around them, and discuss the different plants, animals, and ecosystems they encounter.
You can take it one step further by adding a fun list of nature elements that students can check off as they go!
Animal Report
Most children naturally love animals! I mean, what’s not to love! They’re fluffy, scaly, winged, webbed, and all around just incredible! And Earth Day is a beautiful time to stress the importance of preserving animal habitats!
Get your students excited by having them pick an animal and let them dive into research! These animal reports are a great way for kids to dip their toe into the research world because the facts are provided for them.
They can use graphic organizers to organize their thoughts about these facts and complete differentiated reports on their findings!
Earth Day Books
I can’t not mention the power of reading! Books are always a splendid way to introduce topics and provide engaging visuals to help students process more abstract thoughts.
Choose some environmental topics that you’d like to discuss with your students. If they walk away with the knowledge of just how important taking care of our Earth is and ways they can do this in their everyday lives, then mission accomplished!
If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few to try!
Earth Day Bingo
Keeping your students engaged in Earth Day lessons can sometimes be challenging, especially when the topics are complex or abstract.
One way to keep your students actively learning is through play! Learn, practice, or review Earth Day vocabulary with a fun game of bingo! Use Earth Day manipulatives to cover bingo spaces or students can color the images. BINGO!
For more ideas on how to use bingo games as effective learning tools in your classroom, you can check out this article here!
Digital Task Cards
Assessments can be such a bore for students. Digital task cards are a great way to inject some fun, while checking for understanding.
Boom Cards are self-checking, which makes your job even easier! Learners will look at two images and click on the one that is best for our environment.
Explore concepts like reusable items, recycling, renewable energy, conservation, and more! Play a sample for free!
Trash to Treasure Art
You know the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Well, in this case, we’re putting that into practice!
Either collect some recyclable materials yourself, or have your students bring them in from home. Then, they can use those materials to create works of art!
Your kids can get creative with their materials by making a collage, sculpture, mobiles, paintings, or even paper mache!
Environmental Action Plan
Knowledge doesn’t mean as much if we’re not applying what we’ve learned.
Have students brainstorm ideas for how they can make a positive impact on the environment and create an action plan with specific goals and tasks.
This empowers students to take ownership of their environmental efforts and put their knowledge into practice!
Earth Day Posters
Not only is designing Earth Day posters a fun and creative project, it also helps students practice organizing information and communicating effectively.
They get an opportunity to plan and present their ideas clearly, using the words and images of their choice.
Making posters can also be a collaborative activity. This can help your kids learn how to compromise, delegate tasks, and communicate effectively with their classmates.
Once completed, posters can be displayed in the classroom, hallway, or school library to raise awareness about protecting our environment!
Earth Day Craft
Northing wraps up a unit better than a fun craft! These differentiated, Earth Day writing crafts are easy to assemble and a great way to assess your students on what they’ve learned.
Students can brainstorm ways that they can take care of our Earth. Then, they can trace, write or draw their ideas on heart shaped pieces.
Meaningfully display these crafts on your bulletin board, door, classroom, or hallway!
Materials:
- Paper or cardstock
- Scissors
- Gluesticks
- Crayons, colored pencils, or markers
- Holepunch (optional)
- String or yarn (optional)
Watch this video to learn how to make each craft step by step!
Nature Journaling
“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.” -Albert Einstein
With screen time at an all time high, it’s more important than ever to connect with nature. Nature is the perfect place to use all our five senses to soak in the beauty all around us.
If you’re able, bring your students outside to observe and sketch plants, animals, and natural landscapes. Encourage them to write descriptions or reflections in their nature journals.
Connecting with nature has also been shown to have a calming effect on the mind and can leave your kiddos in an excellent headspace to focus when they get back into the classroom!
Outdoor Yoga and Meditation
Another outdoor activity to try is a yoga or meditation session, surrounded by nature.
This activity promotes mindfulness and appreciation for the natural world. It has also been shown to help reduce stress, improve mood, and regulate emotions.
Just spending a couple minutes listening to the sounds of nature or doing some light stretching can be an extremely beneficial brain break.
If you’re unable to get outside, opening windows to let fresh air in, playing nature sounds, or providing real pictures of nature can help too!
Balancing Core Subjects
When you’re trying to fit in all of the core curriculum subjects, squeezing in Earth Day lessons can sometimes be challenging.
With these worksheets, you won’t have to sacrifice any of your core subject curriculum. They are packed with a variety of math literacy, social studies, and science skills that you can use in your centers, for early finishers, in your sub tub, as independent seatwork, or for extra practice!
Upcycled Bird Feeders
One important way that we can help save our planet is by reusing discarded materials to create something new and even better than the original!
A creative way to do this is by having students make bird feeders from recycled materials. Once made, you send them home to families or hang them outside the classroom window.
This activity encourages students to care for wildlife while promoting recycling. Sounds like a win, win to me!
Earth Day Coloring
Having print and go coloring pages at the ready is a great way to help your students learn how to take care of our Earth, while practicing literacy, science, art, and fine motor skills!
You can use these for centers, early finishers, sub tub, independent seatwork, or extra practice! It also comes with a cover page so that your students can create an individual or class Earth Day booklet!
You can display the finished pages on your classroom bulletin board, door, or hallway!
Write the Room Activity
Do your students have the spring time wiggles?
Incorporating movement activities throughout the day is a fun way for students to release energy, leaving them calmer and more focused. Plus, they get to practice vocabulary, spelling, writing, and drawing!
You can use these write the room activities during literacy centers, as a whole group, in small groups, for partner work, enrichment activities, or word walls! Did I mention it’s completely FREE!
Ways to Use:
☑ Students will have fun walking around the room to find the Earth Day themed cards. Then, they match it by picture or number (depending on which game style you have chosen for your students) to the corresponding word on the response sheet. They will then trace, write, or draw that word on their recording sheet.
☑ Cards can also be placed in a container for individualized instruction, or added to your literacy center! Simply print and laminate for lasting durability.
☑ The vocabulary flashcards can also be used to create a word wall, play matching, “go fish”, or memory games, as writing prompts etc.
I hope these Earth Day activities gave you a few fun ideas to incorporate into your classroom! If you do, you can make my day by tagging me on Instagram!
I love seeing your lessons in action! And remember, we can continue to celebrate Earth Day every day by nurturing a love and respect for our planet in our young learners!
Also, if you’re looking to save over 50% off of ready-made, high quality Earth Day activities, you can check out this bundle!
Wishing you and your kiddos a happy Earth Day!
Talk soon,
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