Although Earth Day is Every Day in my mind (right?), the official annual date of April 22nd is approaching fast! I love teaching my kids to appreciate and take care of our Earth. But, there are so many ways to get students active in keeping our Earth sustainable; how can you ever narrow it down and COVER all of the curricular needs for the day with your Earth Day Activities? Caring for the Earth is so easily spread across our content areas! You will want to check out these 20 Earth Day Activities. I think you will like #6!
Not only does Education to the Core have a stellar Earth Day packet, but we also have several resources and ideas that will make planning your unit a breeze (and keep your administrators happy)! Join Education to the Core Premium and unlock unlimited access to over 16,000 resources to help with all of your lesson planning needs.
Earth Day Writing Activities
After watching or reading about Earth day, students will complete a graphic organizer to show their research plans. The students can write a report with pictures based on their research for an activity extension!
Students will read the fluency passage with illustrated vocabulary. After, students can answer the provided comprehension questions – multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answer. If you are looking for more challenging texts, several levels can be found by searching “Earth Day” on ETTC Premium.
Students will read a text and then complete the provided STEAM challenge to create something useful from plastic bags. The creativity shown in this project is really neat. The objects your students come up with definitely stretch the imagination.
Students will watch a video, then write how they can help take care of the Earth, using the words and pictures for help. If you have non-writers, they can draw a picture of helping. And, your skilled writers can write more on an accompanying piece of paper!
More Earth Day Activities
Students will use a graphic organizer to gather their thoughts on making the Earth a better place, creating a persuasive poster about their cause. We compare their finished poster with their plans, then display them as artwork in the hall!
We are sharing with you some favorite reads for April centered around caring for the Earth and helping to cultivate a connection between humans and our environment. This blog contains 33 must-reads for Earth Day (and beyond)!
Earth Day Science
7. Bird Feeders
With this activity, it gets MESSY! But my kids love hanging these peanut butter and birdseed feeders in trees that we can see from our class windows. No windows? No problem! Have your students find trees at home!
First, take a pine cone and tie a long piece of yarn with a hanging loop to it. To complete, students spread peanut butter on a pine cone and then sprinkle some bird seeds! So simple! (Note: if you have a student in your class that is allergic to peanuts, feel free to use almond or sunflower butter as the “glue” for the birdseed.)
You can create your very own planet Earth with some milk, dish soap, and food coloring. In a science experiment about chemical reactions, students will discover how two different liquids interact. They get to track the movement of those liquids by using food coloring, as it swirls around and looks like Earth from outer space.
9. Plant Flowers
Have an area around your school that needs some love? If so, have your students plant some beautiful flowers and watch them grow. If not, my students have done the plant a flower for a special someone in a decorated flower pot approach!
They can also plant flower seeds in their very own plastic bag greenhouse. Place these in a classroom window and watch them grow as you document the life cycle of a seed. Then add the seeds to soil and take home.
Who doesn’t love a little food with their science? This fun and yummy science activity helps your students make the connection about the importance of recycling items to free up space in landfills. The project walks them through how recycling “tires” could really help keep our planet healthy, and what those tires could be used for once they are no longer on a car.
Earth Day Unit Ideas
For all of my units, I like to introduce vocabulary to the students and then refer back to it as we come across each word. These vocabulary cards are easy to prep and display throughout the entire unit!
My students love reading, taking home, and sharing their mini-books with others. And this Earth Day Mini-book is one of several options available for print and use. So easy to differentiate for my class!
13. Earth Day 4Rs
Whether you’d like to prep this for a whole group activity or have each student create their own, these four R’s are essential to keeping our Earth clean and healthy! Have a discussion with your class about the meaning of each of the 4Rs and then they will sort different images into those four categories.
This project is great for sneaking in some social responsibility for the Earth, some writing, AND a fun craft. Each student pledges how they will do their part in being responsible for keeping our Earth protected!
15. Earth Day “Away” Scavenger Hunt and Discussion Cards
Scavenger hunts gained so much popularity during distance learning! Students can do this activity in small teams, at home, or out in the community, and become more aware of the items we throw away and how long they remain as trash.
16. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Sort
Young learners can also get in on the 4Rs, except for them we’ve narrowed it down to 3. Using the sorting mat, students will cut out the pictures and decide if that item is something that can be reused, recycled, or should be reduced.
Additional Earth Day Printables
Are you looking for a quick and easy math activity for Earth Day? This is one of several you can find in our April Monthly Packets. Students will color the Earth Day pictures according to the code, then count and complete the graph.
18. Earth Day ELA: Acrostic Poem
Students will write an acrostic poem about Earth Day for this ELA activity. Perfect for Earth Day as well as National Poetry Month!
19. Earth Friendly Choices Sort
Helping the Earth goes beyond just recycling items. There are many other things you can do to make sure we take care of and protect the natural beauty of our planet. This sorting activity helps your students to identify other choices they can make to help the Earth.
20. Earth Day Unit
We have updated our Earth Day Activities bundle to include more subjects and activities! Inside this newly UPDATED Earth Day Unit, you’ll find 40+ pages of comprehensive, cross-curricular activities designed to apply the most critical lessons you will need to teach your students about protecting the natural world outside their windows.
WRITTEN BY: SUZANNE KELLEY
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