Earth Day is celebrated on the 22nd of April each year.
It is about building a healthy and sustainable environment through education and working together as a global community. In our opinion, it is a topic we should be discussing with the young learners sitting in our classrooms.
The main message of Earth Day is doing positive things for our environment and working together to make a difference. Through some carefully designed lessons, we as teachers can empower our students to contribute towards caring for Earth and its healthy future.
To help Aussie teachers plan some meaningful learning experiences about Earth Day, we have listed a few age-appropriate lessons:
Early Years / Kindergarten:
- Read ‘The Earth Book’ By Todd Parr together
- Make an Earth artwork using recycled newspaper.
- Make a list of ways to help the Earth at school and home.
Grades 1 & 2:
- Perhaps start by reading a book such as Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel
- Discuss the idea of caring for the Earth. Complete a Y chart that explains what that looks like, sounds like and feels like.
- Identify ways we can ‘Reduce, reuse and recycle.’
- Turn your daily maths into an Earth Detective lesson. Collect data from the class about positive habits that are environmentally friendly and then create a graph using the data.
Grades 3 & 4:
- Make an ‘Earth Pledge’ by naming three things to do that help keep planet Earth healthy.
- Complete some persuasive writing around environmental problems and issues
- Look at earth day from a First Nations perceptive. Wingaru kids have some excellent guidance on their blog.
Grades 5 & 6:
- Discuss the idea of Global Warming and how it is harming our Earth.
- Research young environmental activists such as Greta Thunberg and what they are doing to empower the world community and make changes.
- Go digital – instead of completing activities on paper, make an environmental choice and complete learning online instead (check out our digital activities here).
Writing focus:
Earth Day is the perfect time to engage our students in persuasive writing because there is so much to write about when it comes to being environmentally friendly, sustainable and good citizens of the planet.
Give students a range of speaking and listening activities to build the field before they write.
Culminate by publishing their writing in a beautiful 3D Earth display.
Grab everything you need to teach this writing unit here.
Earth day is the perfect opportunity for us as educators to shine the spotlight on the environmental issues that our students need to learn about. Looking after our planet requires a team effort, so what better place to start than our classrooms?
Are you celebrating Earth Day at your school? Grab a copy of our no prep resources to help you save time here:
Grades 1-2 Digital and Paper resources
Grades 3-5 Digital and Paper resources
Grades 3-5 Earth Day persuasive writing unit
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