Earth Day Curriculum Resources, Grades K-5
Earth Day is April 22, 2012
Explore new and review familiar ways to live responsibly with these lessons, projects, activities, and games for grades K-5.
Lesson Plans
Conserving Water through Art! (
PDF, 127 KB, 5 pgs.)
Students in grades K-4 use a recycled jar to make and decorate a toothbrush holder reminding them to turn off the faucet when not in use.
Healthy Earth, Sick Earth ( PDF, 517 KB, 13 pgs.)
Students in grades K-5 use the book Planet Earth Gets Well by Madeline Kaplan to learn about concepts related to climate change and the properly caring for Earth.
Comparing Light Bulbs
Students in grades K-8 compare compact fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs to measure the difference between being energy-efficient and energy-wasteful.
Draft-O-Meter
Students in grades K-8 learn an easy technique to measure the presence of drafts in their homes and classrooms.
Build a Pizza Box Solar Oven
Students in grades K-12 make a simple solar oven using a pizza box that gets hot enough to warm up cookies and other treats, like s'mores.
Energy Detectives (3 Activities)
Students in grades 5-8 search their classroom for energy connections and record the ways they use energy throughout a typical day in an energy detective journal.
Geothermal Energy (5 Activities)
Students in grades 5-8 explore heat transfer from rock to water, energy transfer between fluids in a binary geothermal power plant, salinity’s effect on the boiling point of water, emissions from a geothermal power plant and those from a fossil fuel power plant, and the performance of a model dry steam power plant with turbine blades and steam jets of different size and number.
Lesson Units
Department of Energy: K-12 Lesson Plans & Activities
Teach your students the importance of green energy with creative lesson plans, labs, projects and other activities for grades K-12 on energy-related topics.
Teacher Resources and Lesson Plans
An array of environmental and science based lesson plans, activities and ideas for K-12.
Curricular Units and Educational Materials
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s (NESEA) K-12 Education Department offers educational materials including curriculum guides, hands-on activities, and other resources.
Celebrate Earth Day (Scholastic)
Promote environmental awareness with these lessons, activities, and printables for grades 5-8.
- Green Lesson Plans & Activities K-12 (Green School Project)
- Educators' Network: Lesson Plans K-12 (Earth Day Network)
- eGFI: For Teachers Lesson Plans K-12
- Green Your Lesson Plan K-12 (Greening Schools)
- Download green lesson plans and activities K-12 (Green Schools Project)
Portals & Websites
Science Education
ScienceEducation.gov (beta version) is the unification of federal science agencies’ science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education content, supporting cyber-learning and open participation.
- An Educator's Guide to Green Lessons & Activities
- EIA Energy Kids (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
- Green Curricula and Environmental Learning Activities (The Green Spotlight)
- EekoWorld (PBS Kids)
- Earth Day (Environmental Protection Agency)
- NASA Earth Day (NASA)
Games & Activities
Environmental Education: Preschool Activities and Crafts
Activities designed for grades K-3.
Environmental Jeopardy
There are a total of five editions of Environmental Jeopardy, each with two sets of questions, one for primary school and one for secondary school. Topics covered include sustainability, local environment, organic foods, as well as the two areas described above.
Top 10 Earth Day Activities
10 activities for grades K-12.
- Arthur: Groovy Garden K-3
- EekoWorld: EekoCreature K-3
- EekoHouse K-3
- PBS: Earth Day Games K-3
- Cyberchase: Eco-Haven Emergency K-4
- Wild Kratts: Tortuga HQ K-4
- DragonflyTV: Remote Operated Vehicle K-4
Printables
- Environmental Protection Coloring Book! K-3 ( PDF, 177 KB, 13 PP)
- Free Environment Coloring Pages K-3
- NIEHS Kids' Pages Interactive and Printable Online Coloring Books K-3 (Provides Spanish language versions of some pages.)
- The Best Earth Day Printables K-3
- National Green Week: Posters K-12
- Hazardous Substance Information and Education Office K-12
Video
Earth Day Video Recommendations
For grades K-12. Eight full-length conservation-themed episodes from the PBS television program Nature that you can watch online.
Earth Day History
For grades K-12 there are13 brief Earth Day related videos, charting the green movement since the first Earth Day in 1970.
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NEA Issues & Action
Green Schools & Environmental Ed.
Find green lesson plans by grade level, take a walk through a green school, and join NEA's community of green educators!
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NEA's Green Schools Initiative
A meeting place that provides educators interested in green schools and environmental education with a shared calendar, discussion forums, member profiles, photo gallery, file storage and more.
COMMENTS:
mark | 2012/05/04