Even though Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 each year, learning about earth and human activity can be taught all month long, and truly during any time of year. This topic is typically of great interest to students, so this is a great opportunity to engage and spark curiosity with young learners.
If you are looking for low-prep and engaging activities to use in your classroom this month, I've got you covered. These activities are designed to work well within the 5th through 8th grade classroom and are standards-aligned. All of the following activities are low-prep and designed with the busy teacher in mind.
This is a great activity to use on or around Earth Day. Your students will travel around the world to learn about the availability of natural resources, the occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate that have influenced human activity. This virtual field trip covers topics such as coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef, deforestation of the Amazon Forest, air pollution in India, freshwater access in Mozambique, plastic pollution in the oceans, and the shrinking sea ice and drilling within the Arctic. This activity is set up in Google slides and ready to go.
This virtual field trip will take your students around the world to learn about design solutions that reduce the impact of human activity on natural systems. This includes a look at earthships, a zero-waste town, an ecovillage, and more! This activity pairs well with the Earth Day virtual field trip. Everything is set up and ready to go with built-in links, content, and response questions.
If you are looking for sub plans or need an extension activity, this is a great option. In this three-part movie series from National Geographic, your students will learn about the impact of plastic toothbrushes, the norm of cigarette butt littering, and the reason why shoes cannot be recycled. This movie guide includes background information to use before watching the short film sequence, questions and answer keys, and a take-action sheet.
In this three-part movie series from National Geographic, your students learn about plastic and the challenges among those living along the Ganges River. This movie guide includes background information to build context before watching, movie questions and answers, and an opportunity for students to take action.
All of the activities shared here are standards-aligned. Within each teacher guide, you will find the specific standards from the National Council for the Social Studies or Next Generation Science Standards that these activities meet. These activities can be used as a cross-curricular activity as they fit many different standards.
What Teachers are Saying:
"I love aaalll of your resources, naturally! This was no exception! This was the first time my Fifth's went to Google Earth and got to explore. They loved it! This resource was not only in sync with our Science Unit on Protecting Earth's valuable resources but also coincided with Earth Day as we continued to talk about our human impact and carbon footprint." -Amber S.
"This was an eye-opening movie for me and for my students. This resource opened a lot of great conversations in class not only about the environment but also about the living conditions of other children in other countries. Overall great!"- Kony A.
