Earth Day activities : Useful Earth Day Activities for Every Grade
Earth Day activities : Meaningful Earth Day Activities for Every Grade
Our students are the future caretakers of our Earth. These fun Earth Day activities help empower kids to have a positive impact on the planet. From recycled art projects to farming simulations, here’s how to roll out the green carpet in your classroom on Earth Day this year.
Earth Day activities 1. Engineering for Good (6–8)
Your middle schoolers know that drinking plenty of H2O is good for them, but they may not realize the impact all those plastic water bottles have on the environment.
In this project-based learning unit, they’ll design their own solutions for this issue by using engineering. Then they’ll create digital stories to share their ideas with the community.
Engineering for Good is a three-week, project-based learning unit for middle school science classrooms focused on developing solutions for negative impacts of plastics on the environment.
In this NGSS-aligned unit, students use the engineering design process to define a problem, brainstorm solutions, develop prototypes and iterate on their designs. The project culminates with students producing videos about their solutions to share with the community.
Teachers will be supported in their participation through the KQED Teach professional learning platform, which will provide them with specific, personal instruction on how to create their own new media artifacts
Visit Here for more : Engineering Design Process Illustration | Engineering for Good
Earth Day activities 2. Design It … Build It! Earth Day Activities (1–12)
In this art activity, students learn how to take their ideas from paper to reality. They’ll use recyclable materials to design, draw, and build a creature, building, or whatever else they can imagine.
Through videos, activities, and lessons, students learn about the importance of recycling. They’ll also learn about which items should be recycled, reused, or put in a landfill.
Art Basics with Dick Termes: Drawing | Environmental: Recycle (Design it… Build it! Activity Idea)
During this activity your students will design, draw and build a creature, building or whatever else they can imagine out of recyclable materials. The students will use drawing techniques presented in the series, Art Basics with Dick Termes:
Also Read : Earth day date, istory and significance
Earth Day activities 3. Effects of Environmental Change (3–5)
This lesson helps kids understand what could happen to plants and animals if they don’t adapt when their environment changes.
First, kids read The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest. Then, they watch a video about animal camouflage. Next, they play a predator-prey simulation game. Finally, they do a fun web activity to explore what would happen to living things if the air’s oxygen concentration changed.
Students investigate what might happen to plants and animals if their environment changes.
Overview
In this lesson, students think about what might happen to plants and animals if their environment changed and they were faced with conditions to which they were not well adapted. First, students read The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry. Then they watch a video about camouflage and learn that praying mantises are well suited for life in the rain forest. Next, students play a predator/prey game to simulate what might happen to the praying mantis if the rain forest were cut down. Finally, they use a Web activity to explore what would happen to living things if the concentration of oxygen in the air changed.
Earth Day activities 4. Snapshot of U.S. Energy Use (3–12)
How much energy do we consume simply by living our daily lives? This video, adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE, helps students understand the amount of energy burned during daily activities. The video also explains how much CO2 those activities contribute to the atmosphere.
Earth Day activities 5. Dreaming in Green (4–8)
This video tells the story of four girls in Miami who joined forces to become the Green Team in order to reduce their school’s carbon footprint—and save money at the same time.
Learn how to reduce your carbon footprint and save money! The four girls in “The Green Team” learn about how different forms of energy are all linked and how the release of fossil energy leads to climate change. They also realize the financial impact of climate-induced sea level rise. Of all the coastal cities in the world, Miami will suffer the greatest economic loss. Like the “Green Team” your students can conduct an energy audit to reduce Carbon emissions and save money.
Earth Day activities 6. Team Marine (4–8)
Students learn they have the power to influence change in their community after watching this video about Team Marine. This group of students convinced decision-makers to ban plastic bags in their town after they realized the negative impact the bags have on the ocean and sea life.
The “Team Marine” students come to understand the effects of plastic bags and other plastic debris on the environment and sea life. Their solution is to try to ban plastic bags and they use humor and data to bolster their arguments to the decision-makers. Children will learn that they, too, have the power to the change regulations in their town and they learn the mechanics of doing so. Cooperate with a local environmental group to show the Team Marine film and mount a campaign to reduce plastic in your community.
Earth Day activities 7. Ecosystem Explorer (5–8)
In these interactive videos and games, inspired by the PBS series EARTH A New Wild, students get to explore the ecosystems of three different animals: vultures, wolves, and sharks. They’ll watch a video introduction to learn about the relationship between animals and humans. Then they’ll play an interactive game to discover the science of ecology and learn about conservation of these three worlds.
Earth Day activities 8. Cornucopia: Environmental Simulation (6–10)
If you’re looking for Earth Day activities for students who like video games, check out this fast and fun simulation. It lets students manage a plot of farmland. The challenge is to make their farm as successful as possible. They’ll also need to keep an eye on their water meter and crop yields.
They’ll learn about water and land resource needs, identify how weather and climate affect water availability and food production, and investigate how agricultural technology affects water use.
Earth Day activities 9. The Energy Lab (6–12)
In this interactive research challenge designed by NOVA, students design their own renewable energy systems for different cities across the United States. Students learn why some sources of energy are running low and how energy can be converted into useful forms.
Finally, students compete with one another to see whose designs produce the most power.
Earth Day activities 10. The First Earth Day (6–12)
Students may think Earth Day began as a celebration. If they do, what they may not realize is that when it was first observed in 1970, it was a day of protest and demonstrations throughout the United States.
This video includes historical photos of the first Earth Day that show the beginning of the U.S. movement to effect environmental change.
Earth Day activities 11. Cars That Power the Grid (6–12)
Electric cars are becoming more common, but do your students know that their cars may one day indirectly power things like refrigerators? In this STEAM video, students learn how engineers are researching ways to use electric vehicles to feed power back to the electric grid.
Earth Day activities 12. Recycling and Composting (K–5)
In this lesson, students learn about the value of renewable resources and expand their understanding of recycling and composting. The lesson includes videos and discussions about visiting a recycling plant and making recycled paper. After watching the second video, students will make their own recycled paper out of materials like cornstarch, water, aluminum foil, and newspaper.
