I don't know about you, but I just love teaching my little ones about Earth Day. I love their sense of right and wrong - of course it is wrong to pollute the earth! Of course we should recycle and use both sides of our paper! There is something so powerful when they learn that they too can make the earth a better place.
The struggle I had the first few times I taught about Earth Day was helping them to understand the trickier abstract concepts such as pollution, landfills and WHY people hurt the earth. After a few years, I have my Earth Day lessons down pat. Here is how I teach children to be stewards of the earth in Pre-K and Kindergarten.
1. Quality Read Alouds
Many Earth Day texts are simply too advanced and abstract for young learners. I LOVE The Earth Book and The Earth and I. Both books are by beloved author/illustrators and are developmentally appropriate. They have beautiful, engaging illustrations and very clearly teach children why it is important to take care of the earth. The Earth Book is a must because it tells children exactly what they can do, such as turning off the water while they brush their teeth, to make a difference. I have a complete list of Earth Day mentor texts here.
2. Quotes to Provoke Discussion
Each day while we are learning about taking care of the Earth, I display a different quote poster. During our morning meeting we read the quote together. The children turn and talk with a partner to discuss the meaning of the quote. After the turn and talk, pairs share out about the meaning of the quote. This always leads to rich discussion. I am always so impressed by how insightful my little ones are!
3. Help and Hurt the Earth T Chart
I love this sorting activity. It is very straightforward but gives a clear picture of your children's understandings and any misconceptions they may have. In fact, I like to use this anchor chart both at the beginning of the unit and again toward the end as a measure of my students' growth over the course of the unit.
In our class, I cut the prompts out and students take turns coming up to the anchor chart and placing each item in the "Helps the Earth" or "Hurts the Earth" column. This is also a great way to spark discussion and monitor students' knowledge.
I love this sorting activity. It is very straightforward but gives a clear picture of your children's understandings and any misconceptions they may have. In fact, I like to use this anchor chart both at the beginning of the unit and again toward the end as a measure of my students' growth over the course of the unit.
In our class, I cut the prompts out and students take turns coming up to the anchor chart and placing each item in the "Helps the Earth" or "Hurts the Earth" column. This is also a great way to spark discussion and monitor students' knowledge.
I love that I can use this chart with or without the included prompts. It is perfect for differentiation! I printed out two copies of the prompts - one to use with the anchor chart and the other to use in the writing center. I LOVE that my kids became much more independent once they started using these to help with spelling and ideas.
For me the best part of this activity is the print and go anchor chart. I literally just printed it out, glued it onto chart paper and drew a line. Voila! An adorable anchor chart in about 3 minutes.
After completing the anchor chart as a class, my students complete their own Help or Hurt the Earth sort. This activity is always a huge hit, and couldn't be easier to prep!
4. We Can Take Care of the Earth Bubble Map
My little ones always love creating this anchor chart, and I love their amazing ideas of how to care for the earth. Can you believe that this anchor chart took me less than 5 minutes to prep?! Just print, glue and voila! It looks adorable hanging up in my classroom.
Students also complete personal "I can take care of the earth" bubble maps after creating the anchor chart as a class. This activity is a great pre-write for the final written piece. I particularly love it for my English Language Learners. Because we have done the activity as a class, they are more confident with the vocabulary and are able to complete the activity with a greater amount of independence. For those who struggle with writing, there is plenty of space to draw their ideas. What's better than easy differentiation?
5. STEM
After discussing how to take care of the earth, my students were particularly fascinated with the idea that growing plants helps the earth. We did a super easy planting activity, and they were so proud to bring these plants home to their families. All you need are cups, soil, seeds and a little bit of patience :) This activity was perfect preparation for our upcoming planting unit!
6. Art and Writing
My very favorite part of this unit is the culminating activity... art AND writing that look adorable and shows the world exactly how much your kiddos know.
This shaving cream art is a bit messy, but is always a HUGE hit. All you need is blue and green liquid watercolor or food coloring, and some shaving cream! Super easy, and a great sensory experience for your little ones.
My students are in pre-k, so I chose to use the half sheet version of the writing prompt. There is also a full sheet version included for more advanced writers. Isn't that invented spelling just to die for?
So sweet and cheerful! I just love how this bulletin board brightens up the hallway outside my room.
Two years ago we went with a sightly different variation of this craftivity, inspired by the song "We've Got the Whole World in our Hands." Instead of adding hearts to the earth in order to look like The Earth Book, we added hands. The children traced their hands onto multicultural construction paper, cut them out and glued them onto the earth. I love how the earth truly is in their hands.
This plain Jane anchor chart was before I created the print and go anchor chart. It may not be as cute but it certainly still does the trick!
I just love the tie dye effect of the shaving cream art! I always get lots of compliments on our Earth Day bulletin board, and parents love the finished product!
Thanks so much for reading! Click on the image above to download your free Earth Day poster!
