|
|
|
THE EARTH DAY TEACHING FILES |
||
from Everydayteaching.com |
||
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. PRINTABLE EARTH DAY 2. EARTH DAY TEACHING LESSONS & RESOURCES 3. RELATED WEB TREKS 4. INTERACTIVE EARTH DAY ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
||
1. PRINTABLESTHE PLANET JANITOR COLORING BOOK: Your youngest students will enjoy this coloring book, with text in both English and Spanish. It explores recycling and trash issues in an introductory way, talking about trees acting as sponges, for instance. (PreK-1) FROGGY MATH: On this printable math worksheet for grade PreK-1, student will add the frogs in each row and enter the sums in the squares provided. (gr. PreK-1) EARTH DAY COLORING AND ACTIVITY BOOKLET: Earth Day is the theme, and you can download this coloring and activity book for your early elementary students to help you celebrate and better understand the event. (PreK-3) FROG STICKER REWARD CHARTS: Print out these colorful sticker reward charts for an Earth Day incentive program in your classroom, or for spring rewards for reading, behavior, assignments, etc. (PreK-3) FOLLOW THAT TRAIL: Where does this particular trail lead? Through an explanation and examination of natural resources, conservation issues, and recycling. Students in K-3 can become detectives as they work their way through this printable booklet for Earth Day. (K-3) RECYCLING POSTER: Our Earth Guy has an appeal all his own on this printable, recycling poster for your classroom, complete with blank spaces for your students to fill in their own ideas of how to recycle. (gr. PreK-6) NAME THAT FROG! Frog names are all scrambled up in this unscramble and match activity for the elementary classroom. Frog nature cards are included, each with a brief description of the frog itself. (gr. 3-6) TRASH AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Upper elementary students will become Planet Protectors with these printable worksheets and activities from the Environmental Protection Agency. They will explore recycling with paper, metal, yard waste, plastics, and glass, and do some mathematical calculations with carbon, aluminum, and newspaper (answers are included). A crossword, writing activity, and game are also included in this Earth Day resource. (gr. 3-5) THE CASE OF THE BROKEN LOOP: Are your students ready to become detectives? They will have to solve the case of conservation and recycling issues within a closed loop system, and paying attention to life cycles, even of manmade products. A crossword puzzle, wordsearch, word scramble, fill-in-the-blanks, and puzzles are all included, along with an answer key. (4-6) PACK A WASTE-FREE LUNCH: Students can learn how to pack their own waste-free lunches in this printable poster for your classroom or school cafeteria. Use the 2nd link above for the poster itself, while the 1st URL above offers plenty of related resources. (K-6) 2010 EARTH DAY CALENDAR: For your elementary classrooms, student artwork graces the covers of these calendar pages for each month of the year, with important Earth Day awareness issues and activities included. Download the pages as you need them, one month at a time, and keep the Earth Day theme going all year round. (K-6) PRINTABLE EARTH DAY POSTERS: Post a few of these colorful posters in your elementary classrooms in anticipation of Earth Day, focusing on some of its important issues. Consider setting up a competition in your school to design a recycle logo poster, also encouraging a recycling program within your school community, or at least better awareness of how to use the recycling bins, should you already have them in place. (K-6) TAKING CARE OF AMERICA: Elementary students can find ways that they can become active stewards of the environment with this Earth Day poster for the classroom. (K-6) A DAY IN THE ARCTIC: Use this printable worksheet for students to plan and write about their day in the Arctic. What kinds of events might happen during their day? How would they need to dress? Where would they live? How would they get in and out? How would they like the sun never setting? How would they get around? Include these and other questions in your prompts for this exercise. (gr. 2-6) FROG FILL-IN AND WORDSEARCH: Not your usual wordsearch, as students will first have to answer the clues given to find the words they need to locate in the wordsearch. An answer key is provided. (gr. 4-8) PRINTABLE OCEAN-THEMED BOOKMARKS: Print out these four ocean scene bookmarks for your students. Each bookmark has a write-on rectangle for students to record their own thoughts and ideas as they read, encouraging pre-writing skills and active reading responses. (gr. 5-12) THE LIFE CYCLE OF A CD OR DVD: From the time a CD or a DVD is first constructed, to its use, and its disposal, follow along this colorful poster of the life cycle of these popular products. (5-12) THE LIFE CYCLE OF A CELL PHONE: Almost everyone has one - so much so that pay phones are being taken down across the country. Posters show how cell phones are made, explain a life cycle for manufactured products, and focus on the great debate on resources v.s. products. Find out how to responsibly recycle cell phones and deal with the separate components, particularly batteries, with these classroom posters for Earth Day. (7-12) WASTE PREVENTION CLIPART: Loads of clipart images are available here, categorized by subject, and perfect for your Earth Day projects and papers. (All) WASTE AND RECYLCING POSTERS: If you want a wide variety of incentive posters to hang up for Earth Day - even a different poster for each day of the month - then try the many selections offered here, with several available in the Spanish language as well. California schools and businesses can order them at no charge, while all others can download printable versions here. (All) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
||
2. EARTH DAY TEACHING LESSONS AND RESOURCESI SPY IN THE WOODS: Find a list here to print out and use with your early elementary students when you go for a walk. They can find objects according to the adjectives listed here, and even add their own. Further activities include giving each student a color card, which he or she will match to an object in nature. WATCH WORMS AT WORK: Your early elementary students will be creating their very own worm farm in this lesson plan. Worms are highly efficient composters, and elementary students can see them at work in a see-through jar following the directions here. CELEBRATING EARTH WEEK, DAY BY DAY: For each day of the week, find an activity connected to five separate themes to explore the issues involved in Earth Day. EARTH BAGS: Here's one of the longest running projects that helps raise awareness for Earth Day. Students will decorate grocery bags with environmental messages, and return them to their local grocery stores for customers to use. FLOWER PLACE MATS: Why not try an art project to celebrate Earth Day with your elementary classes? Collect some flowers while out on a nature walk, press them between books, and then make some beautiful placements according to the directions given here. HOW MUCH GARBAGE DO YOU THROW OUT? Try this activity in your classroom - or at home, as suggested here, where your students can track and record their data and bring it back to class. However, it would also be interesting and applicable simply to measure classroom trash, or office garbage (ask for their donations at the end of each day or offer to clean their bins). You'll be weighing the trash, and then try separating out, if it's not too messy, the materials which could be recycled. Lots of math activities here to accompany the lesson plan. CLIMATE CHANGE FOR KIDS: The water cycle is covered, along with an explanation of climate, carbon dioxide gases and the greenhouse effect, and the possible effects of global warming in this interactive exhibit for upper elementary students. CREATE A FOREST IN A JAR: What is succession? Students will be able to understand this process as they design one habitat and see it replaced by another. Use the 2nd link above to record student observations and notes. They will also be creating a poster to demonstrate and explain their science experiment here. MAKE A TERRARIUM: Soda and juice bottles are recycled with this Earth Day activity, and filled with gravel, moss, etc., and then used as a growing environment for either seeds or small plants. THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT IN A JAR: Students can better understand the greenhouse effect with this experiment, using a clean, recycled jar, thermometers, and a data record sheet. WHERE DOES WASTE GO? Students will be examining the classroom waste bins - and other waste bins in your school - to determine how it is separated and where the different types of trash end up. Find a guide here. THE QUEST FOR LESS: Learn about natural resources, products, and waste, including Source Reduction, Recycling, Composting, and Landfills with three units of lesson plans for K-8 classrooms. (gr. K-8) ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE PROJECTS: Whether for science fair or simply as Earth Day projects, find several experiments here to conduct on environmental issues. (6-8) RECYCLING STUDY GUIDE: Size up your waste, starting with your school trash. Learn where it all ends up, and learn how to recycle, with numerous activities for students included. A glossary is included. (6-12) WASTE NOT, WANT NOT: Keep track of your trash, understand recycling and reducing lunch waste, and other projects with these lesson plans to understand the issues for Earth Day. (K-12) K-12 ENERGY LESSON PLANS & RESOURCES: Select your grade level above (1st link K-4; 2nd link above 5-8; 3rd link 9-12) for a vast array of lesson plans and teaching resources on energy. Topics range from biofuel projects, to solar strategies, Energy Detectives, Comparing Light Bulbs, and Solar Cell Simulation, to help students understand basic energy tenets and delve into renewable energy sources. (K-12) MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR SCHOOL: Learn about different ways to help your students and classes get involved with their communities and make a difference, with this guide. (4-12) TOOLS TO REDUCE WASTE IN SCHOOLS: Lots of tools, resources, and lessons here to help your students understand how to reduce waste, with assessments, charts, sample announcements, press releases, factoids, questions, letters, and more. (4-12) WASTE PREVENTION GLOSSARY: An annotated list explains and outlines the major terms involved in trash production and reduction. (7-12) YOUR ENVIRONMENT, YOUR CHOICE: Tips, resources, and interactive activities are included in this guide for high school students, to encourage them to help make a difference in their environments and communities. (9-12) EARTH DAY ON YOUR BLOCK: Need some fresh ideas to celebrate Earth Day in your community? Try this guide for students to help get them involved with the issues in meaningful ways. (All) IN THE AIR EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS: Modules are available for all grade levels from K through 12 (and beyond) in these resources from the U.S. EPA and funded by Missouri Botanical Garden's Earth Ways Center. Air pollution is the focus of most modules. (All) SHOPPING GREEN: What does it mean to shop green? And how can shopping with the environment in mind actually help environmental issues? Find out more with this guide. (All) STUDENT AWARDS & GRANTS: Learn which kinds of awards and grants, internships, and fellowships are available for environmental action and education. (All) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
||
3. RELATED WEB TREKSRAINFOREST WEB TREK: Take a magical journey through the rainforest this week, learning all about the different layers, the animals and plants that live there, and the conservation issues and efforts. Students will design their own rainforest mural, as well as create a "Did You Know?" rainforest board game. (3-6) EXPLORING OCEANS: These Homework Files on Exploring Oceans provide carefully selected and excellent online resources, exploring all aspects of ocean life for possible student research topics. Students can access the sites for deeper investigations into any one topic, preparing reports, presentations, or one of the suggested student activities within the Files. Use the 2nd link above for a related Mini Web Trek on oceans. (4-9) BIOSPHERE & GLOBAL WARMING MINI WEB TREK: An answer key is provided for this Mini Web Trek, where upper elementary and middle school students will use selected resources to research the biosphere and the current issues surrounding it, focusing on global warming and increased carbon content in the carbon cycle. A build your own biosphere lesson plan is included as an optional exercise. (5-12) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
||
4. INTERACTIVE EARTH DAYWACKY WETLAND WILDLIFE: Frogs that fly? Moose that swim? Change the head, the mid-section, and/or the tail with these wonderful and wacky animals, complete with amusing sound effects. (PreK-1) ADVENTURES OF THE GARBAGE GREMLIN: The Garbage Gremlin is on the loose, and trying to find a home where he can find lots of trash. He visits a local school in this online cartoon, where students are learning how to separate their trash and recycle. Can he find a home here? Read the story and see. (2-5) HOW ENERGY-EFFICIENT ARE YOU? Explore all of the different rooms in this house to learn how to become energy-efficient. Students will click on objects and respond to questions through interactive multiple choice quizzes. (3-5) THE CASE OF THE WARMING PLANET: Students will play detective with this online game, where they will see how things are heating up with global warming, and learning which items create greenhouse gases by matching up the chemical formula to the item that creates it. (3-5) CLEAN SWEEP USA: Jump in for some cartoon adventures in Waste Management, Litter Enlightenment, and Community Beautification projects. Along the way, various activities are identified to help students become involved. Several matching lesson plans are available at the 2nd link above, including Recycling Rules, Energy to Burn, Landfill Lounge, Planting Ahead, Garbage Pizza, and Waste Watchers. (3-6) THE ROTTEN TRUTH: What is garbage and how do we dispose of it? Learning that reducing waste is the only real answer, students will also be examining how nature itself recycles. Students will have a chance to participate in their own projects, such as a Family Trash Audit, or, "Are You Having Garbage for Lunch?". They can also learn how landfills work, or meet people who are making a difference. (7-12) ENERGY QUEST: Select an online movie about energy by clicking on the television in the room, with titles including The Formation of Oil, The Power of the Sun, The Science of the Solar Cell, A is for Atom, and America's Energy Crisis. (7-12) INTERACTIVE GARBAGE: What are sustainable practices, and what are unsustainable practices in regards to your trash? Students will examine that question and look at global efforts in dealing with trash in this online and interactive investigation. (9-12) GLOBAL WARMING NOW: PBS offers this lesson plan for grades 9-12 and assorted handouts for understanding Global Warming. Students will read and/or listen to NPR transcripts on talks with experts on the greenhouse effect and global warming, and read a debate on the changing climate. Teaching backgrounds and strategies are available, along with an online global warming movie, at the 2nd link above. Students will compare facts and opinions about global warming to draw their own conclusions, and work in groups to complete a Global Warming Project List. (9-12) WHAT'S UP WITH THE WEATHER? How much fossil fuel do we each use? Check under the "Your Carbon Diet" game here. Want to know what kinds of options are available beyond fossil fuels? Read the interview with Professor Martin Hoffert of NYU, an alternative energy expert. Stories in Ice provides a fascinating account of Nature's Time Machine, while the Teacher's Guide for this NOVA resource features classroom activities and related resources. (9-12) FREE RICE: Feeling like you can handle a challenge? Try this interactive and online site not only for your students, but for yourself and colleagues as well - maybe even hold a school competition to see who can donate the most rice. With this "free rice" website, as you correctly answer vocabulary questions (and they're tough; I'm having a hard time getting past "50"!), you also donate rice. Have fun, and don't get too frustrated! (9-12) ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
||
RETURN TO EVERYDAY TEACHING CALENDAR & RESOURCES: |
||
| _______________________________________________________________________ | ||
|
||
©Realmworks Communications: http://www.everydayteaching.com | ||
