Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Today I want to share an Earth Day and spring freebie resource I created for Teachers Pay Teachers. I have used many resources off of TpT, but this is the first time I have uploaded a resource that I’ve created. In kindergarten I like to do a mini unit during Earth Day week to discuss reducing, reusing and recycling and the importance of taking care of the earth.
Science
On the first day of the week, I like to start with a science experiment for students to observe throughout the entire week. I use this lesson from Mystery Science where students compare plants that have sunlight and those that are in complete darkness. If you school does not subscribe to Mystery Science, they are offering a free trial on their website until June 2022. They also offer Earth Day mini lessons. You can easily do this day without the Mystery Science lesson, but it does add a fun aspect.
Activities:
- Earth Day word search (in packet)
- Earth Day write the room (in packet) I split the class in half and have half work on the word search and the other half do the write the room activity. Once students begin finishing the write the room activity, I will have them do the word search and send someone doing the word search to start the write the room. This keeps things a bit less chaotic.
- The Lorax is a fun way to end the week. We normally do a special snack while we watch the video. It leads to good discussion about why trees are important and using your voice to make change.
Books:
- Earth Day printable book– I use the book from the Earth Day resource on Teachers Pay Teachers to read with the class. Teaching kindergarten, I project the book and read it to the whole class. I also give each student a copy for their book bins to read during independent/partner reading.
- The Earth Book by Todd Parr– This is a great book for younger learners. It is age appropriate and give practical ways that kids can take care of the earth such as turning lights off and recycling.
- Recycle! by Gail Gibbon– This book has a lot of factual information about recycling. It has nice illustrations on each page as well.
- Be a Friend to Trees by Patricia Lauber- This book about trees is informational and is easy to understand. It also has nice illustrations and diagrams. It discusses why trees are important and different ways people and animals depend on animals.
- From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbon– This book is wonderful to cover the life cycle of a plant. There are nice diagrams that explain the process. For kindergarten, there is a lot of valuable, age appropriate information, but I do skip over a couple of pages that are a bit more complex. I think it would be perfect for first/second grade.
What activities do you like to do for Earth Day?
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