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Earth Day is coming up soon! It is celebrated on April 22. Earth Day was started in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin. Senator Nelson brought his idea of a “teach-in” to Congressman Pete McCloskey (who became his co-chair) and an activist named Denis Hayes. Mr. Hayes was brought on to promote the idea of the “teach-in” to college campuses, using them to educate students on environmental concerns. Furthermore, Mr. Hayes got more groups involved who, also, believed change was needed due to the impacts of pollution (earthday.org). Since then, this yearly event brings worldwide attention to global environment concerns and has made lasting change!
With Earth Day being such an important day celebrated across the globe, it is a holiday worth bringing attention to in the classroom. Here are 10 Earth Day activities that will engage and inspire your students!
Earth Day Activities for Lower Elementary
1. Create Earths. One way to create an Earth is to let students sponge paint with blue and green on a paper plate to look like the Earth. Another way is to marble paint Earths onto circle-shaped paper. Both ways come out looking super-cute! Pair that with a short writing activity, such as fill-in this sentence stem: I can help the Earth by…. Attach the Earth and writing piece together, and you have the makings for creating a nice hallway display!
2. Read Aloud an Earth Day Book. Reading a book about Earth Day or recycling with interesting facts will get students interested in Earth Day and motivate them to want to help the planet! A couple book ideas are: I am Earth by Rebecca and James McDonald and This Class Can Save the Planet by Stacy Tornio.
3. Plant Seeds. Students can plant a few flower seeds in decorated cups/small pots and track the growth of their plant. Here is a free plant tracking sheet from Fantastic Fun and Learning. This can double as a Mother’s Day gift in May!
4. Do an Earth Day Brain Break. Here’s a fun dance from Miss. Linky, “Save the Planet Dance.”
Earth Day Activities for Upper Elementary
1. Read Aloud to Older Students, Too. Here’s a couple books for the upper grades: One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul and What a Waste: Trash, Recycling, and Protecting our Planet by Jess French.
2. Start a School Garden. Find a site on the school grounds that would be good to create a garden. Get permission from your admin and get started. This is a great activity for a club or multiple classes to work on! There are several grants out there to get school gardens started. Check out this website for a list to get you started: Green Bronx Machine.
3. Write Persuasive Letters to Local Government Representatives. This could be a culminating activity on letter writing. Students can write letters about Earth Day issues that are important to them! Then, actually send out the letters and see who gets a response.
Earth Day Activities for Any Grade Level
1. Pick up litter! An easy idea is to have your students go outside and pick up litter around the school grounds. Just be sure to provide gloves and bags for picking up trash. You could give each student a grocery bag or bring out a couple of larger trash bags to place the trash in.
2. Beautify the School. This can be a schoolwide project! It can be as simple as planting flowers on the school grounds or refreshing old bulletin boards with vibrant schoolwork.
3. Start a Recycling Campaign. If your school doesn’t already have one, get students involved in recycling. Students can create posters to put up around the school and students’ can start recycling. If it’s not feasible to start up a recycling program, you can place containers in each classroom for copy paper that can be used as scrap paper later. Here’s a grant from The Carton Council for starting a carton recycling campaign at your school! Sign up for their newsletter for when grants open up again for 2026.
Conclusion
Some of these ideas don’t have to only be used for Earth Day, they can be used any time of the year! It’s important to teach our students about taking care of the Earth, so, hopefully, when they grow up, they will continue do so. They may even do so in a bigger capacity from the seed of inspiration you planted in their minds so many Earth Days ago!
If you liked this post, be sure to check out my post, 5 Marvelous Mother’s Day Gifts to Make in the Classroom. With Easter only a week away, I will be taking a brief hiatus to spend time with my family. But I’ll be back in two weeks with a brand new post! Enjoy your holiday!