Earth day can be a very fun and exciting time for children in the classroom. Here are 3 lesson plans that can help students celebrate earth day .
The first lesson plan that is appropriate and fun for teaching children about earth day is the earth day garbage parade. This lesson plan is appropriate for kids of ages 3-12, and it is a lot of fun. Have students collect garbage around their home and school and bring in one small plastic bag of trash. Items that they should save are bottles, papers, bottle caps, and anything they seem to find interesting. Make sure all items are brought in clean, and have markers, paints, and glue available. Now pile all of the garbage on a table in the middle of the room and let all the students pick items that that they would like to use. You can have the students create masks, puppets, and banners. It is a good idea to bring some examples of things they can make. You can also bring in beans and rubber bands and have the students make different musical instruments. Paint and color all of the items brightly, and assemble a line and start your parade. This lesson helps teach students to recycle and have fun!
Another lesson plan that is appropriate for students from the age of 3 to 12 is to grow their own plant. Bring in seeds, plastic cups, and dirt, and have each student plant their own seed, and water it. For older students you may want them to use different seeds and research each plant. Have the students document the plants growth over the course of the month; also have the students document the watering and light schedule for each plant. This is most effective if done with perennial plants so the students can later plant a garden on the school property or a local park. The use of herb seeds works well for this project.
Another earth day lesson plan for students from ages 3 - 12 is paper making. Discuss with the students the use of paper in society, and the amount of trees wasted because of our paper waste. Have students bringing junk mail, and paper that would normally be thrown out at their homes. You will need a small screen that has been attached to a wooden frame, or a small window screen that can be found at a thrift store. You will also need a food processor and a tub or tuber ware. Have all the students rip the paper up into little pieces and soak the pieces in water for half an hour. Next processes the water and paper mixture until the paper is finely chopped. Now mix the paper and water pulp with more water inside the tub. Have the students take turn dipping the frame into the mix. Once the frame is coated let some of the water drip out, and cover it with a piece of cardboard; next you must flip the frame and cardboard over so the pulp will come off. This will take a little getting used to, but it is not very hard. Allow all of the paper to dry completely and use the paper for another earth day project!
These lesson plans can help you teach valuable earth day lessons to your class this earth day!
