Environment & Conservation: Your Earth Day Lesson Plans

Created in 1970, we celebrate Earth Day on April 22 to remind people to support the planet and protect our environment from harmful habits, behaviors, and patterns like pollution and climate change. We’ve curated a collection of videos, articles, and other interactive activities to help you create an Earth Day lesson plan to teach students the value of saving and caring for their planet:

• Science Earth Day lesson plans
• ELA Earth Day lesson plans
• Social studies Earth Day lesson plans

[Science Earth Day lesson plans](id-sci)

Share the importance of Earth Day with your students all month long using these science lessons:

Why do we celebrate Earth Day?

Though it’s been around for over 50 years, students may not know the history and significance of Earth Day. Give them an introduction to this climate-conscious holiday by:

• Sharing an interactive video or article about the origins of Earth Day and discovering why people went “climate crazy” in the 1970s.
• Busting five myths about recycling, like the idea that products made of more than one kind of material can’t be recycled.
• Discovering ways to rebuild and repair soils in urban communities, and how doing so can protect a healthy ecosystem for the planet.

What are some of the most common environmental issues on Earth?

Earth Day is the perfect time to focus on environmental issues in the classroom. Teach your students about the beauty on Earth and the most important threats our planet faces today:

• Explore the wonders of Earth’s geography and natural resources.
• Discover why environmentalism and conservation are so important.
• Learn what pollution is and how to combat it.
• Compare and contrast renewable and non-renewable energy.

What can data tell us about Earth’s health?

STEM teachers, you know your experiments are only as good as your data. Give students the data they need to understand the state of our planet so they can come up with innovative ways to save it:

• Show students how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors air quality across the United States.
• See how plastic waste accumulates on Earth.
• Discover some of the top energy consumption sources by state.

How do people influence the planet?

Earth Day is a reminder to all of us that we’re responsible for preserving Earth and its resources for generations to come. Get your students thinking about the role humans play in keeping the earth clean and healthy:

• Discover what changes happen to Earth naturally and which ones people and their actions cause.

• Teach students about sustainability and how they can preserve resources for future generations.
• Look at the causes that environmental activists champion—and why they fight to be heard.

What can students do to help the planet?

One STEAM activity can help save the earth! Explore how to make Earth Day seed balls with your class:

• Build background knowledge for the activity by exploring plant anatomy and how seeds grow into different types of plants.
• Create biodegradable seed balls that look like Earth with water, recycled blue and green colored paper, and seeds of your choice.
• Encourage students to plant the seed balls in their communities, or coordinate with your school to find a place to plant them on school grounds and start a school garden.

[ELA Earth Day lesson plans](id-ela)

Science class isn’t the only place students can celebrate Earth Day. You can add even more themed activities to your ELA classes:

Earth Day debates

Make your students take a stand and pick a stance by adding some Earth Day debates to the classroom. Some topics you can cover include:

• Is recycling worth it?
• Is renewable energy worth the cost?
• Should we give up meat to save the planet?
• Should single-use plastics be banned?

Hold an in-class debate on these topics or encourage students to share their ideas with a piece of argumentative text using Newsela Writing.

Communication skills and activism

Can students inspire change if they speak up about things they believe in? Help students consider what it means to be an activist by exploring a real-world activist situation:

• Read about 11-year-old climate activist Licypriya Kangujam and how she used social media to start a campaign to make people listen.
• Read about 24-year-old climate activist Vanessa Nakate and how her experience at the Youth4Climate meeting helped draft a document for the 26th Climate Change Conference of the Parties.
• Compare the two articles and discuss how each activist used different communication to make their thoughts and ideas heard.

Earth Day poetry

Discover how poets talk about the world around us with poems specifically for Earth Day, like:

• “Earth’s Rhythms” by Victor Malesky
• “Earth Changing” by Kaitlyn Schlipf
• “Earth” by Avery Fisher

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April is also National Poetry Month, so extend your Earth Day poetry lesson by inviting students to write their own poems about the Earth or climate change using these selections as a model.

[Social studies Earth Day lesson plans](id-ss)

Turn Earth Day into an elementary history lesson with resources perfect for grades K-5.

• First, have students read an article about students just like them who are working to save the planet.
• Next, pair students up for a partner discussion using the guiding question, “Why should we care about Earth Day?”
• Finally, ask students to write or draw an action plan for how they want to celebrate Earth Day at home or school.

There’s more to explore with Newsela

Earth Day comes once a year, but teaching students about our planet, the environment, and conservation happens every day. With Newsela’s knowledge and skill building products, you can explore these and other great resources any time during the school year. 

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