Sustainability Teaching Resources
Make teaching sustainability easy this school year with printable worksheets, activities for kids, lesson plans and more — all created by teachers for your primary classroom.
This teaching resource collection is aligned with the Australian Curriculum cross-curriculum priority to help your students build a more sustainable future!
Each resource was designed to help your students understand how they can implement sustainable practices in the classroom and at home.
Our teacher team has carefully reviewed and curated each resource to ensure your students will be armed with information on everything from composting to conservation, as well as how to reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink, and repair.
Tackling this topic for the first time in your classroom? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is Sustainability? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Sustainability is a cross-curriculum priority in the Australian Curriculum and for a good reason. Primary school is an important time to begin talking to students about sustainability as we can instill these practices early and make them into lifelong habits. But explaining this concept to kids can be tricky.
Here's a kid-friendly sustainability definition we like to use to explain its meaning to our students:
Sustainability is the ability to meet someone's current needs without hurting the ability of people in the future to meet their own needs.
On a more technical level, sustainability represents a holistic approach to addressing environmental, social and economic challenges in a way that supports long-term well-being and resilience.
This often includes practices such as reducing carbon emissions, conserving natural resources, and promoting social equity.
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Drowning in Plastic Pollution - Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Teach your students facts about ocean pollution with this comprehensive article with accompanying comprehension activities.
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Species Survival! Science Word Search
Explore vocabulary related to the National Science Week 2024 theme of “Species Survival – More Than Sustainability” with a differentiated word search.
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Sustainability Activity - Caring for the Environment
Promote sustainable living with a sustainability sorting activity.
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Australian Conservationists: The Irwins – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about the Irwin family and their conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Plantable Seed Paper Activity Pack
Make your own Plantable Seed Paper and learn about physical changes, recycling, and biodegradable materials with a printable Make Your Own Paper Activity pack.
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Recycling Word Search
Build your students’ vocabulary around the topic of recycling with this recycling-themed word search.
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Australian Conservationists: John Walmsley – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Dr John Walmsley and his conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Humans and the Environment PowerPoint
Explore how human actions change the environment with an interactive Humans and the Environment PowerPoint Presentation.
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Water is Life - Instructional PowerPoint
Learn about the importance of water to life on Earth, along with where water comes from, with an instructional slide deck.
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Producing Food and Fibre PowerPoint Presentation
Explore how farmers use sustainable practices to produce resources that humans use with our ‘Producing Food and Fibre’ PowerPoint Presentation.
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What Is Climate Change? Worksheet Pack
Teach your students about the perils of climate change with this comprehensive article with accompanying comprehension questions.
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Amazon Rainforest Facts - Reading Passage
Read and learn about conservation with a reading passage and comprehension worksheet on the Amazon Rainforest.
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Rubbish Bin Sorting Activity
Learn about recycling, composting and sustainable practices for waste management with a fun sorting activity.
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Overfishing – Infographic Poster and Worksheet
Explore overfishing and its effects on marine environments with this eye-opening infographic poster and accompanying comprehension worksheet.
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Develop a Habitat - Garden Project
A project-based assessment task for students to demonstrate their understanding of how habitats can be preserved and protected in and around where people live.
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Human Innovation and Environmental Conservation Teaching Slides
Teach your students how human innovation is helping conserve the environment with this teaching presentation perfect for National Science Week 20204.
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Environmental Impact Science Experiments
Use these simple science experiments to teach your students about environmental issues such as oil and water pollution, soil quality and climate change.
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Where Do Natural Resources Come From? Worksheet
Discover where Earth's natural resources are located with a pair of differentiated Natural Resource Worksheets.
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Caring For Country and Place in Sustainable Ways PowerPoint
Explore how Indigenous peoples care for Country and Place in sustainable ways with a teaching presentation.
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The Recycling Process Poster
Show your students the process materials go through when they are recycled with printable recycling posters.
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My Ecological Footprint - Reference Sheet
Teach your students about the things we do that affect the Earth with an ecological footprint reference sheet.
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Build a Bird Feeder Project (Recycling Materials)
Experience the engineering process and introduce your students to sustainable design with an exciting Build-a-Bird Feeder project using recycled materials.
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Design a Conservation T-Shirt – Inquiry-Based Project
Use this conservation project to teach your students about how to ignite positive change in the face of a global environmental crisis.
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Human Impact on the Environment-Research Project
Uncover how humans positively and negatively impact the different biomes around the world with a guided research project.
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink and Repair - Brainstorming Sheets
Brainstorm All the Ways to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle with a pack of printable brainstorming worksheets.
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Critically Endangered Animals Chart - World Map Poster
Use this endangered species world map when exploring animals that have been placed on the Critically Endangered list.
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Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint – Poster and Worksheet
Explore how to reduce your carbon footprint with this poster and accompanying comprehension worksheet.
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Earth’s Resources Worksheet - Natural Resources & Fossil Fuels (3-4)
Explore what's buried in rocks underground with a printable Earth’s Resources Worksheet for Year 3.
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How Can We Help Our Planet Mini Book
Help your students learn about how to keep our planet clean with a printable Earth Day book.
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Renewable and Non-renewable Energy Sources Poster Pack
Use our Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Posters to isplay and examine renewable and non-renewable energy sources, including wind, hydroelectric, solar, natural gas, oil and coal.
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Natural Resource Use in the 21st Century PowerPoint
Explore how natural resources are used by humans in the 21st century with an instructional slide deck.
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Comprehension Worksheets - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read to learn about the Great Pacific Garbage patch with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack.
- Sustainability Worksheets
- Sustainability Posters
- Sustainability Templates
- Sustainability Teaching Presentations
- Sustainability Projects
- Sustainability for Foundation Year
- Sustainability for Year 1
- Sustainability for Year 2
- Sustainability for Year 3
- Sustainability for Year 4
- Sustainability for Year 5
- Sustainability for Year 6