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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Earth Watch – Drowning in Plastic Reading Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article about plastic pollution in our oceans.
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What Are Natural Resources? PowerPoint
A teaching presentation that explores what natural resources are and where they come from.
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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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Comprehension Worksheets - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read to learn about the Great Pacific Garbage patch with a printable reading comprehension worksheet 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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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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Natural Resources Word Search
Review the different natural resources with a word search.
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Solving Global Problems - Design an Invention Workbook
Help your students discover how innovation and invention can solve global problems with an invention project workbook.
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Ecological Footprint Draw and Write
Help your students be more eco-conscious by having them complete a carbon footprint worksheet.
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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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Renewable vs Non-Renewable Energy Sources – Worksheet
Discover the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy sources with a comprehension passage and worksheet.
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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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Rubbish Bin Sorting Activity
Learn about recycling, composting, and sustainable practices for waste management with a fun sorting activity.
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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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National Tree Day – Environment Word Search
Print a word search to use on National Tree Day or Earth Day to help your students learn about conservation.
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Garbage Bin Posters - Rubbish, Recycling and Compost
Posters outlining what can be put in the different types of bins.
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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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Sustainability Activity - Caring for the Environment
Promote sustainable living with a sustainability sorting activity.
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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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Deforestation Infographic Comprehension Activity
Read and learn about deforestation with an engaging infographic and comprehension worksheet.
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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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Renewable and Non-renewable Resources – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Sort renewable and non-renewable resources with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink and Repair Posters
Explain the concepts behind reducing, reusing, recycling, rethinking and repairing waste with a set of printable sustainability posters.
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National Tree Day – Why Plant a Tree? Infographic Analysis Activity
Teach about the importance of trees on National Tree Day with an infographic poster and cloze note-taking worksheet.
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Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources – Sorting Activity
Identify resources as either renewable or nonrenewable with this 24-card sorting activity
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Renewable and Non-renewable Energy Sources Poster Pack
Display and examine renewable and non-renewable energy sources, including wind, hydro, solar, natural gas, oil and coal.
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My Ecological Footprint Worksheet
A worksheet which will have the students evaluate their ecological footprint and compare it with the class.
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Overfishing Infographic Poster
An infographic displaying important facts and statistics about overfishing.
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Write About It! Recycling Writing Prompt Worksheets
Differentiate writing instruction in primary grades with informational writing prompts about recycling and conservation.
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Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources – Crossword Puzzle
Reinforce science vocabulary with a renewable and nonrenewable resources crossword puzzle.
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Renewable Energy Word Search
Review science vocabulary terms with an engaging renewable energy word search.
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How is Plastic Recycled? – Recycling Worksheets
Explore the process of recycling plastic with a printable recycling worksheet.