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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What Are Natural Resources? PowerPoint
A teaching presentation that explores what natural resources are and where they come from.
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Material World PowerPoint - Processed and Natural Materials
Discover the difference between processed and natural materials with an instructional slide show.
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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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Earth Day Mobile - Craft Template
Inspire your students to reduce, reuse, and recycle with a fun Earth Day craft project.
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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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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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Material World Resource Pack
Learn about natural and manmade materials with a printable resource pack.
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Save Planet Earth - Science Word Wall Vocabulary
Print and display Earth Day-related terms in your classroom to improve vocabulary and discussion about Earth Day.
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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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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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Earth Day Activity Wheel
Encourage students to get involved in environmental responsibility with this collection of 8 Earth Day activities that focus on Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.
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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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Types of Materials - Printable Anchor Charts
Introduce your students to the different types of materials with a pack of printable anchor charts.
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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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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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Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Poster
Display this poster when learning about sustainability.
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Water Overuse Infographic Poster
Display important facts and statistics about water overuse with an eye-opening infographic.
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Earth Day Writing Craftivity
Create a fabulous Earth Day display with a printable Earth Day craft activity.
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Sustainability Activity - Caring for the Environment
Promote sustainable living with a sustainability sorting activity.
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How to Save Water Poster and Worksheet Pack
Teach your students ways to save water with a printable poster and worksheet pack.
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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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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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Changes to the Environment – Worksheet
Learn about environmental changes and how they affect living things with this worksheet.
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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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Deforestation Infographic Comprehension Activity
Read and learn about deforestation with an engaging infographic and comprehension worksheet.
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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 Species Map – Poster
A poster of the world map featuring 64 species and subspecies that are on the critically endangered list.
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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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Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources – Sorting Activity
Identify resources as either renewable or nonrenewable with this 24-card sorting activity
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Water Conservation Foldable
Display different ways to save water with this water conservation foldable.
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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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Garbage Bin Posters - Rubbish, Recycling and Compost
Posters outlining what can be put in the different types of bins.