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.
- Plus Plan
Earth Watch – Drowning in Plastic Reading Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article about plastic pollution in our oceans.
- Plus Plan
What Are Natural Resources? PowerPoint
A teaching presentation that explores what natural resources are and where they come from.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
Material World PowerPoint - Processed and Natural Materials
Discover the difference between processed and natural materials with an instructional slide show.
- Plus Plan
Rubbish Bin Sorting Activity
Learn about recycling, composting, and sustainable practices for waste management with a fun sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
Amazon Rainforest Facts - Reading Passage
Read and learn about conservation with a reading passage and comprehension worksheet on the Amazon Rainforest.
- Plus Plan
Comprehension Worksheets - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read to learn about the Great Pacific Garbage patch with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack.
- Free Plan
Sustainability Activity - Caring for the Environment
Promote sustainable living with a sustainability sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
Material World Resource Pack
Learn about natural and manmade materials with a printable resource pack.
- Free Plan
Natural Resources Word Search
Review the different natural resources with a word search.
- Plus Plan
Renewable and Non-renewable Resources – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Sort renewable and non-renewable resources with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Ecological Footprint Draw and Write
Help your students be more eco-conscious by having them complete a carbon footprint worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Earth Day Mobile - Craft Template
Inspire your students to reduce, reuse, and recycle with a fun Earth Day craft project.
- Free Plan
Renewable vs Non-Renewable Energy Sources – Worksheet
Discover the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy sources with a comprehension passage and worksheet.
- Plus Plan
How to Save Water Poster and Worksheet Pack
Teach your students ways to save water with a printable poster and worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Renewable Energy Word Search
Review science vocabulary terms with an engaging renewable energy word search.
- Free Plan
Wildlife Conservation Vocabulary Words
Build academic vocabulary with a printable Animal Conservation word wall.
- Free Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Free Plan
My Ecological Footprint - Reference Sheet
Teach your students about the things we do that affect the Earth with an ecological footprint reference sheet.
- Plus Plan
Write About It! Recycling Writing Prompt Worksheets
Differentiate writing instruction in primary grades with informational writing prompts about recycling and conservation.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
Renewable or Nonrenewable? Earth's Resources Task Cards
Identify natural resources and the types of renewable energy with 24 renewable and nonrenewable resource task cards.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
What is Pollution? Instructional Slide Deck
Show your students the types of pollution and their effects with an instructional slide deck.
- Plus Plan
Comparing Energy Sources Worksheet & Graphic Organiser
Compare and contrast different types of renewable energy sources with a printable graphic organiser.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Free Plan
Water Conservation Foldable
Display different ways to save water with this water conservation foldable.
- Plus Plan
How is Plastic Recycled? – Recycling Worksheets
Explore the process of recycling plastic with a printable recycling worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Recycling Word Search
Build your students’ vocabulary around the topic of recycling with this recycling-themed word search.
- Plus Plan
Critically Endangered Species Map – Poster
A poster of the world map featuring 64 species and subspecies that are on the critically endangered list.