Earth Day 2024 Teaching Resources
Teach your primary students about Earth Day in 2024 with printables, worksheets, activities, crafts, and more about being kind to planet Earth and the importance of sustainability.
This collection of teacher-created resources for maths and science teachers and other primary subjects touches on a variety of eco-friendly themes, including sustainability, environmental impact, and recycling. Most resources are curriculum-aligned and editable so you can differentiate work for individual students, and each has undergone rigorous review by an expert teacher on the Teach Starter team.
Teaching Earth Day for the first time this year, or need a quick guide to the 2024 holiday? Read on for tips from our teacher team!
When Is Earth Day 2024?
Earth Day is held on the same date each year, which means this year the holiday will be on the 22nd of April 2024. This is a Monday.
What Is the Theme of Earth Day 2024?
Following the Earth Day theme — chosen annually by EarthDay.org — can help you focus your lesson planning to save time and have the greatest impact on your students.
The 2024 theme is Planets vs. Plastics.
How Do You Explain Earth Day to a Child?
Depending on the year level you are teaching this school year, explaining the state of our planet can be a challenge. So how do you touch on the importance of being green and sustainability in kid-friendly ways?
First, you may want to consider why it's so important that our students learn about Earth Day in the first place. Earth Day is an important opportunity for children to learn about the environment, the importance of conservation and sustainability, and to understand their role as active citizens.
Among the issues that kids are learning when you teach about Earth Day in the classroom:
- Environmental education: Learning about Earth Day helps students understand the importance of protecting the environment and preserving natural resources for future generations.
- Climate change: Understanding the impacts of climate change and how to reduce carbon footprint can be started in elementary school and have a real impact as kids grow up
- Active citizenship: Children learning about Earth Day are learning about how they can make a difference in their own community, such as recycling, conserving energy, and protecting endangered species.
- Interdependence: Learning about Earth Day also helps children understand that everything in the world is interconnected, and how our actions can have a direct impact on the planet.
- Encouraging curiosity and creativity: Earth Day promotes curiosity and creativity in children, leading them to want to explore and learn more about the world around them.
What Can Students Do on Earth Day?
This collection is full of activities you can use with your students this Earth Day, and here are some things primary schools can do to mark this important annual event:
- Get Planting at School — If you don't already have one, you might use Earth Day as an excuse to create a school garden and teach your class about the benefits of planting fresh plants, flowers and trees.
- Clean-Up Litter Around the Community — Organise a clean-up event to pick up litter in the school's community.
- Amp Up Recycling Efforts — Encourage your students to do more to keep rubbish out of landfills by setting up recycling stations around the school or in your classroom.
- Conserve Energy — You may be fresh off of Earth Hour, but you can still educate students about energy conservation and encourage them to turn off lights and unplug electronics when they're not in use.
- Enjoy Nature — Organise a nature walk around the school or in a nearby park. Your class can learn about different types of plants and animals while they enjoy fresh air.
- Bring in a Guest — Invite an expert to speak to the class about environmental issues and what kids can do to help.
- Get Creative With Reuse — Your class can make artwork using recycled materials and learn about how these items can be transformed into something new and beautiful.
- Experiment — Conduct a science experiment in your science classes related to an environmental issue, and learn about how we can make a difference.
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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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What Are Natural Resources? PowerPoint
A teaching presentation that explores what natural resources are and where they come from.
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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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Happy Earth Day Colouring In Sheet
Show your love for Earth Day with a fun Earth Day colouring sheet.
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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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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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Sustainability Activity - Caring for the Environment
Promote sustainable living with a sustainability sorting activity.
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Earth Day Comprehension and Cloze Worksheets
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills with this nonfiction Earth Day passage and accompanying activities.
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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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I Promise To... Earth Day Flip Book Craft
Make a promise to protect the planet with a printable Earth Day flip book.
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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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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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Environmental Awareness Flip Book - Earth Day Activity
Use this flip book to build awareness of actions that are good and bad for the environment.
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Earth Day Word Scramble
A word scramble of sustainability vocabulary to use on Earth Day.
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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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Earth Day - Acrostic Poem Template Pack
An acrostic poem template to use in the classroom to celebrate Earth Day and National Poetry Month.
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Wildlife Conservation Vocabulary Words
Build academic vocabulary with a printable Animal Conservation word wall.
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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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Deforestation Infographic Comprehension Activity
Read and learn about deforestation with an engaging infographic and comprehension worksheet.
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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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How is Plastic Recycled? – Recycling Worksheets
Explore the process of recycling plastic with a printable recycling worksheet.
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Earth Day Build a Sentence Worksheet
Build and write sentences about Earth Day with a cut-and-paste Earth Day worksheet.
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Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Poster
Display this poster when learning about sustainability.
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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.