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Are you interested in celebrating Earth Day with your kindergarten class, but you’re overwhelmed by activity ideas? In this post, I’m going to share some of the must-have activities to include in a kindergarten Earth Day lesson plan. These ideas will help you have fun and meaningful day with your students as you celebrate Earth Day together as a class.
Earth Day is a special day that your kindergarteners might not have heard about. Since many of your students are in a classroom setting for the first time, they might not have had the opportunity to celebrate Earth Day before. This is especially true since it’s not a common “holiday” that families observe in their homes.
This is why it’s such a good idea to spend some time discussing Earth Day with your kindergarten students. They can learn more about this special day while also learning how they can take care of the planet. You don’t have to create elaborate lesson plans in order to make the most of this special day!
If you’ve ever looked for Earth Day activity ideas on Pinterest, you’ll know that there are SO many to choose from! It can honestly be overwhelming to create your lesson plans because there are so many activity ideas to sift through. To help you narrow it down, I’ve decided to share six must-haves for an Earth Day lesson plan.
The first thing to include in your lesson plan is an introduction to Earth Day. Students can learn about when we celebrate Earth Day and why we observe this special day.
This printable class book is a great option to share with your students. It includes kid-friendly illustrations and information about Earth Day. What students learn in this read-aloud will help them as they go through the rest of the Earth Day activities.
Your students will likely learn some new vocabulary words during this Earth Day unit, so it’s a good idea to include an anchor chart in your planning.
This gives you a place to display the new vocabulary words so students can reference them during other activities. This anchor chart will be especially helpful during writing activities.
It wouldn’t be an Earth Day lesson plan without discussing The Three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
As you explain what these three words mean, you can have students sort pictures based on where they belong. For example, students would put a picture of a boy riding a bike under “reduce” since it’s reducing the use of Earth’s resources to bike instead of using a car. This activity is a great way for students to deepen their understanding of this concept.
After discussing The Three R’s with your students, your lesson plans can also include a chance for them to apply what they’ve learned. For example, this pop-up book is a great option! Students will sort pictures onto the correct page of the book. They can also practice their fine motor skills as they complete a torn paper craft for the front cover.
Take-home books can be a helpful addition to your Earth Day lesson plans. It’s always great when students can talk to their families about what they’ve been learning about in school. It gives them a chance to use the vocabulary they’ve learned, which can help it stick!
This printable Earth Day booklet is a great option! Students can review everything they’ve learned about Earth Day, filling in the blanks for each missing word. They can also color the illustrations for even more fine motor practice. Kindergarteners are always so excited to read their completed books!
A craft is always a great choice for kindergarten lesson plans because it gives students the chance to practice following directions while strengthening their fine motor skills.
This Earth Day craft is always a fun choice for students! They start by painting the earth with green and blue paint. Dot painting with cotton swabs is always a fun choice! Then, they will add accordion-folded paper for the arms and legs (folding the paper is a great way to improve hand strength and coordination).
Then it’s time to add the details and attach the stand to the back of the craft. The final product is an adorable Earth Day buddy that can sit up on its own. These look so cute on desks, bookshelves, and window sills.
Finally, you can add engaging center activities to your Earth Day lesson plans to bring the theme into your daily learning routine.
Mystery pictures are always a hit with students and are perfect for centers. This sight word mystery picture has a hidden picture that students can uncover as they color in each square based on the color code.
This activity is editable, so you can use any words that you’d like your students to practice. Whether it’s a particular phonics pattern or words that correspond to your ELA curriculum, you’ll be able to tailor this activity to best meet the needs of your students.
I’d love to save you some time as you put together your kindergarten Earth Day lesson plans. All of the activities pictured in this post are included in one easy-to-prep resource. These activities will give your students tons of fun and engaging ways to learn and think about how they can help protect the planet.
If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this resource, you can find it in the A Spoonful of Learning shop or on TPT.
Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite kindergarten board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find these activity ideas when you’re putting together your Earth Day lesson plans.
These alphabet books will have students dive deep into learning about each letter of the alphabet while eager to see what activity they get to complete next!
