Earth Day is on the Way

During an Earth Day lesson this week this week with first graders,  I told them that Earth Day was my favorite holiday. I left out the part about my teaching experience at previous school that was über environmental. I also left out the part about writing an eco blog for the past 9+ years. But they got the impassioned point, none the less, and who knows, maybe they could guess the rest.

Earth Day, just like your birthday, is annually on April 22nd. This year, Earth Day turns 49. The 2019 theme: Protect Our Species.

For teachers, Earth Day is ripe for lesson plans and curricular tie-ins at every level. Here's a collection of resources for you if you are still looking for something for the next week or so ahead. (Though, one could argue, environmentalism can and should be taught all year long!)

🌎 Earth Day Network
This is your first stop on Earth Day, from the source. Their mission: "To work year round to solve climate change, to end plastic pollution, to protect endangered species, and to broaden, educate, and activate the environmental movement across the globe."

There, you'll find a wealth of toolkits & background information for teachers and groups including:

• Organizers' Toolkit
• Primer & Action Toolkit
• Teach In Toolkit 
• Climate Education Toolkit
• Mobilize U: Campus Teach In
• Cities & Leaders Toolkit
• Faith Leaders

Likewise, you can take part in Billion Acts of Green and other campaigns. You can also test your knowledge (or your students') with a variety of Earth Day quizzes including the following: 

• Protect Our Species Quiz
• Climate Change Quiz
• Oceans and Plastic Pollution Quiz
• Earth Day Environmental Literacy Quiz
• Deforestation and Biodiversity Quiz
• Clean Energy Quiz

🌎 Climate Change Resources for Students and Teachers from Common Sense Media

🌎 Ecology and Environmental Science Apps, Games, and Websites from Common Sense Media

🌎 Scholastic's Celebrate Earth Day Collection of Lesson plans

🌎 NEA's Earth Day Curriculum Resources, Grades K-5

🌎 Population Education's Earth Day Classroom Resources

🌎 We Are Teachers Website's 12 Meaningful Earth Day Activities for Every Grade

🌎Also, if you teach using Seesaw Digital Portfolios/Learning Journal, be sure to browse the Seesaw Activity Library for "Earth Month in Elementary" section for approximately 100 Earth Day related student activities.

🌎 And... if you still can't get enough, there's always the GTG Archives of Earth Day Activities

Images from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/why-and-when-is-international-mother-earth-day-celebrated.html and https://billboardinsider.com/threatened-species-displayed-across-the-us-for-earth-day/