Earth Day 2024 Teaching Resources
Teach students about Earth Day in 2024 with printables, worksheets, activities, crafts, and more about being kind to our earth and living a more sustainable life.
This collection of teacher-created resources for ELA, math and science teachers 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 day each year, which means this year the holiday will be on April 22, 2024. This is a Monday, so schools should be in session!
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, opening the door to talk about the impact of single-use plastics on the environment!
How Do You Explain Earth Day to a Child?
Depending on the grade 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 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 how 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 elementary schools can do to mark this important annual event:
- Get Planting at School — If you don't already have one, Earth Day is the perfect time to create a school garden and teach students about the benefits of planting fresh plants, flowers and trees.
- Clean-Up Litter Around the Community — Organize 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 trash (especially plastic!) out of landfills by setting up recycling stations around the school or in your classroom.
- Conserve Energy — Educate your students about energy conservation and encourage them to turn off lights and unplug electronics when they're not in use.
- Enjoy Nature — Organize 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.
- Free Plan
Comprehension Worksheets - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read and learn about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet pack.
- Free Plan
Plant Growth Chart - Worksheet
Record the growth and changes in a plant over time with one of our differentiated plant growth charts.
- Free Plan
Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint – Poster and Worksheet
Explore how to reduce your carbon footprint with this poster and accompanying comprehension worksheet.
- Free Plan
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Environmental Word Wall
Help your young students learn about recycling and conservation with an illustrated word wall.
- Free Plan
Mindful Coloring Sheet - Tree
A tree mindful coloring sheet.
- Free Plan
The Recycling Process Poster
Show your students the process materials go through when they are recycled with printable recycling posters.
- Plus Plan
Recycling Writing Prompts - Primary
Show off your procedural writing skills with a pack of recycling writing prompts.
- Free Plan
Why Plant a Tree? Infographic Analysis Activity & Posters
Teach about Arbor Day or Earth Day with an infographic poster and a cloze note-taking worksheet about the importance of trees in our environment.
- Free Plan
Earth Day Word Search - Printable
Identify environmental terms with this Earth Day word search.
- Free Plan
Recycling Word Search
Build your students’ vocabulary around the topic of recycling with this recycling-themed word search.
- Free Plan
Recycling I Spy and Sort Worksheet
Sort different pieces of trash into their appropriate bins with this I Spy worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Reading and Writing Nonfiction Text: Earth Day Close Read Worksheets
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills with this nonfiction Earth Day passage and accompanying activities.
- 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
Deforestation-Infographic Analysis Activity
Read and understand an infographic about Deforestation with a thought-provoking poster and comprehension questions.
- Plus Plan
What Can We Recycle? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Remember what to recycle with a cut-and-paste worksheet.
- Free Plan
Where Do Natural Resources Come From? Differentiated Worksheet
Explore where natural resources are found with a pair of differentiated natural resource worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Sprinkle Kindness Activity Book Template
Encourage students to write about ways to be kind to people and the planet with a printable sprinkle kindness activity book.
- Plus Plan
Great Barrier Reef - Comprehension and Note Taking Worksheet
Learn about The Great Barrier Reef with a comprehension and note-taking activity.
- Plus Plan
How is Plastic Recycled? – Recycling Worksheets
Explore the process of recycling plastic with a printable recycling worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Water is Life - Instructional Slide Deck
Learn about the importance of water to life on Earth, along with where our water comes from, with an instructional slide deck.
- Plus Plan
Why Should We Compost? Poster
Use this poster set to explain why it is important to compost food scraps.
- Plus Plan
Weather Versus Climate Poster
A poster explaining the difference between weather and climate.
- Plus Plan
Earth Day Coloring Pages
Give your students these beautiful Earth Day coloring sheets to promote sustainability and conservation.
- Plus Plan
What Could Happen? Environmental Change Task Cards
Predict and identify the effects of environmental change on plants and animals with a set of printable science task cards.
- Earth Day 2024 Worksheets
- Earth Day 2024 Templates
- Earth Day 2024 Posters
- Earth Day 2024 Writing Templates
- Earth Day 2024 Projects
- Earth Day 2024 Puzzles
- Earth Day 2024 Games
- Earth Day 2024 Flipbooks
- Earth Day 2024 Word Searches
- Earth Day 2024 Instructional Slide Decks
- Earth Day 2024 Craft Activities
- Earth Day 2024 Coloring Pages
- Earth Day 2024 Word Walls
- Earth Day 2024 Cut and Paste Worksheets
- Earth Day 2024 Task Cards
- Earth Day 2024 Bingo
- Earth Day 2024 Graphic Organizers
- Earth Day 2024 Mini Book
- Earth Day 2024 Card Games
- Earth Day 2024 Custom Studio Resources
- Earth Day 2024 for Pre-K
- Earth Day 2024 for Kindergarten
- Earth Day 2024 for 1st Grade
- Earth Day 2024 for 2nd Grade
- Earth Day 2024 for 3rd Grade
- Earth Day 2024 for 4th Grade
- Earth Day 2024 for 5th Grade
- Earth Day 2024 for 6th Grade
- Earth Day 2024 for 7th Grade