Earth day is a great time to provide time for students to explore global issues facing their generation. Even primary kids can have opinions about the issues of today. However, they cannot change behavior if they are not aware of the problem. So, let them dive in!
Introduce Global Issues
There are many global issues that our students need to be aware of. Climate change and full landfills are the result of the problems, not the problems themselves. Even young students can adjust their behavior if they are aware. Teachers need to provide resources on the biggest problems.
Plan for Change
Even young students can adjust their behavior if they are aware of it. Our society, especially in the United States has become used to practices that are harmful to our planet. Knowing just a little about the global issues like: Clothing crisis, energy eaters, and the plastic problem can change their future.
Clothing Crisis
Americans have been trained by the fashion industry to buy new clothes when you want them, and not when you need them. We see clothes as disposable, and nothing could be farther from the truth. Americans throw away 100 pounds of clothing per person each year.
Many people drop off clothing to donation centers. Despite that, most of it becomes waste. In fact, most clothing is sold overseas where just a small part is reused. Most of it stays outside where it sits, not breaking down, but leaching dyes and chemicals into our water system. Some activities for this topic:
- research yearly neighborhood garage sales and clothing coops
- brainstorm ways to solve problem in small group. Record on anchor chart
- organize an Earth Day school-wide clothing swap
Energy Eaters
You would be surprised how much energy is wasted every day in your home. We have all heard about turning off the lights when you leave a room. This is good practice. However, anything that is left plugged in uses energy 24 hours a day even if you only use if once a week.
The new appliances and devices use extra energy to hold a “charge” so you don’t have to wait for it to start when you turn it on. Anything with a display is made this way. Consequently, the bigger the plug, the bigger the charge. After all, this wasted energy adds up. Americans pay 1/4 of their electric bill each month for this wasted energy.
Some primary classroom ideas for this topic:
- Have students complete an Earth Day “energy audit” with their families, then report back to the group.
- Take an indoor field trip in the school to look for wasted energy
- research solar & wind energy
The Plastic Problem
The last problem is the biggest: Plastic. It has invaded every area of trade and commerce. In 1950, there was 2 million metric tons of plastic waste. In 2015, there was 6 Billion metric tons. If nothing changes, in 2050 there will be 12 Billion metric tons of waste.
Plastic does not break down. It fills our landfills, rivers, and oceans. Right now only 5 percent of plastic is recycled. This means that 95 % of every piece of plastic ever made still remains in landfills and oceans. The scariest information of all is that plastic has been found in fish and human cells! Activity ideas:
- Make an Earth Day chart to keep track of plastic: Reducing-Recycling-Reusing for one month
- Have students pair up and make commercials about the 3 R’s
- Brainstorm about how to reduce the use of plastic
Resources for Earth Day Lessons
Teaching is a huge job! Just the day-to-day running of the classroom is a full time job. Add behavior management, lesson planning, and teachers meetings and its a wonder one person can do it all! Let me give you a leg up with a little lesson crafting. Click on one of the covers below to check out my resource.
