Earth Day Classroom Activities: Make the Day Meaningful for Students

As a teacher, planning Earth Day classroom instruction can be overwhelming, especially when trying to find engaging reading activities that are appropriate for your student’s grade level. This is especially true for 3rd grade teachers tasked with finding Earth Day classroom activities that are both educational and fun. With Earth Day fast approaching, it’s time to start thinking about how to make this day meaningful for your students. In this blog post, we’ll explore some Earth Day classroom activities that are perfect for 3rd graders and that will help you plan a successful Earth Day lesson.

Incorporate Reading Activities

Earth Day is a great opportunity for teachers to incorporate reading activities that help students learn more about the day and its significance. Here are some reading activities that you can do for Earth Day:

• Read-Alouds: Read a variety of books related to Earth Day and environmental conservation. Some excellent titles include “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss, “The Great Kapok Tree” by Lynne Cherry, and “The Earth Book” by Todd Parr.
• Informational Texts: Provide students with informational texts that explore environmental issues and sustainability. Encourage students to take notes and identify key ideas and vocabulary words.
• Research Projects: Assign research projects that allow students to delve deeper into environmental topics. Topics could include climate change, deforestation, water pollution, or endangered species.

Earth Day Close Reading Activities

Looking for a way to get your third-graders excited about Earth Day without searching for the perfect passage or reading activity?

With two full-length passages, graphic organizers, and comprehension questions focused on the main idea and author’s point of view, your students will hone their reading and critical thinking skills while learning about the importance of this special day. The Earth Day resource also includes a writing prompt and vocabulary exercises, ensuring that your students will practice their writing and expand their vocabulary.

If you like integrating close reading across the content areas – check out How to Use Close Reading Strategies with Social Studies Text.

More Earth Day Activities

• Conduct a litter cleanup: Take your students on a litter cleanup in your school’s surrounding area or local park. This is a great way to teach your students about the negative impacts of littering on the environment and to encourage them to be responsible for their own waste.
• Plant a Garden: Take your students outside and plant a school garden with herbs, vegetables, or flowers. This activity teaches them about the importance of plants in our ecosystem and provides a hands-on learning experience.
• Nature Walk: Take your students on a nature walk to explore the environment around them. Encourage them to take photos or make sketches of the plants and animals they see and discuss the importance of biodiversity.

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Teach your students about the three Rs of waste reduction: reduce, reuse, and recycle. There is a passage within the close reading resource that is focused on the 3 R’s!
• Create an Earth Day pledge: Have your students create a pledge to help protect the environment. This could include things like reducing plastic use, recycling more, and conserving water and energy. Display the pledges in your classroom as a reminder to your students throughout the year.
• Create a recycled art project: Encourage your students to bring in recyclable materials from home, such as plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, and paper tubes, and challenge them to create an art project using these materials. This is a great way to teach your students about the importance of recycling and reusing materials.

With these Earth Day classroom activities, you’ll have your students excited and motivated to take action to save the planet. By making learning about environmental conservation fun and engaging, your students will have a better understanding of how their actions impact the world around them. Whether it’s creating a recycled art project, planting a class garden, conducting a litter cleanup, creating an Earth Day pledge, or watching an environmental documentary, these activities will inspire your students to become environmental stewards in their own right.