Earth Day is the perfect time to help your first graders learn about taking care of our planet in fun and meaningful ways. You’re a busy teacher though— you don’t always have time to prepare elaborate activities for each special day that arises on the calendar. The good news is that you don’t need to have hours (or even many minutes) to plan and prep for a fun Earth Day with your students this year! These 5 low prep Earth Day activities for first grade will keep your students excited and engaged while they learn important lessons about environmental responsibility.
Young children don’t fully grasp what it means to take care of the planet yet, but Earth Day is a great time to introduce them to big ideas in ways they can easily understand. Taking time out of your busy schedule to break down these topics day into small manageable chunks matters because Earth Day:
Use simple, movement-based activities to keep things easy for yourself and keep students interested in learning these exciting, new topics.
First up is this fun Earth Day Craft & Writing Activity! Students will consider ways they can help the Earth while practicing important writing skills. Choose from one of the three fun writing prompts and encourage students to work together to brainstorm ways to help the planet.
After they have completed the writing portion, it’s time to get crafting— use the no-prep craft template, OR choose the print-and-go coloring sheet instead!
Use this versatile activity during:
This Earth Day activity is a great chance for you to learn more about your students and celebrate their differences as you hear about the many ways they would choose to help the Earth. You’ll be surprised at all of the creative ideas your students have.
Add the finished projects to your Earth Day bulletin board in your classroom or hallway!
*This activity is included in the Craft & Writing Activity Bundle for ALL YEAR too!
“Chalk the Walk” is another exciting Earth Day activity! Take your students outside and write Earth-positive messages on the sidewalk to spread awareness and inspire others. This activity promotes positive skills like teamwork, creativity, writing, kindness, and responsibility.
Examples:
Next up is the Hide and Seek Earth Day Game— this editable digital game is fully customizable in PowerPoint, so you can decide what skills to practice! Easily add letters, words, equations, numbers, or pictures to differentiate learning to match your lesson targets or address students’ individual needs.
Download & try it for FREE here!
It also includes done-for-you options to target 50 sight words, lowercase letters, and capital letters.
How to Play:
Great to play as a:
Your kids will love this game, and so will you!
*This Earth Day activity is also included in the Hide & Seek 16 Game Bundle!
Next, make a Play-Doh Planet with your students! This hands-on activity lets students create their own model of Earth using blue and green (and a little pink!) Play-Doh. This activity is perfect for partners!
The final Earth Day activity you’ll want to add to your schedule this year is this super fun, movement-focused game called Earth Day FREEZE.
Introduce new Earth Day vocabulary as you purposefully get your students moving. They won’t even realize they’re learning because they will be having so much fun!
FREEZE is the movement game of every teacher’s dreams— it combines Earth Day learning with social skills, movement, writing, and loads of fun! It’s perfect to play during Morning Meeting, indoor recess, or themed social studies or science lessons and never leaves any students out!
No one sits down or has to wait for a new round to begin. The inclusivity of this game encourages all students to stay engaged in the fun.
Simple directions and vocabulary cards with pictures also help make this game accessible for even the earliest readers in your classroom.
Playing Earth Day FREEZE is as easy as 1-2-3 and requires minimal setup!
Start the music again, and play another round!
After you’re done playing Earth Day FREEZE, transition students back to their seats (or flexible seating options!) and move on to the included Earth Day writing activities.
Writing responses for writing lists or sentences with opportunities for students to draw and color too!
*Find Earth Day FREEZE in the FREEZE Movement Game Bundle for All Year also!
After you’ve finished these Earth Day activities for first grade, keep the fun going with more spring-themed activities:
Rainbow Craft with Poetry Writing: This rainbow craft is a great way to introduce poetry to your students.
Earth Day Bulletin Board: This Earth Day bulletin board And Earth Day Craft are perfect for an April Bulletin Board or a Spring door display!
Both of these are great extension activities after teaching your students about Earth Day!
Celebrating Earth Day with young students doesn’t have to be complicated. These low-prep Earth Day activities for first grade make it easy to keep your students engaged while teaching them about the importance of taking care of our planet. Whether they’re writing, playing an interactive game, or moving around with Earth Day FREEZE (or all of the above!), your students will have a blast as they learn valuable lessons!
Beck, M. M., Lind, R. R., Geertsen, S. S., Ritz, C., Lundbye-Jensen, J., & Wienecke, J. (2016). Motor-Enriched Learning Activities Can Improve Mathematical Performance in Preadolescent Children. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00645
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