"Green" Activities & Classroom Resources

Supplement outdated science textbooks with our environmentally focused resources. These activities and guides will encourage your students to live a "greener" lifestyle, at home and at school. By teaching children at a young age to be environmentally aware, you are building lifelong habits that could potentially make a dramatic difference in the future of the earth. The activities and resources include methods for reducing waste and trash, information about product consumption, recycling tips, facts about pollution and its effects on the environment, global warming statistics, worksheets on different ecosystems, and plenty of projects for students to complete inside and outside the classroom.

Reducing Trash, Litter & Waste Save Our Earth! Alternative Uses for Common Trash A table detailing the most common trash found on beaches during an international clean-up day is provided in this worksheet on improving the environment. Students think about alternative uses for the trash and plan and hold a clean-up event at their school. Trash & Climate Change Students learn the connection between trash and climate change with this printable packet of activities. This is a perfect supplement to your classroom unit on environmental studies and living a "greener" lifestyle! Waste Reduction Unit: Activities on Solid & Hazardous Waste In this unit on waste reduction, students learn the basics of solid and hazardous waste, plus ways to reduce the production of both. They also discover the purpose of waste regulation and how it helps save the environment. Landfill & Combustion Unit: Environment Activities for the Classroom Landfills are the most common form of waste disposal and are an important component of an integrated waste-management system. Combustion, or trash incineration, is another common method of waste disposal. Teach students the basics of these two forms of garbage removal using this packet of activities, a perfect supplement to your environmental studies unit. Case of the Broken Loop Students are the detectives in the Case of the Broken Loop, an activity about reducing waste and conserving resources. This fun lesson will make a great contribution to your efforts to teach environmentalism in the classroom. Included are a word search, crossword, scramble, and more! Composting Unit: Environment Activities for the Classroom Composting is the controlled decomposition of organic materials. This printable guide to the basics of composting – and how it helps the environment – contains great activities for your unit on living a "greener" lifestyle. Favorite Classroom Activities for Going Green Educate students about ways they can go green. The activities in this slideshow will help you teach students how to reduce waste, reuse resources, and recycle materials in their classroom and at home. Green Classroom Practices That Save Money Go green in your classroom with environmentally friendly tips that will save you and your school district money! Learn how your class can conserve energy, reduce waste, and reuse and recycle materials in your school. You'll find the perfect activity to celebrate America Recycles Day (November 15) and Earth Day (April 22). More Resources on Waste, Litter & Trash Recycling Tips & Tricks Recycling Facts Get the facts about recycling with this printable reference sheet. Use this factsheet in your classroom unit on "going green." The "Three Rs": Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle People know that the "three Rs" stand for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. But do you know how to put these concepts into action? Teach your students how to be a little "greener" and help the environment with a few simple lifestyle changes. Recycling Unit: Environment Activities for the Classroom Your students probably already know the basics of recycling and why it is important. This printable unit focuses on collecting, processing, manufacturing, and purchasing recycled products to ensure the overall success and value of recycling. Recycling is a vital part of being environmentally responsible and living a "greener" lifestyle! Reusing & Recycling Reduces Waste: Environment Activities for the Classroom This guide to waste reduction focuses on ways to reuse and recycle at school and in the home. Ideas like unplugging appliances, swapping old books, and lots of other tips are discussed! Recycling Study Guide This printable guide to recycling and reducing waste in the environment includes an overview of solid waste and recycling, a glossary, suggested activities, and a list of resources. Activities focus on minimizing waste, conserving resources, and recycling and reusing products. You'll find the perfect project to include in your unit on being environmentally conscious and living "green." Coloring Packet: Reusing an Old Jar Begin teaching students at a young age the importance of reusing and recycling with this mini coloring book. An old jar stars in this story, in which he is reused in a variety of different ways. Kids will learn to recycle while having fun with arts and crafts! More Resources on Recycling Minimizing Pollution Environment & Pollution: Matching Worksheet In this printable worksheet, students match common environmental terms with their definitions. This activity is a great supplement to a classroom unit on "going green." Human Disasters: A Timeline of Earth-Altering Accidents Students must research infamous earth-altering disasters then fill in the timeline provided in order to better understand how some human accidents can be hugely detrimental to the environment. They will complete a longer research project on one of the events. Additionally, you can discuss why the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico should be added to this list. Use the reference material on Infoplease to help with your own research. Light Pollution In this activity, children will explore light pollution and some of its consequences. Pollutants Wanted Poster Students work with a partner to make a WANTED poster for the leader of the Pollutants. Six Major Air Pollutants Activity Use this enrichment activity to practice interpreting graphs and applying science concepts. This printable includes a graph of six major air pollutants and questions about the emissions data. Investigate Activity: Investigating Air Pollution Students make a model air pollution detector using string and petroleum jelly, then use it to check pollution levels in different locations. Materials list, rubric, worksheets, and answer key are provided. More Pollution Resources

For Your Whiteboard Instant Expert Become an Instant Expert on science and social studies topics featured in DK's award-winning reference series. Find full-color web books, whiteboard compatible mini-lessons with PowerPoint presentations, and the reference materials you need to reinforce key concepts in life science, earth science, and history. Resource Consumption Buy Nothing Day Celebrate Buy Nothing Day (each November) by abstaining from purchasing any product of any kind! Students will reflect upon the ideas of advertising, consumption, and waste, then they will write about their experiences buying nothing for a day. Dr. Seuss and Resource Use: Featuring The Lorax Students will listen to the teacher read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. The teacher will then show the class products that illustrate reduced resource consumption. This content is free for a limited time to Special Offers for Teachers subscribers. Not a Special Offers for Teachers subscriber? Visit our Newsletter Center and subscribe today. Source Reduction Unit: Environment Activities for the Classroom Source reduction, also known as waste prevention, is the practice of designing, manufacturing, purchasing, or using materials (such as products and packaging) in ways that reduce the amount or toxicity of waste. Use this printable packet of activities to help your students put this concept into practice. Sources of Resources Students will research resources and investigate their sources and uses. They will present conclusions to the class and identify on a map where the resource is most often found. Products Unit: Activities on the Product Life Cycle & Use By understanding a product's life cycle – the development, use, and disposal of a product – people can make better decisions about what products to buy and how to use them wisely. This activity guide about products will help teach the concept of responsible product purchasing and use to students. Ways to Help the Environment Students use this graphic organizer to list ways to help the environment, including the air, land, and water. This printable is customizable. Tailor the PDF to your teaching needs by typing in the highlighted fields before printing. Green Living Quiz: Environmental Resources Quiz your students on energy, renewable resources, water pollution, and more issues related to our environment. This printable activity is a great supplement to a classroom unit on "going green!" More Resources on Mass Consumption Protecting Ecosystems Surviving in the Environment: Family Activity Suggest to parents a family activity that provides a series of home projects and vocabulary words to help children understand how living things survive in their environment. Living Things and Their Environments: Vocabulary Distribute a printable set of vocabulary words related to living things and their environment. An Ecosystem Escapade Students will role-play elements of a food web to illustrate the connections in ecosystems. They will enjoy creating an arts-and-crafts project that will help them better understand the role the environment plays in their lives. How Many People Does It Take to Ruin an Ecosystem? Students will role-play elements of a food web to illustrate the connections in ecosystems. Then they will respond to real-life scenarios that impact ecosystems. Nature Romp Students will take a nature walk, make observations, and collect natural objects for an art activity that will help them gain a greater appreciation for the environment. This is a perfect activity for Earth Day, or any other time of the year! More Ecosystems Resources Making Your School a Greener Place Make a Difference in Your School Celebrate Make a Difference Day! Put your focus on improving your school grounds by picking up trash, planting trees, organizing a recycling program, and more. This how-to guide for teaching resource conservation and waste reduction is a fantastic reference for a classroom unit on helping the environment and living a "green" lifestyle! Join the Planet Protectors Club! Encourage your students to establish a Planet Protectors Club at your school! Many earth friendly activities are suggested, including picking up litter and starting a recycling program at school. Waste-Free Lunch Teach your students why it's important to prepare a waste-free lunch – and then how to do it! Included is a letter to parents to explain the idea, plus a self-evaluation form for students to complete. Planet Protectors Calendar of Activities Encourage your students to become "Planet Protectors" with this calendar of events and activities. The calendar includes a variety of projects to get your students to live a "greener" lifestyle, plus it makes them more aware of the environment as a whole. Environment Glossary Use this printable glossary as a reference when discussing the environment and ways to live greener in your classroom. Your students will appreciate this handout as a study aid as well. Environmental Science Green Living Quiz: Global Warming In addition to global warming, greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, and rising temperatures are covered in this printable quiz. Find out how much your students know about this serious environmental issue. What Are Local Climates? As students answer the questions in this Earth science printable, they will consider factors that can affect local climates, microclimates, and global warming. Green Living Quiz: Famous Environmentalists What do a vice president, actor, and writer have in common? They're all famous environmentalists! Quiz your class on some well-known contributors to the "green" movement. More Environmental Science Teacher Resources