The theme for this year’s Earth Day is “climate action”, which highlights the importance of being proactive and taking concrete steps in our daily lives to stop climate change.

Here are some simple ways you can commemorate Earth Day with your students even while distance learning.

Recycling, upcycling and reusing

Being indoors = a lot more time to get crafty! Challenge your students to come up with creative ways of repurposing empty, old items around the house, such as:

Empty pasta sauce jars
Empty toilet rolls
Milk jugs
Old magazines
Rugs
Old t-shirts

Or, if you’re in need of some inspiration, Pinterest is filled with TONS of great ideas on creative ways to repurpose and upcycle at-home items. Why not try these bangles made from old T-shirts, or recycled bottle planters?

Quiz your way to knowledge

Image not available - this image was not archived

Quizzes are a fun way for students to learn more about climate change and sustainability, and are also a good starter activity to lead into discussions about the environment. Check out our sustainability quizzes for elementary/middle school and high school here:

Pledge to go without meat or single-use plastic for a day

Why not challenge your students to reduce their carbon footprint by going without meat or single-use plastic for a day? Doing it together as a class will strengthen students’ resolve to stick to their pledge. This will also make kids more mindful of how their daily actions and habits impact the earth, and might inspire them to take concrete steps towards living a more consistently sustainable lifestyle.

Documentaries

Image not available - this image was not archived
Documentaries don’t have to be dull and dreary things that put us to sleep. There are a plethora of documentaries on the environment that even kids can enjoy and learn from:

Arctic Tale
March of the Penguins
Born to be Wild
Wonders of the Sea
Blue Planet

Planting

Trees are a crucial part of our ecosystem. While a tree planting field trip might not be possible right now, we can start small in the home. With a bit of cotton wool, water, a jar and beans you can find at the supermarket, students can grow their own plant, like in the video above! Growing a plant and taking care of it is also an effective way to teach students patience, responsibility and discipline.

Calculate your carbon footprint

Do you know what your carbon footprint is? There are a number of online carbon footprint calculators you can use with your students to determine your impact your actions and decisions have on the environment. This is a good starting point to launch into a discussion on how we can take steps to reduce our carbon footprint in our everyday lives.

Set sustainable goals for the class

Image not available - this image was not archived

Our efforts to do better for the planet shouldn’t be limited to just Earth Day, but it’s nevertheless a good day to create a list of practical goals for the class to be more sustainable. With a list of practical goals they can reach, students are more likely to put effort into being more environmentally friendly. Some easy ideas include:

Using reusable water bottles
Taking shorter showers
Conserving energy by switching off the lights when they’re not in use
Reducing paper use and waste

There are many ways we can commemorate Earth Day 2020 even though we’re not in the classroom. Are you going to try any of these out? Let us know in the comments below!

Header image by Windawake from Pngtree.com.

Go to quizalize.com

Share this article