Beyond Benign
Plastic Bags
Paper or plastic? Explore the environmental effects of using plastic bags through mathematics. Learners manipulate worldwide data on plastic bag consumption to draw conclusions.
Curated OER
Environmental Fair
Students find a piece of trash and make a useful item out of it. They show awareness of the environmental concerns of the earth.
Curated OER
Trash Disposal Choices
Learners determine the differences between reusable, compostable and recyclable trash.
Curated OER
100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet
Students examine the possible ways to recycle, reuse, and re-imagine products and objects in order to reduce pollution and waste on our planet. In this 100 things you can do to save the planet lesson plan, students take three actions to...
Curated OER
Now You See It, Now You Don't
Students explore organic and inorganic objects. In this environmental lesson students perform a composting experiment using flowers in different soils. Students record their observations.
Curated OER
Garbage Pizza
Fourth graders explore the concept of waste management. In this recycling lesson, 4th graders identify materials that must be landfilled as well as items that may be recycled or reused.
Curated OER
Help! Help! Save the Earth!
First graders analyze ways to save our natural resources and preserve the environment. In this environmental protection lesson plan, 1st graders complete four activities to analyze the importance of our natural resources and what trash...
Curated OER
Going Green School Campaign
Students explore ways to make their school's interior and exterior environmentally 'green.' In this environmental concern lesson, students work in groups to examine their school's interior and exteriors to make them 'green.' Students...
Curated OER
Think Green
Students experience and practice compositing and recycling through hands-on-activities. They distinguish between which items from their trash can be recycled, composted and reused. The process for making recycled paper is also covered in...
American Museum of Natural History
Be a Water Saver
Everyone must do their part to make a difference. The lesson link provides an 11-item questionnaire to reflect on conservation practices. Simple and straightforward, the lesson is perfect as a remote learning resource or as a tool for an...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Good Litter, Bad Litter
Which ones can be thrown on the ground? Discover the difference between natural litter and unhealthy trash, helping scholars by using several examples. Use the information here to give them a basic background, but also encourage prior...
Montana State University
Climb into Action!
Climate change affects even the largest and intimidating of landforms—even Mount Everest! A resource helps teach learners the connection between global climate change and its effects on Earth. Activities include videos, class discussion,...
Curated OER
Litter From Lunchtime
Students explore environmental care by participating in a litter identification activity. In this food trash lesson, students discuss the destruction litter causes in our environment and ways we can avoid littering ourselves. Students...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Solving Formulas for the Given Variable
Recycle, reuse, and rearrange! Young scholars learn to rearrange formulas to highlight a variable of interest. They then use their new formulas to make calculations.
Curated OER
Trash Disposal Choices
Learners investigate the use of landfills. In this landfill use and recycling lesson, students discuss what happens to trash and junk. They review the types of trash before categorizing a list of items they throw away each day. They...
Curated OER
Waste Management
Students set up a recycling program in their school. They first estimate the kinds and amount of trash generated and brainstorm ways to reuse the recyclables and create flyers explaining how their program will work at the school.
Curated OER
Christmas Potpourri Hangers
Students create a potpourri hanger. In this Christmas craft lesson, students reuse materials to make a Christmas potpourri hangar for the tree or for a gift.
Curated OER
The Flat Stanley Project
Students read the book Flat Stanley. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students participate in earth-friendly activities based upon the book. This lesson includes ideas such as using recycled paper to make a "paper pal."
Curated OER
3 Holiday Projects
Students explore the concept of reusing and recycling everyday materials and make holiday-oriented decorations and gift wrapping. Letters containing environmental issues are composed and sent to political and corporate decision-makers.
Curated OER
Dumptown Game
Students engage in an interactive play scenario. They are the new managers of a fictional city and live in a place where nothing is recycled. Students are faced with various problems that need to be solved. They work together to propose...
Curated OER
Com-Post With Us?
Students discuss the importance of reducing, recycling and reusing materials to help the environment. As a class, they create a worm bin and observe how it turns material in to compost. They use the internet to research the...
Curated OER
Create, Design, and Invent with Plastic
Students explore creative ways to reuse materials. In this ecology/art lesson, students create artwork using trash. Students view examples of folk art from around the world that used waste products as a main component.
Curated OER
Adaptive Reuse
Students identify historic buildings in their community that have been adaptively reused. Through "adopting" a building, they will study how recycling of buildings is an environmentally and economically sound practice for communities.
Curated OER
Reduce and Reuse
Students conduct a lunch waste audit by recording each item they throw away at lunch. They graph class lunch waste. They use this information to devise a plan of action to reduce lunch waste. There is also an activity to make paper.