Looking for easy and simple Earth Day science activities for kids? This is the perfect list to get you and your upper elementary kids started with taking care of the environment.
Earth Day comes around every year, but most importantly, kids need to know that they can make an impact on the Earth with their own actions. Everything from Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Upcycle, and in between, students will be able to learn about natural and renewable sources and how to take care of the environment.
Click here for a blog post on fun activities for Energy for kids.
These Earth Day activities for kids will help your students learn about their impact on the environment, but they will also address state science standards about renewable and natural forms of energy.
If you wanted to increase the learning potential you can also have the students record their learning in science journals or the printables mentioned below.
Earth Day Activity #1: Grow a Plant Science Experiment
Humans throw away bulbs of plants all the time. Have kids collect different types of vegetables that have the bulb or root only and see if they can grow a plant by placing the bulb of the plant in water. They can use this scientific experiment writing template to document their learning.
Some plants that grow from bulbs are onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. You can also have students come up with their own ideas. It’s good for students to try 3-4 different types of vegetables/fruit to see which does actually grow.
Earth Day Activity #2: Renewable Energy Research for Kids
Have students learn more about how human actions impact the environment by having them pick a natural energy source of fossil fuel to research and learn about.
Different topics they can research include tidal energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, fossil fuels, and solar energy.
Questions they can answer about these topics can be 1) what is it? 2) how does it impact the environment 3) is there a better solution for energy out there?
If you want a ready-to-go research activity to give to kids, this renewable energy Webquest is perfect. Available in both printable and digital options, kids take on the role of mayor of a town. They are supposed to research different types of energy sources and decide which one they would choose to build for their town to use.
Earth Day Activity for Kids #3: Upcycle Item STEM Challenge and Gift Exchange
We spend so much money buying gifts, and we also receive so many every year. One Earth Day activity that you can have is having students learn about ways they can impact the Earth in a positive way by either reducing, reusing, recycling, or upcycling. You can show the video below to help your students understand better what upcycling is. Have students upcycle a gift to give to a friend, family member, or classmate. If you want the students to do the write-up and reflection, you can get the resource here.
You can find more lessons here for the Energy unit.
Earth Day Activity #4: Renewable Energy Reading Comprehension
Grab this freebie from my TPT store. It’s the perfect short read. Students can discuss their responses afterward, and if your class does close reading, students will be able to mark up the pages. If you like that passage, there are more passages on sources of energy if you wanted the students to complete a jigsaw reading activity and create a summary poster of what they’ve learned. Get the freebie here.
Earth Day Activity #5: Capture Solar Energy Lab
Students will have to work independently or in groups for this lab. They will pour water into 2 different plastic bags. One plastic bag will be placed in direct sunlight and the other in a dark place. Students will then prejudice what the temperatures of each of the bags will be. They can record their observations in their science journals or in this resource.
Earth Day Activity #6: Energy Usage Lab
This is a great activity to do for Earth Day because it gives students realistic ideas of how much energy they really spend. Share this list of wattage used with your students.
Then have students list anywhere from 10-20 appliances they use in their house. Students will have to add up the watts used in their homes. Students can then reflect if they feel it is more or less than what they expected. You can even have students compare their answers with one another. The goal is for students to see that they have an impact on the environment in their everyday tasks as well. They can document their answers in science journals or in this resource.
I hope these Earth Day activities for kids are the perfect addition to your classroom, home, or after school club!
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If you are teaching 4th grade NGSS or upper elementary science, you will need these 30+ writing prompts! They are the perfect way to incorporate science into ELA or writing into science!