20 Easy and Free Classroom Activities for Earth Day

Hey, All!

I've been finding a lot of amazing resources for celebrating Earth Day in the classroom, so I wanted to share. I know we are all so busy trying to cram in lessons for testing and to meet the standards, but if you have any time at all, I encourage your to do something meaningful with your students to celebrate Earth Day.

Here are some super fantastic FREE resources to make it even easier for you (P.S. Try to use recycled paper and materials whenever possible!):

 Adorable FREE Writing Templates by The Science Penguin

 Freebie Earth Day Poems by Lisa Lilienthal

Pretty Recycling Art Project by Runde's Room

 Nice Math Game by Fantastic First Grade Froggies

Nice Writing Freebie for the Little Ones by Miss Kindergarten

Mr. Eco Music Videos! You have to check these out. Great brain breaks leading up to Earth Day.

 FREE Planet Word Challenge by Laura Candler

 FREE Owl-Themed Recycling Poster by Lucky Girl

 Protect The Earth Mini Book FREEBIE by Education to the Core

 FREE File Folder Game by File Folder Fun

 FREE Earth Day Bingo by Jason's Online Classroom

Recycling Posters in English & Spanish by FlapJack (me!)

 Adorable Earth Day Craftivity and Word Search by Fun 2 B in First

 Sorting Activity Freebie by All Students Can Shine (scroll down a bit)

 Lorax Earth Day Sampler Freebie by Primary Junction (scroll to the bottom)

FREE Online Recycling Book and Activity at The Classroom Magic Blog

 FREE Printable by Fun in K1

 Earth Day ABC Order Freebie by Ideas by Jivey

Awesome Earth Day Craftivity Freebie by The Lesson Plan Diva

Really Cool Earth Day Task Cards for the Upper Grades by Study All Knight

Found some more!!

 Math Freebie from Primary Inspiration (scroll to the bottom)

 Super Awesome Power Point explaining the history of Earth Day by Science Stuff

Place Value Freebie by Teacher Idea Factory

  Cute activities for K-2nd by First Grade Fun

Really adorable game board by See Jane Teach

FREE Worksheet and Bookmarks by Teaching Heart

Earth Day Smart Board Attendance by Mrs. Beattie's Classroom

 "Earth Day Digits" FREE task cards for math centers on Earth Day by Classroom Game Nook.

 Really neat and free video activity for Earth Day by Heidi Raki

Make it count this Earth Day! April 22nd! Don't Forget!

Bowling Math

Hey, Green Friends! I apologize for being absent for so long at this blog, but I'm here now at least, and I hope you all have been well!

I've seen this green math-tastic idea for awhile now, and wanted to try my hand at it. Students knock down pins that contain some sort of math objective... pins can have numbers they need to add or subtract, math fact problems, or students can try to create a certain number using the numbers on the pins they knock down. We're practicing estimation and rounding, so I customized this game for that purpose.

What I Did:

I drink those DanActiv yogurts in the morning, although I know I've got to stop with all the useless plastic they create. But for now, I've at least transformed them into a fun learning game for my students.

After I washed the bottles and took of their wrappers, I created some labels using Avery.com and labels 5410.

I found the bowling ball at Goodwill, and the find made me so excited, I had to do a happy dance right there in the toy section which I immediately regretted. :P

How to Play:

1) Students take turns trying to knock down the pins.
2) After their roll, they pick up two of the bottles that fell down. They round and add them. Their partner(s) use a calculator to check.
3) If they're correct and made a strike, they earn two points. If they're correct and didn't make a strike, they earn one point. And if they're incorrect, they earn no points.
4) Continue play until center or group time is up. The winner with most points wins.

My students used dry-erase boards for their work, but I've created a recording sheet, also, that you can use for whatever skill your students are practicing with this game. Just click the image for your copy.

Thanks for stopping by, green teachers!

Happy Toilet Tube Turkey Day!

Well, today was America Recycles Day, and since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, my students and I decided to combine the two with some thankful toilet tube turkeys! It was a lot of fun, and they did a great job of writing what they were thankful for on each feather (in Spanish - we're an immersion program).

Green Classroom Giveaway!

Hey, green friends! Since this Thursday is America Recycles Day (November 15th), and The Green Classroom has reached 200 followers, I think it's definitely time for a giveaway!

GRAND PRIZE

One special green teacher will win the following four items:

1) The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle Book
2) Two Bumkins Reusable Snack Bags for your school lunches
3) A Reusable ChicoBag for all your shopping needs (I have this and it's awesome! Can hold up to 40 lbs.!)
4) Paper Recycling Kit - fun activity that involves recycling

RUNNER-UP PRIZES

Five winners will win a Strawberry Reusable Bag. They are probably "made in China," but I always have one in my purse and it's holding up great!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Just enter the Rafflecopter below. You need to 1) share about America Recycles Day and 2) list one way you are going to promote this day in your classroom this week.

The rest is just optional but it will add more points. The contest ends at 12:01 am (est) on November 15th - America Recycles Day!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Recycled Animals Project

Hey, Green Teachers!

This week my students and I had fun completing an animal guessing game project that incorporated recycling and technology.

First, students chose a mystery animal and created it out of recycled materials at home. They brought it to school, hidden in a box or bag.

At school, we created power points that contained clues about their animals (habitat, food, class, characteristics, etc.). Then, we made QR codes that opened the PP when scanned.

We finally had a reveal day. Beforehand, students scanned the Qr codes and recorded their guess of what animal the clues were describing. Then, one at a time, students revealed their animals and checked the guesses on their recording sheets.

It was a lot of fun, and I loved the creativity my students showed.