Berkshire Museum
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle: Sorting Through Personal Choices
Raise children's awareness about the importance of conservation with this hands-on science instructional activity. Start by breaking the class into groups and having them collect trash from around the school or local park. Students then...
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Waste and Recycling: Recycling Paper
We take paper for granted, while thousands of trees are being made into the paper we toss in the trash. Start a dialogue about paper reduction and recycling in class, and share the negative effects paper production has on our ecosystem....
PJ Library
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Teach children that just because something is old, doesn't mean you have to throw it away with a reading of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Engaging children with an arts and crafts activity in which they patch the holes in...
Curated OER
Observe Earth Day with Art Projects Made from Recycled Materials
Creative hands-on art project ideas that are easy on the earth and easy on a teacher’s budget.
Curated OER
The Trash We Pass
Where does our garbage go? What is the difference between a recyclable and non-recyclable item? Pose these important, but often overlooked, questions to your class and invite them to consider the lasting and damaging effects of the...
Curated OER
Stamp Boxes or Jars: Recycled Art
With some canceled stamps, an old box, and some glue, learners create art from scraps. You save up or gather used postage stamps, the kids glue them onto a box or an old clean jar. All the steps needed to complete this project plus two...
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Environmental Sciences
Whether you are teaching environmental science in junior high or studying recycling in kindergarten, there is something for all in this set of lessons designed for environmental education. The 110-page packet comes with tips for teaching...
Curated OER
My Planet Earth
The earth is a delicate and fragile thing; Why not engage your class in a craft project that will make them aware of our environment? Earth Day is celebrated as recycled materials are used to create earth window hangings. Crayons are...
PBS
Blow the Roof Off!
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics from making...
Curated OER
Crafts: Hands-On Activities
Students use the Internet to view craft ideas for them to make. They can create jewelry, paper mache, or a recipe.
Curated OER
Magazine Mosaics
Almost every teacher has a stack of old magazines lying around. Get creative and turn them into mosaics! That's right, this resource explains how kids draw, design, cut, and paste to create mosaic art from recycled magazines. Connect...
Macmillan Education
Teamwork
Learners develop self-awareness and discuss the importance of cooperation and communication through worksheets and hands-on, collaborative activities.
Curated OER
Going in Cycles: The Life of an Aluminum Can
Students explore the life cycle of aluminum cans. In this recycling activity, students review the manufacturing process and how to make a closed loop cycle. Students also have the opportunity to present what they've learned to others...
Curated OER
Don't Trash the Earth
Students experience a hands-on environmental science project. They access about recycling as they collect data on their own family's trash production. Students analyze the data with worksheets, chart the data, and present their findings.
Curated OER
Fabric Scrap Flower Garden
Crafting is fun, it increases eye-hand coordination, and it is a great way to accent any lesson. Celebrate Earth Day by creating scrap fabric flowers for a pop-stick flower garden. Children of all ages will love gluing, cutting, and...
Curated OER
Puzzle Piece Frames
Every class has a puzzle or two with missing pieces, don't trash them, use them for art. Great for framing a picture or self-portrait, this frame idea really comes together. Learners use old puzzle pieces to decorate a picture frame....
Teach Engineering
Magnetic Materials
The design challenge: develop a method to separate steel from aluminum. The first lesson plan in an eight-part series introduces the class to the grand challenge of ciming up with a method to streamline a sorting process at a recycling...
Teach Engineering
Electromagnets
Show your class what goes on with a magnet that can be turned on and off with a resource that provides the information needed to build an electromagnet. The information allows the class to understand that creating loops with the current...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Are We Finished with It Yet?
Learners recognize the importance of natural resources and that we need to conserve, reuse and recycle them. In this conserving natural resources lesson, students are given one object and must create something with it. Young scholars...
Curated OER
Celebrating Earth Day
Students explore environmental safety by planting seeds outside their classroom. In this Earth Day lesson, students identify the different ways to recycle and conserve resources on Earth while facilitating recycling bins around campus....
Teach Engineering
Trash to Treasure!
One person's trash is another man's treasure. Challenge your class to build something useful out of the trash they throw away on a regular basis. Groups design and build a practical item from trash they collect, allowing the class to...
Curated OER
Old Fisherman
Sculpting is a lot of fun and it stimulates multiple senses at once. Learners observe and then create a fisherman (or any person) out of paper clay. They mold and sculpt their clay until they have shaped a person. They then paint and...
Teach Engineering
Magnetic or Not?
The class must determine the magnetic properties of different materials, including aluminum and steel by sorting through materials using a magnet. Groups make a prediction on whether a material is magnetic and then perform tests to...
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.