Earth Day—celebrated every year on April 22—is a special holiday, as it allows us to honor our home planet and reminds us how connected we indeed are, despite our differences. It’s never too early to get your students thinking about the steps they can take—however big or small—to improve our current conditions on Earth. You never know if you have a budding environmentalist in your class who could make significant environmental changes in the future. Incorporate the Earth Day activities for elementary students below in your classroom.
Earth Day activities for elementary school students
1. Play a recycling game, Grades K–5
Motivate your students to recycle—with this Earth Day game for elementary students! Recycling is a simple way for kids to make an impact. Teaching this practice sooner rather than later will hopefully ensure that young children continue the habit as they get older. This activity will have students guess whether items, such as a tin can, envelope, or an apple, are recyclable. If this sounds like tons of fun, download the activity below! After finishing the game, have students think about other everyday items (besides those used in the game) they can recycle or reuse.
2. Teach gardening basics, Grades 1 & 3
The activities below teach students the basics of gardening and plants. In “Grow Carrot Tops,” students learn how plants of the same kind can be alike and different by growing carrot tops. And in “Will They Grow,” students investigate how the environment affects organism growth.
3. Create a plastic bottle planter, Grades K–5
Here’s another project you can use to teach students about the importance of recycling and how finding ways to reuse plastic items can reduce ocean pollution. According to Beyond Plastics, “At least 15 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year; experts predict that . . . plastic will outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050 unless we change course soon.” One small way to keep more plastic from the ocean is by using reusable water bottles. However, there are plenty of crafty ways to reuse plastic bottles.
What you need
- Plastic water or soda bottle (preferably used)
- Scissors
- A drill or tool to create holes
- Spray paint
- Art supplies
- String
- Dirt
- A plant
What to do
- With the scissors, make a horizontal cutout across the top of the bottle. You can also create an oval cutout vertically with enough space to fit in dirt and a plant, or turn the bottle sideways and cut out space across the top.
- Afterward, consider painting and designing the planter.
- After the paint dries, drill or poke drainage holes at the “bottom” of your planter, if needed (some plants, such as snake or spider plants, don’t need drainage holes). If you plan to hang the planter, secure string or rope.
- Finally, fill the planter with dirt and a plant.
Students can create flower vases from plastic water bottles for a more straightforward project. After cutting off the top of the bottle, they can design their vases, fill them with water, and place whatever flowers they discover outside in the vases. A thoughtful gift for Mother’s Day!
4. Go on a backyard scavenger hunt, Grades K–2
Let your students explore the outdoors—perhaps in their backyard or a neighborhood park—to see what they can find. How many squirrels will they see dashing by? Can they spot anything recyclable? Let them draw their favorite discoveries once they arrive back inside. Coloring the pictures on the worksheet is optional but encouraged!
5. Design posters, Grades K–5
Poster Earth Day projects for elementary students allow kids to learn about more pressing environmental issues. You can have your students brainstorm the topics that matter to them the most, such as cleaning up the neighborhood, saving the bees or rainforests, water pollution, or global warming. Then, have your students create posters using recyclable products or items found outdoors to spread awareness of environmental issues impacting humanity. They have plenty of objects and materials to choose from, such as pebbles, leaves, twigs, acorns, seeds, feathers, shells, cardboard, old mail and magazines, and bottle caps.
After developing their design ideas, help students pick slogans to add to their posters. Here are some examples: Save Our Home, Plant a Tree, Earth Day Is Every Day, and Keep Earth Clean.
6. Trek through nature, Grades K–5
There are plenty of benefits to spending time in nature, such as escaping city noises, getting fresh air and natural sunlight, and boosting one’s self-esteem and mood. Nature walks can also develop observational skills. In this Earth Day activity for students, your class will go on a nature walk, focus on one particular item (for example, a flower, tree, insect, etc.), and take part in a discussion based on their observations.
7. Take small steps for our planet, Grades K–5
Not every step we take will have an immediate, huge impact on the environment. Consider having students brainstorm steps they can take that might improve the environment’s health, even in a small way. Then, students can pledge to do one of those tasks in a day. You can collect the ideas and have students randomly pick out their tasks. Don’t know where to start? Consider these ideas:
Donate used clothes, shoes, or school supplies |
Enjoy the outdoors |
Go paperless for a day |
Help clean a garden, yard, or green area |
Learn about climate change |
Learn about composting |
Learn about your carbon footprint |
Personalize a reuseable bag (or a lunch bag) |
Pick up litter |
Plant a seed |
Recycle anything |
Reuse a water bottle |
Turn off unused lights |
Unplug unused electronics |
Water a plant |
8. Plant a tree, Grades K–5
Planting a tree is a common Earth Day activity. Trees provide many environmental benefits, such as cleaning the air, providing oxygen, and addressing climate change. Anyone of any age can participate in a volunteer tree planting event in April. Alternatively, you can donate as little as $1 to The Canopy Project to help plant trees worldwide. Consider using this activity for Arbor Day, celebrated every year on the last Friday in April.
9. Upcycle crayons, Grades 2–5
Craving an Earth Day art project? This activity teaches kids about upcycling by having them melt their used crayons into new crayons. Adult supervision is a must! This project is ideal for kids who have quite a few broken crayons lying around.
What you need:
- Used crayons
- Cookie-cutter shapes or silicone molds (round, square, star, butterfly, flower, pineapple, etc.)
- Muffin tin or clean aluminum can (such as a soft drink can) with the top cut off
- Warming tray or electric fry pan
What to do:
- Peel the wrapper off the crayons and break them into smaller pieces. (Tip: For a faster melt, use crayon shavings. To shred crayons, use a pencil sharpener or a grater with adult supervision.)
- Add the broken crayons to a muffin tin or aluminum can.
- Place the muffin tin or the aluminum can on a warming tray or into a water-filled electric fry pan set for low heat. Note: Crayons can melt at different rates. If needed, use a small wooden spoon or stirring stick to stir the crayons.
- After the crayons have melted, gently pour the crayon wax into the cookie-cutter shapes.
- Leave cookie-cutter shapes undisturbed. Once the wax has cooled and hardened, pop off the cookie cutters, and voilà. New crayons for coloring!
For more crayon-related arts and crafts projects, check out these activities.
10. Write Earth Day expressions, Grades K–5
Want to get your students excited about saving our planet? Let them express themselves by writing and performing an Earth Day song or rap. For example, these two teachers filmed a rap video that educates students about the holiday’s importance. Challenge your kids to write educational lyrics that speak to issues such as climate change, pollution, deforestation, or water scarcity. If your students are poets at heart, let them compose a poem instead. The following poems are excellent examples:
- “Earth Day” by Jane Yolen
- “Remember” by Joy Harjo
- “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Glacier (after Wallace Stevens)” by Craig Santos Perez
Afterward, give students a chance to perform or explain the meaning of their writing.
Share your Earth Day ideas for schools
How do you honor Earth Day in your classroom and get your students thinking about the various ways they can do good for their communities and the environment? Do you clean up a local park or play Earth Day games for elementary students? Share your Earth Day ideas for schools via email at [email protected] or reach out on Instagram.
***
Learn more about HMH science solutions, enabling teachers to guide K–12 students in learning through exploration, analysis, application, and explanation.
This blog, originally published in 2021, has been updated for 2025.
Download our FREE calendar of activities!
