At-home and at school learning resources from Learning for a Sustainable Future
Week 30: Earth Day and Climate Change – Invest in Our Planet
This week's LIO is all about Earth Day and Climate Change. Celebrated on April 22nd, this year's theme, "Invest in our Planet," is focused on accelerating solutions to combat climate change and activating everyone – citizens, governments, and businesses to do their part. We each have a unique role to play; we need to act individually and together while there is still time to solve the climate crisis and build a healthy planet for our children and their children. To learn more about why we celebrate Earth Day, check out this month's Hot Topic page!

The activities below introduce students to different aspects of global warming and climate action. The suggested resources share some ideas on how we can get creative when celebrating Earth Day this year!
This upbeat music video reminds us that we only have one Earth, and as citizens of the world, we must all care about the environment. The lyrics will have students singing along as they consider how their actions can impact our planet - an excellent introduction to Earth Day activities.


Activities
  • Watch and listen to the Earth We're in it Together video. Have students dance and sing along
  • Check out these other Earth Day songs about saving the Earth, promoting conservation or appreciating nature
  • Read Saving Planet Earthly to learn how climate change affects people, plants and animals around you
  • Explore Climate Change for kids with this fun and engaging video
  • Have students try these fun and educational climate science experiments which help explain climate-related concepts
  • Get outside and participate in an Earth Day Bingo or Earth Day Scavenger Hunt
  • Try My Climate Actions to discover the actions you can take according to your habits
What did you think of Earth We’re in this Together?
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This storybook recounts the adventures of Anita and her friends, Simon and Denis, as they learn about climate change. From their home to Greenland and Maldives, the children learn of the impact of climate change on Earth with Anita's dad, a scientist and his friends. This book explains the concepts related to climate change in easy-to-understand terms.



Activities
  • Read What in the World is Happening to our Climate to learn how climate change affects the whole world
  • Get outside and play Maple Trees and Marmots; this activity explores the effects of climate change on animals and plants through role-playing games
  • To coincide with Earth Day, complete the We're All Part of the Solution activity to help students understand how humans are contributing to climate change and how we can take action to solve this challenge
  • In this video, Bill Nye, the Science Guy, explains what causes climate change, how it affects our planet, why we need to act promptly to mitigate its effects, and how each of us can contribute to a solution
  • Watch this video and discuss how we can help solve climate change by reducing our carbon footprint. Write a list of small steps you can take to reduce your ecological footprint. Trace your foot and draw your footprint-reducing solutions 
  • Engage your students Earth Day with these fun and interactive lessons
What did you think of What in the World is Happening to our Climate?
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This activity-based resource help students deepen their connection with the natural world and the people they share it with. The activities invite students to connect with their feelings about the Earth and the Climate and nature crisis and consider how we can make a change.


Activities
What did you think of Writing Letters to the Earth?
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This guide will provide educators with a blend of quality content resources, websites, books, videos and ideas and exemplary pedagogy to guide students through an inquiry-driven approach to climate change learning. It draws upon seven key strategies that transform learning as described in LSF's Connecting the Dots



Activities
  • Check out this student inquiry, "What is Climate Change and why care?" filled with ideas, questions and activities that inspire learning
  • Learn more about Tackling Climate Change Together with the SDGs. Explore how climate change is connected to each of the 17 goals. List three things you can do to adapt to climate change
  • Take your class outside on a neighbourhood walk to identify natural, human, and built systems that impact climate change. Have students document their observations through photos, sketches and notes
  • After the walk, invite students to reflect on their observations and discuss how their everyday actions can impact climate change. Have them complete the Personal Climate Change Audit sheet on page four
  • Have students research a community agency, non-profit or government organization working to reduce the impact of climate change. Describe the actions that the organization does to mitigate the impacts of climate change
  • Test your knowledge with quizzes from Earth Day org. see what you know about climate change and other forces changing the planet
What did you think of Empowering Learners in a Warming World?
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About Learning Inside Out

Above you will find a selection of activities, broken down by various grade levels. These guides will be released weekly and archived on our Learning Inside Out page, so you can always access the full catalogue.

All activities have been modified from resources on our R4R database, simplified and adapted for both outdoor learning in the school yard or at-home as needed. The activity descriptions above should contain all the information and links that you need!

If you'd like to view the full original resource on R4R, including curriculum connections for every province/territory, click the activity title.

We want this guide to work for you, so your feedback is invaluable to us.
Use the feedback button at the bottom of this Guide, or email us at info@LSF-LST.ca. We would also love to see photos of students engaging in the activities, please e-mail us any pictures or videos you have!
Let us know how this helped your learning and teaching from home or at school indoors and (hopefully) outdoors and what you'd like to see more of by filling out our brief feedback form!
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Please share widely with any parents and teachers in your life!
Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) is a Canadian charity with over 25 years of experience working within the education system. Our Resources for Rethinking (R4R) database is an award-winning collection of resources that are peer-reviewed by certified teachers and connected to curriculum in all provinces and territories. R4R is recommended on many Ministry of Education websites.
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