5 Resources for Earth Day

My Earth is pretty important to me! 

It's my home, and it's the home for my kids (both biological and students) and their children. If we make the effort, we can make our Earth and its resources last!

 

I plan to make the whole week all about protecting our Earth and its resources.  Here are some of my plans:

1.  Literature! I always use plenty of literature whenever I teach a concept.  Here are some great books that tell what happens if we don't take care of our Earth: (Click for an affiliate link to Amazon for more information about these books.)

• The Lorax
• The Wump World
• A River Ran Wild

     

Here are some more books to bring Earth Day awareness:

• Earth Day: An Alphabet Book
• The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Help Save the Earth 
• The Everything Kids' Environment Book

     

2. Resources! Here's what I'll be using next week to tie Earth Day into reading, writing and math in my second grade classroom: Earth Day No Prep

These Earth Day Math Story Problems are a favorite! 

 

The above resources as well as a few others are included in this bundle at a HUGE discount!  Earth Day Collection

3. Videos!  Speaking of Youtube, there is a wealth of information out there, and some of it is pretty good!  Here are a few I've found that are great for Earth Day:

4. Be a Role Model! If you want the kids to do what they can to protect our Earth, you need to show them how! Let them see you reduce, reuse, and recycle! I always warn my students not to use more than their share of paper, not to waste materials, and not to let the water run. They see me being careful about using paper. I even print on both sides whenever I can! If a paper has print on one side, I save it and put it upside down in my printer to use again. We have a recycling box in our class for paper, and save paper scraps, especially construction paper that can be used again on other projects! I also make a point to mention when I see a child being conservative with materials.

5. Dollar Deals! Here are a couple more Earth Day bargains!

Here's a Dollar Deal for students to write about their Earth Day plans: EarthDay Writing Paper

 

This Dollar Deal is a song to the tune of Take Me Out to the Ballgame! Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

 

Can you tell Earth Day is important to me? 

Happy Earth Week!

Martin Luther King Jr. Books, Videos, and Resources

I love teaching my students about Martin Luther King Jr.  

He was an incredible man, and stood for peace!

Although I'm giving away my age, I remember when he was shot. I was a little too young to understand the impact at the time. (I was far more interested in the boys than the politics of the day.) Today I can't watch his speech without tears rushing down my face.  It disturbs me to think that a peaceful man who worked so hard for non-violence was killed in such a violent way.

Literature is a valuable part of my teaching. I've read many books about Dr. King, and they always keep the children engaged.  He was clearly a powerful man. Here are some good ones: (Each is a link to Amazon.)

• Who Was Martin Luther King Jr?
• Martin Luther King Jr. Time for Kids
• National Geographic Readers: Martin Luther King Jr. 

                                    

Explore each link to Amazon to learn more about that book!  A video also grabs the attention of the children. Check out this one from Brain Pop.

Or this one from YouTube (Who doesn't love Kid President?):

Although his speech is kind of long for the little ones, this is the last part of that famous speech, and it's worth showing at least part of it to the children. I think the children will understand Dr. King's passion:

Dr.  King taught the world about peace.  Here are some children's books that help with the concept of peace. 

• I am Human: A Book of Empathy
• Kindness is my Superpower: a Chidren's Book About Empathy, Kindness, and Compassion
• Children Who Dance in the Rain: 2023 Children’s Book of the Year Award, a Book About Kindness, Gratitude, and a Child's Determination to Change the World

I also recommend this video:

It certainly tells the story of peace that I want children to learn, and I suspect it's the peaceful world Dr. King dreamed of. Plus, the lyrics are right on the screen for the kids to sing along... over and over!

Here's one more video, a song that warms my heart! It goes right along with the teachings of Dr. King, and is something children will understand:

Finally, here's one of my own resources - it's a sorting activity that's sure to get the kids talking! And their conversations defending their opinions are amazing! Plus, there are related writing papers to follow up on those rich conversations! See the image for the activity Just or Unjust?

You can also get this resource for free by signing up for my emails HERE.

Speaking of activities, I have a couple of MLK activities in this resource: Science and Social Studies Activities for January

It includes a close read about Dr. King.

A mapping activity, based on important places in Dr. King's life.

And making timelines based on Dr. King's life.

See any of the images above to see Science and Social Studies Printables for January! (There is other fun stuff in there, too!)

I'd love to see your ideas for MLK too!