I'm a big fan of Earth Day.
I think looking out for our world is VERY important and it needs to happen now.
Each and every one of us needs to do what we can to help this place be around for our grandchildren and our grandchildren's grandchildren.
As with most special days, I always celebrate every Earth Day with plenty of good literature.
Here are some of my favorite children's books with an Earth Day theme:
Earth Day is an ABC book, and makes a great introduction to the concept of protecting the environment.
The Lorax, is classic Seuss! He tells about a mystical land of fantasy, which, in true Seuss fashion, is a much deeper real story. Even my second graders understand this valuable lesson.
The Wump World is a fun book to read to the children and NOT show the illustrations (even the cover) until the children have had a chance to show the Wumps and Pollutians that they visualized while listening to the story. Another great story about a fantasy world with very real lessons!
This one is a new discovery to me, and my new Earth Day Favorite.
A River Ran Wild is a story that dates back to the days the Native Americans ruled this area, and respected the earth. It continues through European settlers, the industrial age, and attempts to clean up the river. This book is based on a local river, which makes it near and dear to my heart, but it's got a valuable message about protecting our world. My students became very upset when they saw what happened to the beautiful river. See THIS BLOG POST for more about this book, and an art activity to go with it.
After reading, I intend to have the children do some opinion writing and/ or explanatory/ informational writing based on what they have learned about protecting the environment.
Here's a collection of writing paper with the Earth Day theme that I'll be using.
See this link to download this dollar deal: Earth Day Writing Paper
Plus, here's a little song to encourage Recycling! Click the image to download Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!
How are you honoring Earth Day this year?
