Teaching about Earth Day

Background

Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22, on which events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network,^[1] and celebrated in more than 192 countries each year.^[2] In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be celebrated on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. (Wikipedia)

Earth day 2014, Green Cities

The theme for Earth Day 2014 is Green cities. The focus is on three key elements – buildings, energy and transportation.

Lesson plan

1. Look at the information on this web-page and in groups of 3 decide on which area you think is most important for your city.
2. Depending on your choice explore the options and do research on success stories from these areas.
3. Make a presentation, flyer, video or write on your blog. How can you best spread your ideas and get engagement in your community? Think big and open up for all options regardless of cost!
4. We will be Skyping with a class in the US. Write down 2 questions for the students there about concerns they might have regarding cities where they live.
5. Find more ideas here, K-12-Schools-Toolkit-2014
6. When done take time off to play this game- Stop disasters, and write a short post on your blog; what can we learn from games like this?

Additional resources for teachers

• Edutopia has listed many ideas here
• Mindshift has 22 interactive lessons to bring Earth Day to life

Related articles

• Why is a Fair Trade Retailer Writing About Earth Day?
• Earth Day 2013 Google Doodle