• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Teaching Expertise

  • Home
  • Classroom Ideas
  • Technology
  • Teacher’s Life
  • Deals & Shopping
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • Classroom Ideas
  • Technology
  • Teacher’s Life
  • Deals & Shopping
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

24 Engaging Earth Day Activities for Middle School 

November 4, 2022 //  by Brittney Hallmark

Earth Day is a great opportunity to give middle school students the chance to learn more about our planet and how to help preserve it. Use informational text resources, books about environmental issues, and passages about natural disasters to help students learn more about the Earth and the day we choose to celebrate it. This list of 24 activities includes ideas you can use for this annual event in your very own middle school classroom! 

1. Alien Visitor Writing Activity 

Creative writing at its best is this alien visitor writing activity. It is a fun way to include Earth day activities in your daily writing while writing from a different perspective. 

Learn More: Pinterest

2. Virtual Field Trips 

Virtual field trips are always a great idea! They provide an opportunity to travel outside the classroom that not all students would get otherwise. Students can see places that will show them places that need help with water pollution or ground pollution. 

Learn More: Earth Reminder

3. Bottle Painting Recycling Activity 

Reusing and recycling are important concepts for middle school students to learn about. Collect bottles to use for painting and help students learn the value of recycling and reusing plastic, and also how to repurpose these items for good, like creating art. 

Learn More: Earth Reminder

4. Bottle Cap Mural 

Collect bottle tops of all kinds for this art project! Let students work together to form a beautiful art project of the planet to display in your school or classroom.  

Learn More: Angela Lutzker And Theart Room

5. Earth Day Recycled Crayons

Make recycled crayons with your students. Show them how to recycle broken crayon bits to form new crayons by melting down the old ones and using a mold to form new ones. These are great to donate to your local art teacher or elementary school. 

Learn More: The Gunny Sack

6. Litter Clean Up 

Earth Day Projects for High School Science

Organizing a litter clean-up day can be very beneficial. Students can divide up areas to work on and form teams that can tackle each section together. If you can leave the classroom, you may look into going to a public place in your town that could use some help. 

Learn More: Suburban Science

7. Drinking Water Experiment 

Another good science experiment to try on Earth Day is this drinking water experiment. It is a great way to show the effects of water pollution and how water can be affected by choices that humans make. 

Learn More: Suburban Science

8. Escape Room

Creating an Earth Day escape room is a great way to break up the regular classroom activities with something a little different. You can use a pre-made one, like this, or make your own. Students can work together to find the clues and figure out how to make their escape! 

Learn More: Amigo Science

9. Learn How to Compost

Picture of Compost clipart

Teaching students how to compost is a great idea for Earth day. Students will have the opportunity to learn more about the benefits and how it can help their environments and their own towns. This is a great science experiment for students to participate in as well. 

Learn More: Amigo Science

10. Have a Debate

Organizing a classroom debate is a great way to tie many skills together. Include reading and writing in preparation for the debate. Use oral language skills to present the data in the debate and have students take different stances to debate against each other. 

Learn More: Mondays Made Easy

11. Write an Essay About Plastic Waste

Plastic waste is a very real problem. Learning more about specific content like this is a great way to teach persuasive writing skills as well. Help students write from a perspective that reminds them to pitch their views to others.

Learn More: Mondays Made Easy

12. Make Bird Feeders

Even the big kids enjoy this activity! Have students create bird feeders from ice cream cones, peanut butter, and birdseed. Students can hang these from the trees around the school and enjoy watching the birds that come to eat. 

Learn More: Mrs. Beers

13. Earth Day Reader’s Theater

For a change of pace and a break from worksheets or craft projects, try this reader’s theater activity. Earth day is a perfect time to take a break from all the printable activities and let students take part in this read-aloud activity. 

Learn More: Mrs. Beers

14. Bean Pole Garden Tent

Bean pole garden tent shown with big colored pencils as beanpoles in a pyramid structure

Let students take learning outdoors. Students can work together to create a bean-pole tent. If you have the space for a small garden, this would be a great addition, as students can grow these beans in an upward direction and save space but still have plenty of results. 

Learn More: Kids Activities Blog

15. Root Veggie Grow Bags

Grow bag for potatoes or other root vegetables

Growing root vegetables is a great way to grow things that students can use! Watch as these root vegetables grow “under the ground”. These bags have a window that allows a sneak peek so you can watch as they change while growing. 

Learn More: Kids Activities Blog

16. Earth Day Learning Lab 

This digital resource is a great way to take kids outside the classroom and into a virtual learning lab. Students will experience new learning relating to Earth day. Students will have the option to participate by watching videos or reading through the collection of informational texts.  

Learn More: Learning Lab

17. Start Some Seed Jars 

Seedlings grow in jars as part of an earth day activity.

Let students try their hand at growing. Starting seed jars is a fun way to let students see that they can grow something if they stick with it. Start small and let students experience the benefit of growing something on their own. 

Learn More: Prodigy Game

18. Start Recycling 

Plastic bottles are lined up and ready to go in the recycling bin.

Activities on recycling, like creating a recycling program, are a great way to get students involved in learning more about recycling and waste management. Reusing recycled items to create crafting projects is another great way to help our planet. 

Learn More: Prodigy Game

19. Read and Respond

Read-and-respond prompts are always a great way to build engagement, social interaction, and content retention. Students can use the digital resource to address concepts like environmental concerns and current events related to protecting our planet. 

Learn More: Teach Create Motivate

20. Think Aloud

This classroom activity combines digital and print resources. Students can read to learn more about Earth day and how to protect our planet and as they do, they can fill out the Google slides and print additional resources.  These also serve as great science resources! 

Learn More: Teach Create Motivate

21. All About Earth Day and Its History 

Another great way to teach more about these concepts is through the use of informational text. You could use this with copies of student exit slips to have students recall facts from their nonfiction reading or use this as a resource for a writing activity. 

Learn More: 2 Peas And A Dog

22. Writing Activity 

Earth Day Writing Activity

This writing project is a fun way to learn more about how to protect and help our environment. These activity sheets focus on writing and reading and can be used in a science lesson as well. 

Learn More: Lit In Focus

23. Recycled Art Projects

Challenge kids to see what kind of art they can make from recycled paper! This is a great project for students in grades K to 12. This activity may even spark some interest in creating a recycling program at school. 

Learn More: Art Is What I Teach

24. Earth Day Collage 

You can teach the basics of recycling with this art project idea! Use scraps of paper to create a colorful craft paper version of the Earth. This is a great way to show students how to repurpose recycled paper and challenge kids to create something new. 

Learn More: I Heart Crafty Things

Related posts:

25 Ways to Make Potty Training Fun 
12 Great Joke Books for Kids
20 Incredible St. Patrick’s Day STEM activities for your Pre-schooler!

You'll also like:

No related posts.

Category: Classroom Ideas

Previous Post: « 25 Hibernating Animals
Next Post: 20 Around The World Elementary Activities »

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • 20 Fascinating Fibonacci Activities
  • 18 Hands-On Math Plot Activities
  • 25 Humble Honey Bee Activities For Kids
  • 22 Superb Subject And Predicate Activities
  • 30 Marvellous Mask Crafts
  • 20 Of The Best Chocolate Fever Activity Ideas