Earth Day is a great opportunity to give your middle school students a chance to learn more about our planet, the challenges facing it, and how we can help preserve it. From recycled crafts to community action, there are so many ways for you and your kiddos to get involved! Have a look at our list of 40 middle school Earth Day activities to find a few ideas that you can use to mark this annual event in your very own classroom!
1. Alien Visitor Writing Activity
Creative writing is at its best in this alien visitor writing activity. Let your kiddos reflect on what they’d tell an alien about the Earth, then write it all down! This is a super fun and creative 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 for your kiddies to travel outside the classroom that they otherwise might not get. Use this amazing resource to open their eyes and give them a front-row seat to see places that are in need of help with water or ground pollution.
Learn More: Earth Reminder
3. Bottle Painting Recycling Activity
Reusing and recycling are important concepts for your students to learn about. Why not have them collect some bottles to use for painting a painting project? This will inspire them to think up different ways of recycling and reusing plastic, and they’ll make some colorful creations in the process!
Learn More: Earth Reminder
4. Bottle Cap Mural
Collect bottle tops of all kinds for this art project! Let your kids work together to create a beautiful, collective art project of the planet to display in your school or classroom. What an artistic way to reduce, recycle, and recreate!
Learn More: Angela Lutzker And Theart Room
5. Earth Day Recycled Crayons
Why not have a go at making recycled crayons with your learners? 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. Combine white, blue, and green colors in a circular mold to make mini-earth crayons to celebrate our planet’s special day!
Learn More: The Gunny Sack
6. Park Clean-Up
Get involved in a community clean-up effort! Teach your kiddos to care for their local area and community by organizing a student-led clean-up event at local parks and green spaces! Making public areas litter-free teaches them about our collective responsibility to keep our planet healthy.
Learn More: Tutor Doctor
7. DIY Water Filters
Trial and error enable creative problem-solving in this next idea! Have your learners embark on this exciting engineering challenge by providing them with materials like sand, gravel, and charcoal to design home-built water filters.
Learn More: YouTube
8. Escape Room
Treating your class to an Earth Day escape room is a delightful way to break up their regular classroom activities with something a little different. Challenge them to unravel these tricky Earth Day riddles where they’ll have to decipher clues in order to decode a hidden message.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
9. Learn How to Compost
Teaching your kiddies how to compost is a great idea for Earth Day! They’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the benefits of this eco-friendly activity and how it can help the environment in their own towns and backyards. You could even use your compost to grow some plants!
Learn More: Nat Geo Kids
10. Renewable Energy Debate
Develop those critical thinking skills in your learners by staging an informed debate! Spark a discussion about controversial renewable energy issues like wind turbine placement near communities or the scale of solar farms. As they research the different perspectives they’ll learn more about the future of energy!
Learn More: Vox
11. Hydroponic Farming
Invite your kids to discover the future of farming! Have them construct a mini hydroponic system for growing plants without soil. Using some easy-to-find materials, they’ll soon have a firsthand model to illustrate how this technique conserves water and land!
Learn More: YouTube
12. Make Bird Feeders
Even the big kids enjoy this activity! Have your students create bird feeders from ice cream cones, peanut butter, and birdseed. They can hang these from the trees around the school and enjoy watching the birds that come to eat.
Learn More: Mrs. Beers
13. Zero Waste School Challenge
Could your school reduce its plastic and food waste? Get your kiddos involved with the challenge of reducing waste by having them conduct audits of school garbage. You can then encourage them to develop and lead campaigns to reduce single-use plastics and food waste through conservation solutions!
Learn More: Open Schooling Navigator
14. Bean Pole Garden Tent
Let’s take learning outdoors! Get your kids working together to create a bean-pole garden structure. If you have a small outdoor garden area, this would be a great space-saving addition, as they’ll be able to grow these beans in an upward direction!
Learn More: Kids Activities Blog
15. Root Veggie Grow Bags
Start your very own class vegetable garden! Growing vegetables is a great way to show your kiddos how important our planet is for keeping us fed! Using these bags is a great way to bring this activity to life for them as they 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 your kiddies out of the classroom and into a virtual learning lab. They’ll experience new learning relating to Earth Day and will have the option to watch videos or read through the fantastic collection of informational texts.
Learn More: Learning Lab
17. Start Some Seed Jars
Give your students their very own seed to take care of. Starting seed jars is a fun way to let them see that with the right care and attention, they can grow something from scratch! They’ll love the responsibility as they ensure their seedling gets enough water and sunlight to flourish!
Learn More: Prodigy Game
18. Start Recycling
Encourage your class to become part of the plastic solution! Have them take on the challenge of creating a recycling program and let them come up with clever and creative ways to reuse recycled items. You could be surprised at what they come up with!
Learn More: Prodigy Game
19. Read and Respond
Read-and-respond prompts are always a great way to build engagement with any given topic. Have your class use this digital resource to address concepts like global warming and current initiatives aimed at protecting our planet. A ready-made Earth Day writing task; what’s not to love?!
Learn More: Teach Create Motivate
20. Read ‘Just A Dream’ by Chris Van Allsburg
What better way to open your middle schoolers’ eyes to the importance of our planet than with a captivating dystopian read? This book is about a boy who dreams of a polluted world and is a fantastic way to encourage your kids to learn more about why we need to protect our planet and what will happen if we don’t!
Learn More: Amazon
21. Green Architecture Study
Learn about the future of architecture! Let your kiddos develop an appreciation for sustainable design by having them research and present proposals for green buildings! Their designs will need to implement renewable energy, eco-friendly materials, and any other super sustainable ideas!
Learn More: Prezi
22. Writing Activity
Give your middle schoolers an option to go paperless with this idea! This writing project is a fun way for them to learn more about how to protect and help our environment. These super writing and reading tasks are perfect for a science lesson on Earth Day.
Learn More: Lit In Focus
23. Recycled Paper Vessels
Challenge your kids to see what kind of art they can create from recycled paper! This super idea will see them turn pages of old magazines into various vases, bowls, or cups. Using a particular folding and sticking technique, they’ll be able to build these creations in no time.
Learn More: Art Is What I Teach
24. Earth Day Collage
You can teach the basics of recycling with this art project idea! Have your learners use scraps of paper to create a colorful craft paper version of the Earth. This is a great way to show them how to repurpose recycled paper in a creative way!
Learn More: I Heart Crafty Things
25. Environmental Board Games
Reinforce sustainability concepts in a playful way by having your students design an engaging board game! Have them make a game that guides players through renewable energies, waste reduction, sustainable farming, and more. They’ll be saving the world, one game at a time!
Learn More: Phys
26. Upcycled Fashion Show
Encourage your budding fashion designers to get creative! Through upcycling materials like plastic bags, juice pouches, and t-shirts they’ll create amazing runway-worthy garments. All that’s left is to let them strut their sustainable stuff in an eco-conscious fashion show that blends recycling with creativity and fun!
Learn More: Escama Studio
27. Environmental Justice Research
Deepen your learners’ social awareness by having them conduct some environmental justice research! They’ll research a pressing environmental issue like unequal access to clean water or pollution in marginalized communities, and then create an advocacy presentation or video promoting action and change.
Learn More: PNNL
28. Beekeeping Field Trip
Your kiddies won’t be the only ones buzzing for Earth Day! If you’re lucky enough to have one nearby, you could coordinate a visit to a local bee farm. Your students will learn the important role that bees play in supporting agricultural diversity and food production. They’ll soon bee experts on these little black and yellow insects in no time!
Learn More: Sustainable Food Center
29. Food Waste Challenge
Tackle your cafeteria’s food waste through data and innovation! First, guide your kids in conducting cafeteria audits. They can monitor what’s going in the trash and then brainstorm solutions like sharing tables, weekly leftover days, and large-scale composting. They’ll be saving the planet, one lunch at a time!
Learn More: Stop Waste
30. Invention Convention
Spark ingenuity by challenging your learners to invent devices that help protect the environment! From air quality trackers to plastic waste compactors, or water conservation tools, their ideas are sure to impress. With creativity and a solution-focused mindset, they can drive change and change the world!
Learn More: Lemelson MIT
31. Plant a Tree
Planting a tree is a super way for your kiddos to leave their mark in a positive way! Encourage them to get their hands dirty planting trees and shrubs in the soil around school grounds. They’ll learn proper planting techniques while directly helping the planet – and they’ll be able to see their trees mature over time!
Learn More: Project Learning Tree
32. Letter Writing
Empower your kiddies to make their voices heard! Let them pen persuasive letters to government representatives urging action around the environmental issues they’re passionate about. Whether it’s wildlife conservation or reducing plastic waste, they’ll enjoy this chance to create a compelling piece of correspondence!
Learn More: Twinkl
33. Environmental Documentary
Shine a spotlight on humans’ impact on the Earth with this fascinating video. This short film shows the effects of human-made roads and cities, processes like mining, and pollution. These clips are sure to spark discussion in your classroom around the impact we as a species have on our planet!
Learn More: YouTube
34. Farmer’s Market Field Trip
Immerse your learners in a world of sustainable agriculture! Take them on a field trip to a local farmer’s market to interact with vendors and learn how local, earth-conscious practices manifest in real life. They’ll have a whole new appreciation for where their food comes from and the measures put in place to ensure the sustainability of the source!
Learn More: Midtown International School
35. Campus Bird Count
Bird watching is like window shopping for nature lovers! Celebrate Earth Day by having your pupils conduct an official bird count on school grounds using conservation organization protocols. They’ll gain a new appreciation of their local wildlife and can even submit their data to aid real research!
Learn More: The Times of India
36. Renewable Energy Lab
Let your kiddos get to grips with renewable energy sources by having them make their own! Provide materials for them to construct miniature wind turbines, solar panels, or hydropower generators. This hands-on building and investigation project solidifies how these sources work for them.
Learn More: Pittsburg State University
37. Plant a Pollinator Garden
Save the bees! Start by encouraging your kids to research different varieties of regional pollinator-friendly plants. Then have them grow vibrant gardens around your school grounds to attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds that support healthier local ecosystems! Not only will these gardens look great, but they’re great for the environment too!
Learn More: See What Grows
38. Plogging Challenge
Do your kiddies need to run off some energy? Plogging could be the eco-friendly answer! Foster community care and fitness by organizing a “plogging” challenge where your students pick up litter while jogging or walking! This could be around the school grounds, a park, or just around the local neighborhood. They’ll help clean public spaces, and improve their fitness!
Learn More: NCSU Edu
39. Earth Day Math Problems
Dive into the eco-friendly practice of water conservation on Earth Day with some math problems! These free printable worksheets cover a range of different math concepts where your kids will solve problems relating to water usage and conservation. This math lesson is sure to show them how they can use their number skills in real life!
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
40. Natural Dye Creation
Explore the properties of natural materials to create colorful dyes! Unlock these sustainable textile practices for your learners by guiding them to use fruit and vegetable peels, leaves, and flowers to dye textiles in a range of bright and vibrant colors! Earth Day has never been so colorful!
Learn More: LA Creative Mama
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