Purple Palmetto's Porch: Go Green & Get Groovy {Earth Day Ideas with a Freebie!}

Earth Day...

National Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22. This annual day is held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. In 1970, the first Earth day was celebrated. The movement made people aware and helped to channel human energy toward environmental issues. Forty-six years later, caring people continue to lead with groundbreaking ideas. The greatest lesson of the original Earth Day was...It must never be forgotten.

There are many fun ways to celebrate Earth Day in the classroom with your students. Students want to make a difference and this is a great opportunity for them to do so. Simply turning your classroom lights out for the day is one fun option. My students think this is such a fun way to conserve energy for the day! Showing the video/DVD of The Lorax is always a favorite along with the many fun activities that go along with it. Writing Earth Poetry on whiteboards or with sidewalk chalk is a way to express the love for our planet. Another favorite in my classroom is Earth Day Bingo with little plants in compostable cup as prizes.

I have created a fun way for students to channel their inner 1970s hippy for Earth Day! Students choose their own "Green and Groovy" name with this fun activity. Much like an Elf Yourself activity, students use the month they were born to discover their Groovy first name and the date they were born as their Groovy last name. Students draw a Polaroid of their new groovy persona. A variety of environmental prompts are included so that students can work individually or in groups to come up with responses. Students can even work their new groovy personas into the stories they create. With some Sharpie markers, crayons, and colored pencils, the colored Polaroids and stories/prompt responses make a great bulletin board!