There are plenty of Earth Day lesson plans for regular classroom teachers that would work well for enrichment teachers and gifted students, but when g/t students are done with work and have extra time, why not offer a list of computer sites that are appropriate for Earth Day?
The Eco Kids Earth Day Collection
Earth Day Canada's Eco Kids website is a wonderful resource for teachers and students, and it is updated for throughout the year. Many teachers discovered it in previous years, and it is worth bookmarking for future Earth Days.
Eco Kids Offerings for Students
When kids get to the Eco Kids site, they need to click on the left side, where the page says "Kids Click Here". The website is neatly divided up and looks so efficient that it hides how many activities are truly available. Kids will enjoy:
- reading about what other kids are doing for Earth Day in the EcoKids recognition zone
- start a calendar with ideas on how to go green and stay green
- play games online
- share ideas with other students about ways to promote environmentally friendly choices.
Eco Kids also lists and links to the Top Ten Earth Day online games for kids. The list includes:
- Chain Reaction: Build a Food Chain
- I Don't Want to Clean My Room
- The Great Bug Hunt
- Animal Adaptations
- The Great Garbage Caper
- Yard Sale
- Mush Rush
- Errand Run
- Acid Lake
- Ladybug Breakdown
Teachers can give students the starting point of Eco Kids, and gifted students in as young as 2nd grade can manage the games. Some have sound, but it is not necessary to use the sound to understand and enjoy the games.
Eco Kids Offerings for Educators
Teachers must register to use the teacher side of the Eco Kids, but the result of registering (and confirming registration) is a huge library of resources, including:
- lesson plans, printables, and assessments that meet the Ontario Elementary Science and Technology curriculum standards
- a bibliography of Earth Day books
- access to contests
- modified lesson plans
- a collection of free Earth Day goodies
- a section for classes to post their Earth Day activities
Eco Kids is a comprehensive site that offers independent student online activities and a library of resources for teachers.
Scholastic News Online Earth Day Reading Resources
Many classrooms enjoy Scholastic's monthly News Magazines, and they have excellent in-depth reports for students who love to go deep and learn more about a topic. Rather than let old Scholastic magazines stack up, teachers can recycle them and save space by giving students a link that will lead to a lot of informative, non-fiction reading. Gifted students will enjoy reading Earth Day articles, but teachers have direct them to articles.
Scholastic News Online's Earth Day collection updates annually with special reports. By going to the specific link in this article, students and teachers will be able to see Earth Day articles sorted by grade, age, and subject. This allows gifted students to read up at higher grade levels, or stick with their age and interest levels.
Ideally, teachers can differentiate and individualize activities for students, but that is not reasonable or possible all the time. Eco Kids has a comprehensive selection of online games and activities that are perfect for kids who want to spend some time on the computer when they are done with work, and Scholastic News magazine offers a huge Earth Day library. Eco Kids and Scholastic also offer great resources for teachers, so these sites can be used in the computer lab, and teachers can find lesson plans and ideas for Earth Day 2010!
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
