Below, you will find a wide range of ideas and resources to help you
when you are teaching children about the environment and recycling. If you have any relevant
resources to share, please email
them and I will add them to
this page. Thank you!
All of the images in these resources, unless otherwise indicated, were drawn by Helen Warner.
They are for classroom use only and may not be reproduced or redistributed for other reasons.
Thanks to Simon Haughton for suggesting many of the links below.
- Greener Schools - Some videos which have useful ideas for making your schools greener.
- Our Carbon Footprint
- A factsheet which explains what it meant by the term 'Carbon Footprint'. Contributed by Perry Day. - Carbon's Mysterious Footprint - A story which helps children to understand what is meant by the term 'Carbon Footprint'. Contributed by Perry Day.
- Earth
Day - Trees (Year 1) -
A lesson plan, originally created for use on Earth Day, which
helps children to think about why trees are important.
- Earth
Day - Carbon Footprint (Year 2) -
A lesson plan, originally created for use on Earth Day, which
encourages children to think about their own carbon footprint.
- Earth
Day - Extreme Weather (Year 3) -
A lesson plan, originally created for use on Earth Day, which
helps children to think about how to stay safe in extreme weather.
- Earth
Day - Recycling (Year 4) -
A lesson plan, originally created for use on Earth Day, which
asks why recycling is important.
- Earth
Day - Recycling (Year 5) -
A lesson plan, originally created for use on Earth Day, which
gets children to investigate the effect that recycling has on
the planet.
- Earth
Day - Trees (Year 6) -
A lesson plan, originally created for use on Earth Day, which
encourages pupils to think about the effects of chopping down
trees and replanting them.
- Wind
Power Challenge -
An activity which involves designing a wind turbine using classroom
objects. Contributed by Practical
Action.
- Wind
Turbine Images -
A set of images showing different designs of wind turbines.
Contributed by Practical
Action.
- Renewable
Energy Notes -
Some useful notes which explain why renewable energy is cool.
Contributed by Practical
Action.
- Renewable
Energy Wordsearch -
A wordsearch using words linked to renewable energy. Contributed
by Practical
Action.
- Green Classroom Lesson Plans - Teach pupils about water conservation with these lesson plans. Contributed by Yorkshire Water.
- Green Classroom Workbook - A set of activities and worksheets, linked to the Green Classroom lesson plans. Contributed by Yorkshire Water.
- Green Classroom Certificate - Celebrate your pupils' understanding of water conservation with this certificate. Contributed by Yorkshire Water.
- Eco
Week Ideas
-
A wonderful collection of ideas for having an
Eco Week at your school. Contributed by Margaret
Kunzer.
 Recycling Vocabulary |
 Compost Bin |
 Endangered Animals |
 Eco-Star Certificate |
All of the images in these resources, unless otherwise indicated, were drawn by Helen Warner.
They are for classroom use only and may not be reproduced or redistributed for other reasons.
 'Save the Planet' Banner |
 'The Environment' Banner |
 'Look after our World' Banner |
 Renewable Energy |
 Recycling Symbol Poster |
 Recycling Bin Poster |
- Oil Slick News
- Write a newspaper article about an oil slick. - Litter - Write a report about litter.
- Litter Poster - Create a poster to remind people to put rubbish in the bin.
- My Sust House - Interactive games which explore sustainability.
- Zerofootprint - Follow the questions to see if you are environmentally friendly.
- Reduce, reuse, recycle - An interactive game from BrainPOP.
- Eco Quest - Can you help Greenpeace to save the planet?
- California Wildfires - A panoramic photo (with audio interview) of California during wildfires. How might these have affected the habitats and environment in the area?
- The Painted Desert, Arizona - How has nature altered and influenced this environment?
- Ice Climbing in the Pyrenees - How might this area be affected if global temperatures rise?
- Sunset at the South Pole - Sunset only occurs once in this part of the world. Can you explain why?
- Pinnacles Desert - A desert in Australia which has some unusual limestone formations.
- Death Valley - An amazing landscape which could be the starting point for lots of discussions.
- Hurricane Ike Cleanup - How has the hurricane affected this area?
- Flights of Fantasy - Can you find the hidden birds in this picture of a recycling area?
- Recycling in Antarctica - Can you think of something that cannot be recycled here?
Thanks to Simon Haughton for suggesting many of the links below.
- Exciting Energy - A free online resource helping pupils aged 7–11 learn about energy in a real-world context.
- Cool Earth - Cool Earth works with local rainforest communities to protect rainforest from being cut down. Use their schools resources in your classroom.
- Keep Britain Tidy - An environmental charity and the anti-litter campaign for England who also run the Eco-Schools programme.
- Eco-Schools - Could your school become an Eco-School?
- RecycleNow Schools - Lots of resources to support teaching and learning about recycling.
- Eco Resources - A large collection of eco resources from Communication4All.
- Waste Education - Download lots of free recycling information here.
- Climate Lessons - Lots of ideas that could be used in lessons on climate, including short '10-minute trainer' topics.
