Earth Day Lesson Plan: Civic Ideas and Practices
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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Earth Day, and supports the standard of explaining the roles of formal and informal political actors in influencing and shaping public policy and decision-making. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.
Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Prompt students to share what they know and want to know about Earth Day. Ask:
- What are some ways people work together to help the environment?
Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE
- Read the description on the Earth Day topic page.
- Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS
Assign Earth Day Challenge and Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.
Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND
Students express what they learned about Earth Day while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.
- Make-a-Movie: Produce a PSA describing what Earth Day is all about. Explain ways that people can celebrate the day.
- Make-a-Map: Create a timeline sequencing events in Earth Day’s history, including its origins and its impacts.
- Creative Coding: Code museum exhibit about activists and politicians who played a role in the establishment and impact of Earth Day.
More to Explore
Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of environmental policy influencers with these topics: Rachel Carson and Wangari Maaathai.
Teacher Support Resources:
- Pause Point Overview: Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas.
- Learning Activities Modifications: Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
- Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.
