Celebrate Earth Day!

Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day in 1970. In the same year, Denis Hayes coordinated the first Earth Day in the United States. As a result of Earth Day, many environmental laws were passed and the Environmental Protection Agency was created.

In celebration of Earth Day, have your students research some environmentalists who have made major contributions to our planet. A good starting point would be to view the people listed on the Ecology Hall of Fame. Have each student choose one person.

After researching the person's achievements, students can then write letters to the environmentalists asking for their opinions on a current environmental issue or to share ideas on how to protect the earth. Students can write a friendly or business letter using the Letter Generator. After printing the letters, have students turn their letters into letter poems using the Letter Poem Creator, which will help them change their letters into poetic form.

Once the poems are finished, host an Earth Day poetry reading-outdoors if possible.

• Time for Kids: Earth Day
  

  Find tips for green living.

   

• Environmental Education for Kids!
  

  The EEK! website is filled with environment-related information and activities for students in grades 4–8. Teachers can find lesson plans and related links.

   

• Earth Foundation
  

  The Earth Foundation offers this collection of resources. Of interest is the Teacher/Student resources section, which has sample lesson plans, links to information on the history of Earth Day and the rainforest, and letter-writing campaigns for students.

   

• EPA Environmental Kids Club
  

  This site, from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, provides information about a variety of environmental topics-from air and water to garbage and recycling.