Easy Prep Earth Day Ideas

 You can do these this week!

Here are a few ideas to make Earth Day exciting for your students.

No-Mold Bean in a Bag: 

Have you tried the Bean in a Bag project only to grow more mold than bean vines? Well, here is the SECRET TIP: USE STAPLES! That's it!

Directions:

1. With CLEAN hands, slip a folded paper towel into a sandwich size zipper bag.

2. Add a row of staples about 1/3 up from the bottom. (see photo)

3. Write each student's name at the top of the bag with a sharpie.

4. Soak your dry lima beans overnight. 

5. Drain the beans and have each student either WASH THEIR HANDS WELL or use TONGS to drop 3-5 beans into the bag in front of the paper towel.

(This is also a great time to have students explore and examine an additional bean, removing the coat, discovering the sprout inside, and getting to feel the hard, smooth bean.

6. Spray the inside of the bag with clean water to wet the entire paper towel, but not enough to puddle water at the bottom. Seal the zipper.

7. Tape the bag to a FLOWERPOT TEMPLATE (write student's name on the top rim first) and tape them to the window where students can check on their beans. 

Predict how the bean will grow. Will the roots grown down and the vine grow up? How will the staples help? 

BONUS: Read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Tape an image of a castle to one end of a straw and tape the straw to the back of the bag allowing the castle to stand high above the bag. When the vine reaches the top of the bag, open it a bit to allow the vine to wind its way us the straw to the castle. You might have to spray additional water in the bag each day.

See the FLOWER POT template by clicking HERE.

See the WRITING template (for Earth Day & 19 additional writing prompts by clicking HERE.

And while you are looking at my TpT Store, grad over 20 FREEBIES!

Harry Herman:  

You can use egg shells, bathroom tissue rolls, flat-bottom ice cream cone or small paper or clear plastic cups for this one. (see photos)

Directions:

1. Write students' names of the back or bottom of the container.

2. Have students glue google eyes to their container and allow them to dry.

2. Have students fill their container with potting soil.

3. Have students add a few grass or radish seeds and cover with a tiny bit of soil.

4. Use a spray bottle to water in the seeds. (Be careful not to over water, especially the ice cream cones!)

5. Place containers in a sunny location. 

Radish seeds will take only 3 days, grass seeds will take a bit longer. 

Once the grass seeds have grown out, students can "style" the grass with small clips or rubber bands. Students can also plant their egg shell, TP roll, or paper cup directly in the ground or remove the plant with the soil around it from the plastic cup to plant outside. 

Exiting Ways To Teach All About The Five Senses

Hearing:

We spent the entire morning on this sense, but I integrated so many other subject so we covered a lot of standards and had FUN learning.  Here is how:

This was our culmination activity each day.
My K students dictated, I wrote on lined paper, they copied & illustrated.
My TK students dictated, I wrote with a highlighter on their paper, they traced & illustrated.

We started by listening:

We listened to soft sounds and LOUD sounds by using this Thunder Tube.  

Click the image to see this on Amazon.com

We read about the sense of hearing and how our ears pick up vibrations and send the info to our brains.  

Then, We Went On A Listening Walk:

We listened to The Listening Walk, by Paul Showers.  

Click the image to see the book on Amazon.com

If you are lucky enough to find a cassette tape or audio version of this book, grab it.  It has wonderful sounds in the background.  The link above is for the book only.  

We followed up by taking our own listening walk on the playground.  We heard leaves crunching beneath our feet, cars driving by, birds, a dog, an airplane, and even the air conditioner outside of one of the classrooms.  We even counted how many different things we heard.  :)

We returned to our classroom and I met with small groups of five children.  We started by illustrating one thing that we heard while on our listening walk.  As the students drew and colored, I asked each child what they were drawing and I wrote it for them on lined paper so they could copy it or I used a highlighter and let them trace over it.  It all depended on each child's ability. 

This was our culminating activity each day.
This was my sample.
We always add blue background by using
broken, unwrapped, blue crayons to fill in the background.

This page is part of a 5-page book about out 5 Senses.  Students meet with me each day, experience hands-on activities having to do with one of the 5 senses, and then they write about it in their 5 senses packet.  You can find a similar packet in my TPT store by clicking HERE.  

Then we listened to our hearts:

If the child is holding the stethoscope, make sure they are not standing near a table or anything else the end of the stethoscope can drop onto.

If you are lucky enough to have a stethoscope, be very careful.  If a child has the ear buds in their ears, and they drop the end of the stethoscope on the table, it can hurt their ears.  I ALWAYS hold the end of the stethoscope carefully in my hand.  I tap gently on the end so they can hear how loud a gentle tap sounds.  Then, I carefully hold the end to their chest so they can hear their own heart beating.  I LOVE watching their eyes light up when they hear their own heart beating.  This activity drives home how you can HEAR something that you can't see.

I clean off the stethoscope with a baby wipe before the next child puts the earbuds in their ears.

Then We Matched Sounds:

Each sealed film canister has objects inside for the students to shake and listen to.  I placed the same objects into 2 canisters so every jar has a matching jar.  Students shake the jars and match the two that have the same sound.  

Make sure you number each jar and keep a "cheat sheet"
so you know instantly which 2 jars match.

Shake, shake, shake, and listen for a matching sound.

The following day, we learned about another one of our 5 senses until we finished our entire 5 Senses packet.

This is the cover sheet for the 5 Senses Packet.  Click the image to see the product.

This is what the "hearing" page looks like (minus the logo).Click the image to see the product.

See you all tomorrow for another one of our 5 Senses.

Let me know if you have any FUN ways to learn about the five senses. 

Palma :)