Earth Day is a great time to engage students in meaningful, high-interest learning experiences. Whether you teach science, social studies, math, or ELA, there are plenty of ways to connect Earth Day to your curriculum. Planning for Earth Day activities can help students see real-world applications of what they’ve learned and inspire them to take action in their communities.
Do you incorporate Earth Day activities into the month of April? This special event provides a perfect opportunity for cross-curricular connections. Students can explore environmental topics through reading and writing, analyze data related to climate trends, and even express their understanding through creative projects.
AI-powered tools can support differentiation, ensuring all learners engage with Earth Day topics at an appropriate level. Whether creating a song, generating custom reading passages, or designing unique visuals, AI can enhance the experience while keeping students actively involved.
Today on the blog, I’ll share some favorite Earth Day activities and tips for integrating AI tools.
Why Earth Day Activities Matter
Incorporating Earth Day into your lessons allows students to connect classroom learning to the real world. Science classes can explore ecosystems, conservation, and renewable energy sources. In social studies, students can examine global environmental policies and historical movements. Math activities might include analyzing data on pollution levels or calculating carbon footprints.
If you’re teaching English Language Arts or looking for a literacy connection, your lessons might involve persuasive writing pieces advocating for sustainability or reading articles on environmental issues. AI can support these activities by generating leveled reading passages, summarizing key concepts, and even providing interactive quizzes to assess understanding.
AI and the Environment
Have you joined me for a keynote, workshop or webinar this year? Then you might have heard me use the term “healthy hesitation” when I talk about the issues related to artificial intelligence that should give use some pause. One of the areas is the environmental impact of AI. Bottom line: It takes way more energy to submit a chatbot query (even a simple one like you’ll find on this list) than a quick Google search.
Earth Day (or any day) is a great time to investigate this topic or foster these discussions with colleagues or students. There are resource related to this topic that explore the impact AI technology has on water usage, as well as the potential benefits of leveraging this technology to support the climate crisis. Like many types of technology (including cryptocurrency) there is significant “electricity-thirsty computing” taking place that is worth noting — and may end up being the focus of Earth Day activities instead of the dozen I mention below.
AI-Powered Earth Day Activities
I’ve pulled together a dozen AI-enhanced ways to bring Earth Day into your classroom. For a few of them, I’ve included links to blog posts that can give you extra ideas related to the topic. And if you’re looking for some Earth Day-themed videos to use, here is a list from Ted-Ed to explore.
Create a Song with Magic School
Magic School gives you lots of options for creating supplemental content for your students. Using the Song Generator tool, You can compose an original song about an Earth Day theme using AI-generated lyrics and familiar melodies.
Turn an Article into a Listening Activity with Illuminate
I shared strategies for using new Google tools on the blog earlier this year, including the powerful tool Illuminate. Convert an Earth Day article into an engaging audio format for listening comprehension practice. You might use an article from an online source like Time Magazine.
Generate Unique Animal Combinations with Adobe Express or Adobe Firefly
Have students combine two of their favorite animals to create an imaginative new species. In Adobe Express, they can choose to use generative AI to create an image from a prompt. When students are finished, they can discuss its habitat and adaptations.
Use Diffit to Create a Reading Passage and Vocabulary Activity
I’m a big fan of Diffit and all of the ways teachers can create differentiated, supplemental content for students. Generate a grade-level appropriate reading passage and corresponding vocabulary exercises to reinforce key Earth Day concepts.
Summarize Earth Day Videos with Knowt’s AI Video Summarizer
At the TCEA conference this year, I had the chance to spend time with the Knowt team. One of their teacher tools is the “AI Video Summarizer.” You can use this tool to pull key details from an informative video and create flashcards or comprehension questions.
Compose an Earth Day Story Song with Suno AI
Some of my favorite things to share in a keynote or workshop are tools that let you generate music with the help of AI. You can have students write a short Earth Day story or description of an event. Then, you can add it to a tool like Suno to turn it into a song to share.
Embed Questions into a Video with Edpuzzle’s AI Assistant
Edpuzzle is a popular tool for blended learning and creating interactive video content for students. They have a new feature that lets you use AI to generate comprehension questions. Try this out with an Earth Day-related video, keeping students engaged while watching.
Explore the World with Google Arts & Culture
I love Google Arts & Culture, and I gave it a big shout out in Chapter 5 of my book EdTech Essentials. You can either give a link to students or let students pick a place they’d like to visit. It’s a great way to explore environmental landmarks or natural wonders.
Take a Virtual Field Trip with Talking Tours
Another favorite also from Google Arts & Culture is Talking Tours. This is still in beta or experimental mode, but it is worth considering. Guide students through famous ecological sites while prompting them to ask critical questions.
Create a Readers’ Theater with ChatGPT
Have you made a Reader’s Theater with the help of a chatbot? You can generate a script about Earth Day that students can perform. It’s a great way to bring environmental concepts to life.
Get Outside with Activate
I’ve featured Activate a few times on the blog, and they have a fantastic way to leverage the power of AI. It uses AI to help you (or students) create custom games. Your students can play interactive games that connect to Earth Day themes while getting students moving outdoors.
Make Slides with Brisk Teaching
If you want to add an extra layer to the exploration of an Earth Day topic, you can use Brisk Teaching to make a slide deck. This tool does so much for teachers to help them save time. One great feature is how you can generate AI-powered slides. These slides can support an Earth Day lesson with engaging visuals and structured content.
Getting Started with Earth Day Activities
Earth Day activities provide a chance to make learning relevant, inspiring students to think critically about their impact on the planet. By incorporating AI tools, you can differentiate instruction, spark creativity, and make these lessons more customized and engaging. Whether students are writing, analyzing data, or creating multimedia projects, these activities will help them connect their learning to the real world in a meaningful way.
For more ideas on using AI in the classroom, check out my book, EdTech Essentials: 12 Strategies for Every Classroom in the Age of AI, 2nd Edition. It includes dozens of AI-powered strategies and prompts to enhance learning experiences. If you already have a copy, download the free study guide to dive deeper into the book’s strategies and put them into practice!
