Home›Lesson Plans›Science›Earth Science · Kindergarten

Taking Care of Our Earth

Kindergartners learn simple ways to take care of the Earth — putting trash in the bin, recycling, saving water, turning off lights, and planting — and how our choices help keep nature clean and healthy.

KindergartenCaring for Nature30 minutes1 class period5E ModelExplicit teaching4 StandardsNGSS
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Know we can help the Earth.
  • ✓Tell helping from hurting.
  • ✓Name ways to recycle and save.
  • ✓Make a good choice.
Essential Question

Our Earth gives us air, water, plants, and animals. How can WE help take care of it and keep it clean and healthy?

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Helps or Hurts the Earth?

Project this and sort each action into helps the Earth or hurts the Earth.

🌍 Sort each — helps or hurts the Earth?Try it
💚 Helps the Earth
💔 Hurts the Earth
Tap an action, then tap a bucket.
The Lesson · 5E Instructional Model (Engage · Explore · Explain · Elaborate · Evaluate)

30 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Engage — Our Earth

5 min

Our Earth gives us so much — how can we take care of it?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Talk about nature.
  • Ask how to help.
  • Get ready.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think about Earth.
  • Share ideas.
  • Get ready.
2

Explore — Helps or Hurts

8 min

Children investigate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to Helps or Hurts the Earth?
  • Sort each action.
  • Talk about it.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort them.
  • Talk.
  • Explain.
3

Explain — Ways to Help

8 min

Children explain.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Put trash in the bin.
  • Recycle and save water.
  • Turn off lights; plant.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Learn trash.
  • Learn recycling.
  • Learn saving.
4

Elaborate — Earth Helpers

6 min

Children elaborate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Pick up litter together.
  • Start a recycling bin.
  • Make a promise to help.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Pick up.
  • Recycle.
  • Promise.
5

Reflect — Reflect

3 min

Children conclude.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a way to help.
  • Say why it helps.
  • Draw yourself helping.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Say why.
  • Draw it.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (Kindergarten / Early Elementary Science).

NGSS
K-ESS3-3

Communicate solutions to reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and living things.

NGSS
K-ESS2-2

Construct an argument about how plants and animals change their environment.

NGSS
K-ESS3-1

Represent where living things live.

NGSS
SEP-1

Asking questions and defining problems.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Helps/hurts picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “___ helps the Earth.”
  • Sort real actions.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with trash in the bin.
  • Use clear pictures.
  • Sort one at a time.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Start a class recycling project.
  • Make an Earth-helper poster.
  • Plant a seed.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • ♻️A recycling bin
  • 💻Helps or Hurts the Earth?
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🌳A seed to plant
  • 🎫Sticker charts
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

Earthour planet, our hometrashthings we throw awayrecycleto make old things into new thingslittertrash left on the groundsaveto use lesscleannot dirtynatureplants, animals, and landhelpto make things better
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name one way to help the Earth.
Put trash in the bin, recycle, save water, turn off lights, or plant.
QUESTION 2
Is littering good or bad for the Earth?
Bad — it hurts the Earth.
QUESTION 3
What can you recycle?
Paper, cans, bottles, and cardboard.

Growing at home? Be an Earth helper.

Have families pick one way to help the Earth this week — like recycling or saving water — and do it together. A printable care-for-Earth sheet is in the Science library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Taking Care of Our EarthFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Taking Care of Our EarthQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Taking Care of Our EarthPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: clean, Earth, help, litter, nature, recycle, save, trash
  1. to make things better
  2. things we throw away
  3. trash left on the ground
  4. our planet, our home
  5. not dirty
  6. to make old things into new things
  7. plants, animals, and land
  8. to use less

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name one way to help the Earth.
  2. Is littering good or bad for the Earth?
  3. What can you recycle?
Answer key — Part A: 1) help · 2) trash · 3) litter · 4) Earth · 5) clean · 6) recycle · 7) nature · 8) save
Part B: 1) Put trash in the bin, recycle, save water, turn off lights, or plant. 2) Bad — it hurts the Earth. 3) Paper, cans, bottles, and cardboard.