Be sure to check out the other posts in the How To Homeschool For Free series too!
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With Earth Day coming up and the beauty of spring all around us, now is a great time to find free resources for environmental science. We don’t make a big deal about earth day at our house, because we should live that way all the time. Here are some free resources for enhancing your science time and taking care of the earth we all share.
The Lorax
Watch this video of The Lorax, reading-book-style. Study it with a worksheet made to go along with the story. With the recent theatrical release of the book, you could also do a comparison of how the book matches up with the movie!
Watch Your Step!
Discover you and your family’s carbon footprint through this webquest designed to make you aware of how much of an impact you make on the environment. We all live here, but some people use more resources than necessary. It’s all a matter of perspective on how you view resources, of course, but this website does give good information on how we can better preserve the resources that we have. It comes complete with lessons to explore and even a rubric for grading if you wish to do that.
Facing the Future
Facing the Future has several free units available for downloading. I looked at the one called “Buy, Use, Toss” for grades 9-12 and I found all 10 lessons to be thought-provoking. This is something that could be discussed with younger ages as well, but the lesson requirements are definitely suited for a more independent student.
Envirofun
Visit Envirofun, where Captain Earthworm, Captain Redbird and Captain Bluegill will show you how you can protect earth’s air, land and water. They also have an enviro-term of the day for vocabulary knowledge.
Envirolink
Envirolink has thousands of online environmental resources for your use. There are sections for teachers to explore, as well as a section for kids. I suggest you explore before your children do, though, because there are some sections that might conflict with mainstream religious views. If your community or group is sponsoring an environmental event for Earth Day, you can post an event on the public calendar.
Dirtland
Dirtland will help you discover how microbes matter… what is a microbe, you ask? Well, visit Dirtland and find out! It’s very informative for those who don’t already know about it. You will even learn how something so tiny can be so important!
ScienceNetLinks
ScienceNetLinks has a lesson for the K-2 group. What happens when you leave a battery-operated flashlight on for an extended period of time? Why do we need to turn lights off when we are leaving a room? What does energy mean when we play with battery-operated toys? Good questions! For the older kids, ScienceNetLinks also has a lesson for the older kids about renewable energy. If these are not what you are looking for, this website has quite a few more lessons for resources. Browse and see what you can use!
PlanetPals
PlanetPals is a site designed for Preschoolers up to Tweens. It features 15 different characters who each play a different role in keeping our planet healthy. The link above will get you to a page that has many, many links. Browse and see what looks good. There is a store where you can purchase things, but you don’t have to, of course. There are numerous pdf files to download, including a poster of the characters. Kids or parents can sign up for a newsletter tat will also include a freebie or two.
Smithsonian
Backyard Environmental Science lessons from the Smithsonian is a 13 page booklet to guide you along the way to turning your back yard into a science project. There are some other links in the lesson as well, to supplement and reinforce the information you’ll learn in the lesson.
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