Changes in the Environment - Science Activities for Kids
It seems like everywhere you look, there is trash on the ground. Have you ever seen someone throw trash and it misses the garbage can, but they just walk away?! Litter is everywhere. It’s even in the oceans, and this causes changes in the environment. These science activities for kids specifically look at how changes in the environment can affect plants and animals.
How do you explain “environment” to a child?
One way to explain “environment” to a child is to go for a walk. Have them look around and notice the things they see like trees, grass, the sky, animals, etc. Essentially, the environment is everything around us, so letting the child make observations about what is around them will help them understand better.
What are some examples of changes in the environment?
The environment is constantly changing and people are causing many of these changes. Deforestation is a huge change. There is also pollution causing environmental changes. And as mentioned previously, litter on the ground and trash in the ocean is another big change to the environment.
Since there are several types of environmental change, you can either try to tackle them all at once, or you can break them down into smaller units. I like to break things down into smaller units so students get a more in depth look at a topic, but that’s just a personal preference.
For today, I’m to focus on environmental changes caused by trash and plastic waste. Let’s look at some learning activities to help our students engage in the learning.
YouTube Videos about environment changes
Here are some helpful YouTube clips that you might want to show your students as they learn about how trash changes the environment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFV9IquMXA - This is a clip from National Geographic where kids explain how plastic pollution is affecting the ocean around Hawaii.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFPoIU5iiYQ - This video is a cartoon, so it might be more palatable for students to watch, instead of watching real life footage of animals struggling in the ocean because of plastic. While it is a cartoon with no words, it still gives good insight into the problems of trash in the ocean. Students can also use their inference-making skills while watching this video clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrPBYS5zzF8 - This video also explains how plastic is causing environmental changes and focuses on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Make an Ocean- Cleaner Tool
Teaching materials for the ‘Design an Ocean-Cleaning Tool STEM Challenge
If your students love hands-on learning, they will be engaged during this activity. First, you’ll have to fill a kiddie pool or a water table with water. This will become your pretend ocean. Next, you need to add some garbage and plastic to the ocean. Now it’s time to introduce your students to the activity.
Challenge the students to create a tool that they can use to clean the litter out of the ocean. Brainstorm together and then have students use their imaginations to create. They can use various materials like popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, tape, string, etc.
This STEM Challenge is part of the ‘changes in the environment’ reading unit for grade 3 science.
Read about the Problem
In order to get a better understanding of the plastic problem, students need to be exposed to it. This means it’s a good idea to read passages about the problem of pollution. We can’t address a problem we don’t know about! So find some good reading passages that your students can read to expose them to the problem of plastic.
the ‘less plastic challenge’
Once students have some information about the problem of pollution, give them a challenge to use less plastic. Especially single-use plastics.
Switch to a reusable straw
Use reusable lunch containers
Reuse plastic bags (even the single-use ones!)
Use a refillable water bottle
Swap plastic wrap for a reusable alternative or container
Are there any changes you can make in your classroom to create less waste?
We set up a chart to track the different ways we were trying to eliminate single-use plastics in our classroom.
Do a Plastic Pick Up
After exploring the harm of plastic, go on a field trip to pick up trash and plastic. If you live close to the ocean, go to the beach. If you live close to a forest, go collect garbage from the forest floor. This will help our students feel a sense of ownership in their environment and it will give them real life experience seeing the trash all around.
Teach about these environment changes TODAY!
Helping students understand the impact of garbage is easy with these lessons that combine SCIENCE and READING. You get two paired passages, reading comprehension activities, and a STEM challenge all about changes in the environment.
It’s hard to teach about how trash is changing the environment because it really pulls at the heartstrings. It’s heartbreaking to see animals struggling to survive because of the pollution that humans are creating. BUT it’s so important for us to teach our students. Like I said earlier, we can’t address a problem we don’t know about! So we need to teach about environmental changes so we can address the problem…both now and in generations to come.