Sustainability Teaching Resources
Make teaching sustainability easy this school year with printable worksheets, activities for kids, lesson plans and more — all created by teachers for your primary classroom.
This teaching resource collection is aligned with the Australian Curriculum cross-curriculum priority to help your students build a more sustainable future!
Each resource was designed to help your students understand how they can implement sustainable practices in the classroom and at home.
Our teacher team has carefully reviewed and curated each resource to ensure your students will be armed with information on everything from composting to conservation, as well as how to reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink, and repair.
Tackling this topic for the first time in your classroom? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is Sustainability? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Sustainability is a cross-curriculum priority in the Australian Curriculum and for a good reason. Primary school is an important time to begin talking to students about sustainability as we can instill these practices early and make them into lifelong habits. But explaining this concept to kids can be tricky.
Here's a kid-friendly sustainability definition we like to use to explain its meaning to our students:
Sustainability is the ability to meet someone's current needs without hurting the ability of people in the future to meet their own needs.
On a more technical level, sustainability represents a holistic approach to addressing environmental, social and economic challenges in a way that supports long-term well-being and resilience.
This often includes practices such as reducing carbon emissions, conserving natural resources, and promoting social equity.
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What Can We Recycle? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Remember what to recycle with a cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Being Water Wise - Saving Water Poster Project
Learn and demonstrate knowledge about water conservation with a "Being Water Wise" poster project.
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A World Without Water - Natural Resource Worksheet
Imagine and depict what a world without water would look like with a drawing prompt worksheet.
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Natural Resources Task Cards
Answer questions about natural resources and their uses with this set of 16 task cards.
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Recycling Posters - Printable Recycling Bin Labels
Teach your students how to recycle in the classroom with labelled recycling bins!
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Natural Resources – Exit Tickets
Assess student understanding of natural resources with this set of exit tickets.
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Student Lunch Box Audit - Reducing Waste Project
An investigation that will have students calculating the waste produced from their lunch boxes, creating a plan of action to reduce their waste and reflecting on their results.
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Garbage Bin Posters - Rubbish, Recycling and Compost
Posters outlining what can be put in the different types of bins.
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Conservation T-Shirt Challenge
An engaging, creative task where students design their own t-shirt promoting the conservation of the Amazon rainforest.
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Why Should We Compost? Poster
Use this poster set to explain why it is important to compost food scraps.
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Water Wastage Investigation - How Much Water is Lost to Leaks?
A practical investigation related to sustainable resource use.
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Save the Planet - Kids Mini Book
Teach your students to reduce, reuse, and recycle with a printable Save the Planet kid's book.
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I Promise To... Earth Day Flip Book Craft
Make a promise to protect the planet with a printable Earth Day flip book.
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Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources – Crossword Puzzle
Reinforce science vocabulary with a renewable and nonrenewable resources crossword puzzle.
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How is Plastic Recycled? – Recycling Worksheets
Explore the process of recycling plastic with a printable recycling worksheet.
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The Recycling Process Poster
Show your students the process materials go through when they are recycled with printable recycling posters.
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Earth Day Writing Craftivity
Create a fabulous Earth Day display with a printable Earth Day craft activity.
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Classroom Practices to Promote A Green Future - A Teacher's Guide
An 18 page teacher's guide on how to drive a sustainably friendly classroom!
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Earth Day Activity Wheel
Encourage students to get involved in environmental responsibility with this collection of 8 Earth Day activities that focus on Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.
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National Tree Day – The Green Bridge – A Science Investigation
A science investigation embedded in a real-world context, where students design a habitat to meet the needs of specific animals.
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What Can Be Recycled? Poster
A poster showing the products that can be recycled.
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Earth Day Mini Book
Help your young students learn and write about Earth Day with a printable Earth Day book for kids.
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Recycling Writing Prompts
Show off your procedural writing skills with a pack of recycling writing prompts.
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Energy Saving Reminders
Inspire your students to conserve electricity with these energy-saving reminders that can be placed around the classroom.
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Renewable & Non-renewable Resources – Instructional Slide Deck
Investigate the differences between renewable and non-renewable resources as well as the benefits and disadvantages of each, with this instructional slide deck.
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Our Natural and Built Environments - Poster Pack
Poster with definitions and examples of natural and built environments.
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How to Build a Worm Farm - Poster Pack
Learn to build your own worm farm and learn about vermicomposting with a handy project guide.
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Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources – Board Game
Answer questions related to renewable and nonrenewable resources with this printable board game.
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Environmental Awareness Flip Book - Earth Day Activity
Use this flip book to build awareness of actions that are good and bad for the environment.
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Energy Saving Tips for the Classroom – Poster
A poster displaying some helpful tips for saving energy in the classroom.
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Sustainability Quote Poster Number 8
"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do." - Edward Everett Hale
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Classroom Energy Audit Worksheet
An investigation that will have students observing the energy usage in their classroom and proposing action to reduce energy waste.