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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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Flipbooks
Display different ways to conserve resources with a set of handy recycling–based foldable interactive notebook templates.
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Human Impact on the Environment-Research Project
Uncover how humans positively and negatively impact the different biomes around the world with a guided research project.
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How to Save Water Poster and Worksheet Pack
Teach your students ways to save water with a printable poster and worksheet pack.
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Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources – Sorting Activity
Identify resources as either renewable or nonrenewable with this 24-card sorting activity
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink and Repair - Brainstorming Sheets
Brainstorm All the Ways to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle with a pack of printable brainstorming worksheets.
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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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Water Overuse Infographic Poster
Display important facts and statistics about water overuse with an eye-opening infographic.
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Write About It! Recycling Writing Prompt Worksheets
Differentiate writing instruction in primary grades with informational writing prompts about recycling and conservation.
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What is Pollution? Guided Note-Taking Worksheets
Provide your learners with an organised note-taking method with a pack of Pollution note-taking templates.
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Comparing Energy Sources Worksheet & Graphic Organiser
Compare and contrast different types of renewable energy sources with a printable graphic organiser.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Renewable Energy Worksheet
Discover the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy sources with a cut-and-paste sorting worksheet.
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Renewable Energy Word Search
Review science vocabulary terms with an engaging renewable energy word search.
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Water Conservation Foldable
Display different ways to save water with this water conservation foldable.
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How We Use Natural Resources Worksheet
Explore the characteristics of natural resources and what makes them useful in products and materials with this worksheet.
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Critically Endangered Species Map – Poster
A poster of the world map featuring 64 species and subspecies that are on the critically endangered list.
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Renewable or Nonrenewable? - Self-Checking Interactive
Investigate the differences between renewable and nonrenewable resources with a self-checking interactive science game.
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Environmental Word Wall
Help your students learn about recycling and conservation with an illustrated word wall.
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Recycling Craft - We Recycle Because...
Write about why we recycle and create this recycling craft to display in the classroom.
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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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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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How Do We Use Natural Resources? Concept Map Worksheet
Help your students uncover the ways that humans use natural resources with a concept map.
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How Can We Help Our Planet Mini Book
Help your students learn about how to keep our planet clean with a printable Earth Day 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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Natural Resources Vocabulary Worksheets
Practise and review vocabulary terms associated with natural resources with this worksheet pack.
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Recycling Word Search
Build your students’ vocabulary around the topic of recycling with this recycling-themed word search.
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Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Poster
Display this poster when learning about sustainability.
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Recycling Soft Plastics Made Simple Poster
A poster that shows an effective way to identify soft plastics when recycling waste.
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What Could Happen? Environmental Change Task Cards
Predict and identify the effects of environmental change on plants and animals with a set of printable science task cards.
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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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Save Planet Earth - Science Word Wall Vocabulary
Print and display Earth Day-related terms in your classroom to improve vocabulary and discussion about Earth Day.
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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.