Bee Cause Education Resources

Explore lesson plans, teacher guides, grant resources, and more to engage K–12 audiences in learning about pollinators and their importance. Take elementary and middle level students on a trip inside a hive with the Bee Cause Project Digital Hive and Educator Guide. High school students can engage with the topic as they explore bee anatomy and scientific illustration with activities from the Bee Cause Insect Unit Plan. The project website also includes information for teachers interested in starting a bee program at their school.

Forward to the Moon With Artemis 

Engage K–8 students in a study of space science using Forward to the Moon With Artemis, a 48-page printable activity booklet highlighting NASA missions and spacecraft from the past and future. Through a series of mazes, word searches, sudoku puzzles with pictures, and other activities, students will learn about the Apollo mission that first put people on the Moon, as well as the Artemis mission, which will land the first American woman and the next American man on the Moon. The booklet also showcases NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft, which will take humans to the Moon and to Mars.

World Wildlife Fund’s The Living Planet Report 2022, Youth Edition
 
WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022 is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet. WWF has created a youth edition of the report that uses infographics and visuals to highlight the state of our planet and explain the causes of decline, what this means for us, and what we can all do to help reverse nature loss. You can use the report and accompanying classroom presentation with your students. WWF also offers the following classroom activities you can use with the report.

• Science. Sharks—Overfished and Under Pressure: Sustainable Solutions. Teach students about sustainability while evaluating solutions to determine what methods will stop the overfishing of sharks while protecting the health of humans and ocean ecosystems.
• Math. Proportional Perspectives: Recognizing Significant Values and Measurements. Use these activities to teach students how to interpret graphs, percentages, and ratios to understand biodiversity data in the report.
• Language Arts. Tips and Tricks to Understanding Science Text. Use these techniques to improve students’ comprehension and interpretation of scientific texts and visuals.
• Language Arts. Short answer assessment questions you can use with the Living Planet Report Youth Edition 2022 to help shape supplementary discussions and activities.

EARTHDAY.ORG’s Your Art, Our Earth Poster Competition
 
Students in two categories—ages 5–17 and 18+—are invited to create posters for this year’s theme, “Planet vs. Plastics.” Students will design an iconic poster that expresses why we need to say no to plastics. The competition has three categories:

• Human Health and Plastics 
• Oceans and Plastics
• Fast Fashion and Plastics

A panel of judges, consisting of EARTHDAY.ORG Board members, will choose two posters to champion the cause of Planet vs. Plastics. Six finalists may have their artwork posted on the EARTHDAY.ORG website and social media accounts. (Deadline January 22, 2024) 

ALDI Cares Community Grants 

Nonprofits and schools where ALDI stores are located can apply for these grants to support children through education, arts, athletics, or addressing food insecurity locally. Grant requests can range from $250 to $5,000. Applications are due by December 15.

World Wildlife Fund Conservation in the Classroom Livestream Event—Seaweed: Growing Underwater Forests to “Kelp” Our Planet
 
Thousands of species of plant-like seaweed grow in the world’s oceans. One type of seaweed, kelp, is excellent at creating habitat, cleaning our coasts, and serving as a healthy food. It’s also one of the fastest-growing organisms on Earth. Bailey Moritz, WWF seaweed expert, will discuss the biology of seaweed and the solutions kelp farms can bring to the ocean. The livestream event for grades 4–8 will take place on November 29 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. 

A supplemental material pack to be released soon will contain pre- and post-materials such as warm-up questions, assessment questions, and links to relevant teaching materials (within Wild Classroom, Kahoot, WWF pages, etc.) The topic could be a great tie-in with lessons about climate change, sustainability, or ecosystems.