2025 Earth Day Activities for High School Students

Lesson Plans

Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APCivics, English Language Arts, Engineering

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Population Education

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What it is

Celebrate Earth Day with your high school students using these four lesson plans and two readings about how we produce, use, waste, and need energy.
Students research an energy-related topic, take on the role of a community member in Monrovia, Liberia, to investigate the intersections between poverty and climate change impacts, play a game to analyze the pros and cons of cap and trade as a policy, identify factors of importance in a sustainable community and develop models to measure those factors, read about different energy sources to better understand our energy future, and read a case study about solar energy use in Germany.

Teaching tips

Positives

These lessons have a global perspective and focus on justice.
The lessons include discussion questions with answers to prompt rich conversation with your students.

Prerequisites

Teacher needs to submit a short questionnaire to download the packet. The download is free.
Students will need some background in climate change. This resource can be used if needed.
Learning about the effects of climate change can be emotionally charged for students. This educator's guide on climate emotions can help you have these conversations with your students.
The links to ONE and Practical Action in Lesson 2, Lighting Up Lives, are broken.
In Lesson 3, Cap and Trade Game, the directions tell the teacher to ask students to identify the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions on a graph, leading them to say electricity. This answer is incorrect, and teachers will need to have students to identify the second largest source to lead into the conversation about conserving electricity.

Differentiation & Implementation

The lesson plans have numerous links to suggested resources as well as follow-up activities to extend learning.
To extend learning about environmental justice, these resources can be used.
To extend learning about renewable energy, this resource can be used.
Check out our Earth Month calendar and the Earth Month educator's guide for high school for more ideas on what to teach around Earth Day.

From the scientist review

This resource features four lessons and two readings focused on renewable energy and climate change. All figures have sources cited, and the text has citations in footnotes throughout. The focus is placed on engaging students with sources and ensuring that they understand the bias in many industry sources. This resource highlights energy equity alongside climate concerns and is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Subjects: Civics, English Language Arts, Engineering
Other types: Articles/Websites, Videos, Data, Graphs, and Maps, Activity - Classroom, Worksheets, Games
Format: PDF
Language: English
Location: Africa, North America, North America > United States
Provider: Population Education
Authors: Population Education
Published: April 4, 2025
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D2.Civ.12.9-12 + 28 more

Core

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D2.Civ.12.9-12Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
D2.Civ.13.9-12Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
D2.Civ.5.9-12Evaluate citizens' and institutions' effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
D2.Civ.6.9-12Critique relationships among governments, civil societies, and economic markets.
D2.Eco.1.9-12Analyze how incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups.
D2.Eco.12.9-12Evaluate the selection of monetary and fiscal policies in a variety of economic conditions.
D2.Eco.13.9-12Explain why advancements in technology and investments in capital goods and human capital increase economic growth and standards of living.
D2.Eco.15.9-12Explain how current globalization trends and policies affect economic growth, labor markets, rights of citizens, the environment, and resource and income distribution in different nations.
D2.Eco.7.9-12Use benefits and costs to evaluate the effectiveness of government policies to improve market outcomes.
D2.Geo.10.9-12Evaluate how changes in the environmental and cultural characteristics of a place or region influence spatial patterns of trade and land use.
D2.Geo.11.9-12Evaluate how economic globalization and the expanding use of scarce resources contribute to conflict and cooperation within and among countries.
D2.Geo.12.9-12Evaluate the consequences of human-made and natural catastrophes on global trade, politics, and human migration.
D2.Geo.2.9-12Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.
D2.Geo.4.9-12Analyze relationships and interactions within and between human and physical systems to explain reciprocal influences that occur among them.
D2.Geo.5.9-12Evaluate how political and economic decisions throughout time have influenced cultural and environmental characteristics of various places and regions.
D2.Geo.6.9-12Evaluate the impact of human settlement activities on the environmental and cultural characteristics of specific places and regions.

New Jersey Climate Education Hub

English Language Arts

RI.AA.9–10.7Describe and evaluate the argument and specific claims in an informational text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and reasoning.
RI.CR.11–12.1Accurately cite a range of thorough textual evidence and make relevant connections to strongly support a comprehensive analysis of multiple aspects of what an informational text says explicitly and inferentially, as well as interpretations of the text.
W.IW.9–10.2Write informative/explanatory texts (including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes) to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
W.WR.9–10.5Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
W.AW.11-12.1Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.SE.11–12.6Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation (MLA or APA Style Manuals).
SL.PE.9-10.1Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with peers on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL.UM.9-10.5Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
SL.PI.11-12.4Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically. The content, organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Science

HS-ESS3-1.Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
HS-ESS3-2.Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
HS-ESS3-4.Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
HS-ETS1-3.Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

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