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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Australian Conservationists: Miranda Gibson – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Miranda Gibson and her conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Australian Conservationists: Ian Kiernan – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Ian Kiernan and his conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Design a Conservation T-Shirt – Inquiry-Based Project
Use this conservation project to teach your students about how to ignite positive change in the face of a global environmental crisis.
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What Would Happen If...? Environmental Impact 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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Renewable or Nonrenewable? Earth's Resources Task Cards
Identify natural resources and the types of renewable energy with 24 renewable and nonrenewable resource task cards.
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink and Repair Posters
Explain the concepts behind reducing, reusing, recycling, rethinking and repairing waste with a set of printable sustainability posters.
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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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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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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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Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint – Poster and Worksheet
Explore how to reduce your carbon footprint with this poster and accompanying comprehension worksheet.
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Australian Conservationists: John Walmsley – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Dr John Walmsley and his conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Endangered Species Research Flipbook
Get your students to research an endangered species using this easy-to-compile flipbook scaffold.
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Australian Habitat Preservation – Inquiry-Based Project
Use this habitat preservation project to teach your students about how to help conserve a threatened Australian environment for future generations.
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Changes to the Environment – Worksheet
Learn about environmental changes and how they affect living things with this worksheet.
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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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The Recycling Process Poster
Show your students the process materials go through when they are recycled with printable recycling posters.
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Waste Management Investigation - How Much Waste Do We Throw Away?
A practical investigation related to sustainable waste management.
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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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National Tree Day – Environment Word Search
Print a word search to use on National Tree Day or Earth Day to help your students learn about conservation.
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Australian Conservationists: Tim Flannery – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Tim Flannery and his conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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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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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 is Pollution? Instructional Slide Deck
Show your students the types of pollution and their effects with an instructional slide deck.
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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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Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources – Crossword Puzzle
Reinforce science vocabulary with a renewable and nonrenewable resources crossword puzzle.
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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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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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Garbage Bin Posters - Rubbish, Recycling and Compost
Posters outlining what can be put in the different types of bins.
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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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Classroom Energy Audit Worksheet
An investigation that will have students observing the energy usage in their classroom and proposing action to reduce energy waste.
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My Ecological Footprint Worksheet
A worksheet which will have the students evaluate their ecological footprint and compare it with the class.