Yesterday was Earth Day.
The annual celebration of the environment was first held in 1970.
But it wasn’t until 1990 that 141 countries put on special events at the same time to make people aware of environmental issues.
Now Earth Day is celebrated every April 22 in more than 150 countries.
In Canada, because there are so many events happening to commemorate Earth Day, the country now celebrates Earth Week and even Earth Month in some places.
The organization Earth Day Canada is at the centre of it all. It’s the Canadian arm of the international Earth Day Network.
They give out information and support large public events, from walks of thousands of people to clean-up contests and festivals.
More than six million Canadians do something to commemorate Earth Day, and more than a billion people around the world.
The theme for Earth Day Canada this year is Act for the Planet.
Many people say it takes 21 days to start a new habit. Earth Day Canada’s website features a month-long list of things to do to help the environment. Maybe by doing one thing from the list every day for 21 days, people will get into the habit of acting for the environment every day for the rest of their lives.
Related links
Check out the website of Earth Day Canada for interactive programs that help kids learn about the environment and have fun at the same time.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
The theme for this year is Act for the Planet. What does this theme mean to you? Why would an organization decide to create a theme of the year?
Reading Prompt: Comprehension Strategies
Today’s article contains many numbers. There are small numbers and big numbers, and even numbers that tell dates. How does your understanding of numbers help you understand what you read? How do you comprehend enormous numbers? tiny numbers? time?
Primary
Identify a variety of reading comprehen- sion strategies and use them appropri- ately before, during, and after reading to understand texts (OME, Reading: 1.3).
Junior
identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appro- priately before, during, and after reading to understand texts (OME, Reading: 1.3).
Intermediate
Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand increasingly complex texts (OME, Reading: 1.3).
Grammar Feature: 3 times a charm
Today’s article includes many words that contain the same letter 3 times. For example, the second paragraph includes the word “issues“. Words that contain the same letters can be tricky because they can confuse the writer and lead them to doubt their spelling.
Predict the number of different words in today’s article that contain the same letter 3 times. Write it here: __________________
Reread today’s article and underline all of the words that fit this description. Write the total number here: __________________
Was it more or less than you expected? What does that tell you about these types of words? How many more of these types words can you think of?
