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April Highlights
A Shared World
Happy Spring! One glance at the tulips and cherry blossoms bursting into our world provides a fitting reminder of why we observe both Earth Day and National Poetry Month in April. All of the recommended books and activities for this month complement both of these celebrations. It’s a perfect time to breathe in the beauty of the present moment and share your experience of the world around you.
Each word of a poem lends new meaning to the others. Each element of an ecosystem helps sustain everything within it. Humans, animals, and plants all depend on one another. Each of us has talents, skills, and ideas that we can share with the world. Our words and actions can support and create, or lead to neglect and decline. While it’s not always easy to build relationships and to take care of them, we are sustained by one another. Springtime is nature’s way of reminding us that our differences create beauty, stability, and innovation. As Arab American poet Naomi Shihab Nye put it, “This is the world I want to live in, the shared world.”
Additional April Resources
Additional April Resources
National Poetry Month - Materials for Teachers from the American Academy of Poets
Fun Facts from the Arab America Foundation
American Academy of Poets, Teach This Poem: “Gate A-4” by Naomi Shihab Nye
Earth Day
Earth Day
April 22
The first Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970, when more than 20 million Americans marched throughout the nation to voice their concerns about environmental disasters, pollution, and overconsumption of energy. The momentum surrounding the first Earth Day led to a global movement that has since helped to pass environmental legislation, encourage clean-up efforts, promote ecological awareness, and improve the sustainability of our natural resources.
Green Energy
The theme for the 2025 Earth Day is Our Power, Our Planet. Many energy sources for the electricity, heat, and transportation that we use every day rely on fossil fuels like oil and coal. One of the biggest problems with fossil fuels is that once it has been used, it is gone forever. Another big problem with fossil fuels is that burning them increases pollution and gas emissions, which contributes to global warming.
Global warming leads to habitat destruction. Changes in the climate make it harder for plants to thrive in their current environments. As a result, the animals that depend on these plants have a harder time surviving, and the animals that depend on those animals also have a harder time surviving.
By learning more about how we can use alternative, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, we can renew habitats and help species around the world.
Earth Day 2025 - Themed LEAP GuidesWe're all in this together!
We're all in this together!
Maintaining healthy ecosystems and biodiversity is important to all of us. All plants and animals in an ecosystem have special jobs that they do to help others in that habitat survive. Some plants and animals are food, some help clean up, some engineer the area so that others can live in it more easily, and some ensure that the population of one species doesn’t take over the resources of others.
Changing one part of an ecosystem can have a big effect on every other living thing in that environment. Some species may have a more immediate and dramatic impact on what happens to other species. Scientists call them keystone species and pay special attention to them. Their success or decline helps scientists understand what is happening in an ecosystem. For example, a decline in bees results in the pollination of fewer trees and plants, which results in less food and shelter for other animals. Without bees, an entire ecosystem can disappear.
In our ecosystem of the Pennsylvania Poconos, the Eastern Hemlock, beavers, and White-Tailed Deer are all considered keystone species. The Eastern Hemlock plays an important role in regulating forest temperatures, water and soil quality, and serving as a home to many other species. Beavers build homes for themselves and create wetland areas suitable for other plant and animal life. The White-Tailed Deer is an important food source for predators. Look closely at our example, what roles do the other plants and animals play?
Ecosystem Diorama
Ecosystem Diorama
Materials: paper plate, tape, scissors, construction paper, tissue paper, origami paper, glue, pipe cleaners, markers
Fold the paper plate in half and then in half again.
Unfold it.
Cut along one fold to the center of the plate.
Slide the cut edges towards the folded edges.
Tape down the ends to form a triangular shell.
Cut out or draw the background of the environment on the paper plate.
Using different types of paper, make the plants, trees, and flowers that live in this environment.
Make the animals that live in this environment.
Glue or tape everything into your diorama.
Bonus - Learn more about the keystone species in your ecosystem diorama. What makes them so important?
Additional Earth Day Resources
Additional Earth Day Resources
World Wildlife Federation - Give an Hour for Earth activity ideas
The Nature Conservancy - Kid-Friendly Earth Day Activity Guide
National Geographic - Ecosystem
National Geographic Kids - Habitat Destruction and Endangered Species in the Spotlight
April Book Club
April Book Club
Here and NowHere and Now
Here and Now
Slow down and take note of everything that is happening around you.
Daniel Finds a PoemDaniel Finds a Poem
Daniel Finds a Poem
We all have a poem to tell.
An Earth Song - One Page Read Aloud GuideAn Earth Song
An Earth Song
Explore the wonder of spring!
Cast Away - Poetry Book Read Aloud GuideCast Away: Poems for Our Time
Cast Away: Poems for Our Time
Playful, sad, and sometimes gross, our trash and what we do with it is an unspoken part of our daily lives.
Poetree Workshop
Poetree Workshop
Materials: paper; pencil; markers and crayons
Take a walk and stop in a safe place to notice the trees. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel?
Jot down words about the tree.
Sketch the tree.
Put a piece of paper over your sketch.
Write the words about the tree along the trunk and branches.
You just wrote a shape poem!
Bonus - Write another spring shape poem about birds, flowers, raindrops, bees, or butterflies. What other springtime shape poem ideas can you think of?
Spring Sensory Poem
Spring Sensory Poem
Materials: pencil; paper; markers or crayons
Find a safe and quiet place to sit outside.
Take a deep breath and experience the world around you. Think about all of the ways you can sense that it's spring.
On a piece of paper, write, "In the spring, I see..." and then describe what you see.
Do this for what you hear, what you smell, what you taste, and what you feel.
You’ve just written a spring poem!
Bonus - What feelings, descriptions, or metaphors can you add to your poem?
Found Haiku
Found Haiku
Materials: old magazines or newspapers; paper; pencil; markers
A haiku poem has 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second, and 5 syllables in the last.
Find an article in an old magazine and look for words you like.
Write them down.
Cross out words until the remaining words match a haiku syllable structure.
Write out your found haiku.
Bonus - Look at the words you originally chose. Cross out different words to make a new haiku. How are your poems the same? How are they different?
The Nature of Emotions
The Nature of Emotions
Materials: paper; markers or crayons; emotion wheel
The sun can represent happiness, while rain is used to show sadness. Can you think of other natural events or symbols that are used to represent different emotions?
Choose one and draw a picture of it.
Why do you think that symbol is like that emotion? Share your thoughts with a friend or write them alongside your symbol.
Bonus - How do you feel today? Write a poem that relates your feelings to nature. “Today I feel quiet and proud like grass growing in the springtime.” “Today I feel loud and wild like a thunderstorm.”
Additional LEAP Resources
Additional LEAP Resources
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