Environmental Impacts of Christmas (Holiday Analysis + Educational Campaign)

Give the gift of sustainability to your students this holiday season!

This activity allows students to investigate five different negative impacts of the holidays on the environment, then utilize their creativity skills and new knowledge to launch an educational campaign to raise awareness and suggest solutions on one issue of their choosing. Students will read about five different environmental impacts of the holidays and answer reading comprehension questions. Each environmental impact includes a short reading, a visual aid (infographic, picture, or video), and two or three analysis questions. Students will then select one issue and create a poster alerting the public to the issue and providing a creative solution. 

Your students will analyze:

1. Paper waste
2. Christmas trees
3. Holiday travel
4. Holiday dinner
5. Holiday lights

Please note this lesson does make specific reference to Christmas trees as one of the five impacts, but the other four topics are generally holiday related. This activity would be suitable for students who celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah/Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and more!

This lesson can be taught synchronously or asynchronously, online or in person. This assignment can be given for students to complete independently, in groups, or as a jigsaw by assigning one topic per team and then allowing teams to share their learnings with classmates.  Students can present their final products through formal presentations or a gallery walk.  This activity can be used with students ranging from middle school through high school and is designed to last one to two class periods.

For more seasonal resources, check out EnvironmentLA's holiday lessons!

• Zero Waste Christmas Ornament Activity
• Environmental Impacts of Halloween (Analysis and Educational Campaign)
• Mapping Thanksgiving Harvest (Interactive Map Analysis)