What to Teach in April

Here are guides and other suggestions for educators, homeschooling individuals, community groups, and others for what to teach in April!

Celebrate Earth & The Environment

April is Earth Month! Plus April 21 – 27 is Earth Week, April 22 is Earth Day and April 26 is Arbor Day. We have collections of teaching resources that can help you celebrate the environment all month long across the curriculum: Teach With Film for Earth Month.

April Teaching Highlights

Vibrant Earth celebratory background art with a globe, hearts and vegetables. Text reads: Happy Earth Month. #TeachWithFilm for Earth Month!
For Arab American Heritage Month, Wadjda is a film from Saudi Arabia that students love. We also recommend The Neighborhood Storyteller, a short documentary about Syrian refugee Asmaa Rashed.

For Genocide Awareness Month, we recommend our Holocaust Education films: Big Sonia, Defiant Requiem, and Schindler’s List, and our Facilitation Guidelines for leading sensitive group discussions of difficult topics.

Summer of Soul is a fantastic film to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month.

For Mathematics & Stats Month, enjoy the math lessons in our film guides for Children of Heaven, Hidden Figures, Like Stars On Earth, Please Vote For Me, The Cup, The Way Home, Walden, and Whale Rider.

For Poetry Appreciation Month, check out Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, the animated feature film about a poet based on the poetic writing of Kahlil Gibran.

Center text: April is Math & Stats Month. Teach Math with Film! Free Math Lessons Plans grades 4-12. Around the outside of the image various movie posters are visible.

Teach April Holidays With Film

Passover takes place April 12-20, 2025: introduce your students to Judaism with The Story of God, and share Steven Spielberg’s moving Passover Story from the making of Schindler’s List.

Photo of two small green shoots. Text says: "April Teaching Ideas. Teach With Film."

Teach about Public Health in April

  • National Interprofessional Healthcare Month
  • World Minority Health Month
  • National Public Health Week April 1-7
  • Black Maternal Health Week April 11-17;
  • National Infant Immunization Week April 22-29
  • World Immunization Week April 24-30

The Invisible Shield is a powerful teaching tool for exploring the importance of public health and public health workers, the critical role of immunizations in public health, and the urgency of addressing public health inequities to make healthcare available for all.

More April Teaching Ideas

For School Library Month, National Library Week (April 6-12, 2025), National School Librarian Day (April 4), and World Book and Copyright Day (April 23), check out these tips to Bring Books and Films Together to Inspire and Engage Students. Plus also check out our article on Educational Film Distribution: What Librarians and Teachers Need to Know.

Celebrate Stress Awareness Month + National Psychology Week with films about stress and mental wellness: Big Sonia, Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, Happy, and The Dhamma Brothers.

Volunteer Month is a great time to teach with our film guides featuring Service Learning & Community Service Lessons: Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops, He Named Me Malala, and Landfill Harmonic.

Week of the Young Child (April 5-11, 205) is a great time to screen Children of Heaven.

Discover the magic of forests for National Parks Week (April 19-25, 2025): Learn about Forests.

April 3: Pioneering primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall was born on this day in 1934. Celebrate with her biographical documentary Jane. Learn more about teaching with this film with our article at Share My Lesson: Inspiring a Love of Nature and Learning: Celebrating Jane Goodall.

April 5 is International Day of Conscience. We have a large selection of human rights-themed films that are perfect to teach on this day. Among our favorites, we recommend: Crip Camp, He Named Me Malala, Rebel Hearts, and Summer of Soul.

April 7 is World Health Day. Teach about Coal and Public Health with From the Ashes. Explore the intersection of soil health, food quality and individual health with Greener Pastures. Celebrate the heroic public health system with The Invisible Shield.

International Day of Pink on April 9 (2025) is a great day to teach with Finding Pride.

Celebrate International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12 with Hidden Figures and One Strange Rock.

April 20 is Chinese Language Day. Students will enjoy our Chinese-language film Please Vote For Me with cross-curriculum lessons for grades 4-12.

April 21 is World Creativity and Innovation Day. Celebrate innovation with The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.

April 23 is English Language Day. We are pleased to offer over two dozen film guides with English Language Arts lessons. A great place to start is the oral history assignment for Big Sonia (grades 7-12), the Crip Camp lesson on language power and ableism (high school) , the lesson based on Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech at age 17 for He Named Me Malala (grades 7-12), and rich, engaging lessons combining language arts, music, and social studies for The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble (grades 7-12).

April 23 is Spanish Language Day. We offer film guides in Spanish for Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, River of Gold, and The Love Bugs. The lessons for The Love Bugs are appropriate for Grades 3-5.

Celebrate Syria Independence Day on April 27 with The Music of Strangers.

April 25 is International Girls in ICT Day (Information and Communication Technology) inspires your students of all genders about ICT careers with Hidden Figures.

April 28: Oskar Schindler of Schindler’s List was born on this day in 1908. Introduce your students to this remarkable and complex man with Who was Oskar Schindler.

April 28 is World Day for Safety and Health at Work: Explore the impact of the coal industry on coal miners with From the Ashes.

April 30 is International Jazz Day. Wrap up April with the joyful sounds of Summer of Soul.

12 Fun Films to Teach For Earth Month

Film is a powerful tool for engaging students across the curriculum (not just in science classes!) about the wonders of the natural world, environmental science, and youth climate activism. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite Earth-related resources to help you inspire your students for Earth Month, Earth Week, Earth Day and all year long!

Films to Teach for Earth Month

Grades 3-5
Grades 4-12
Grades 6-12
Grades 7-12
For Grades 9-12

Lesson Collections for Earth Month

Earth and Environment Teaching Articles

Webinars about Teaching Environmental Films

Background nature landscape photograph, showing small yellow wildflowers in the foreground, in front of rolling hills under a blue and white sky. In the middle are two signs: "A Celebration of Nature Resources for Grades 3-7", and "Environmental Studies Lessons, for Grades 7-12".

Learning About Forests for Earth Day and Everyday

Learning about forests for Earth Day and everyday is vital for students. Earth Day corresponds closely with Arbor Day, another opportunity to teach about forests. Additionally, forests are essential parts of our ecosystem. Thus, we encourage you to integrate this learning into your classroom anytime of the year. But, the April holidays of Earth Day and Arbor Day bring attention to trees and ecosystems. As such, these holidays can catapult student learning. 

We’re excited to share one of our newest Journeys in Film lesson plans. It is the Forests lesson from our curriculum guide for  Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops. This lesson plan corresponds with the short film of the same name, Forests, produced as part of the Climate Emergency: Feedback Loop series. 

Learning About Forests Through Film

Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops is a series of five short films. These films are perfect for the classroom, running 9 to 15 minutes. Furthermore, all five films are available to stream for free

We recommend pairing Forests, the short film and the lesson, with the feature documentary film River of Gold

River of Gold chronicles the clandestine journey of two war journalists and their guide into Peru’s Amazon rainforest. The film makes clear the consequences of this devastation on a global scale. Since the Forests short film from the Feedback Loop series focuses on tropical forests and, specifically, the Amazon rainforest, screening it as an introduction to River of Gold and using the two films in tandem can enhance student learning. Our eleven-lesson curriculum guide for River of Gold includes a lesson on rainforest ecology, perfect for learning about forests. The curriculum guide is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. 

River of Gold film poster featuring a photograph of the Amazon River

The Power and Importance of Learning About Forests 

“All forests provide critical feedback for limiting global warming. By removing atmospheric carbon dioxide, they reduce its atmospheric increase. This reduces further warming,” shares Dr. Bill Moomaw, Professor Emeritus at Tufts University and distinguished visiting scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center. “The Amazon forest plays an outsized role in controlling global temperatures including in the Arctic. As strange as it seems, restoring the degraded tropical Amazon forest will help keep more sunlight reflecting ice in the Arctic. This can prevent additional release of methane from thawing permafrost. This set of feedback loops will help to cool the planet.” 

Dr. Moomaw was a panelist in our Share My Lesson webinar, Climate Emergencies: Using Feedback Loop Films to Inspire and Educate. The webinar highlights our curriculum guide for the Climate Emergency film series. The webinar features scientific insight from Dr. Moomaw and Lara Tukarski. Tukarski is the South Sound FieldSTEM Coordinator for the Pacific Education Institute.

You May Also Like . . .

Bold Black text over a white background says: "A Celebration of Nature: Resources for Grades 3-7". In the bottom right corner are Journeys in Film teaching guides for Jane and Landfill Harmonic. In the top right corner threre is the Journeys in Film logo.Environmental Studies Lessons

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Jennifer Fischer

Film Tools to Teach Climate Science in the Classroom

Teaching climate science and educating youth about the environment is more important than ever. Although environmental education can be challenging, teaching with film engages and excites students. Thus, we’re highlighting free resources that take advantage of the power of film. Use these resources to teach climate science, earth science, and other environmental topics.

We’re here to help you take advantage of these free curriculum guides and discussion guides. 

Film Tools to Teach Climate Science in the Classroom

These films offer prime opportunities to teach climate science through film: Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, From the Ashes, One Strange Rock, River of Gold, and  Landfill Harmonic.

Climate Science Teaching Tools

Our newest resource, Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops is for a series of five short films. They are perfect for the classroom, running 9 to 15 minutes. Additionally, all five films are available to stream for free. Our curriculum guide is set up to directly correspond to each film. We created one lesson for each short film. “The Forests” short film and lesson would be perfect for Arbor Day.  

Next, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an engaging narrative film that tells the true story of William Kamkwambe. He was thirteen years old when he built a windmill from recycled materials in his community. It helped bring water to his drought-stricken town in dire need of irrigation for farming. Lesson 1 highlights environmental science. We also offer a discussion guide for the film as well as our free CORE-based curriculum guide

Another classroom discussion tool regarding climate science is our discussion guide for From the Ashes. This documentary film explores the coal industry and energy alternatives. 

Finally, we recommend One Strange Rock, a National Geographic episodic documentary. With 8 lessons, educators can explore Earth Science in a variety of ways with this CORE-based free curriculum guide

Additional Film Tools to Teach Climate Science 

The documentary  River of Gold  chronicles the clandestine journey of two war journalists and their guide into Peru’s Amazon rain forest. They hope to uncover the savage destruction of pristine jungle in pursuit of illegally mined gold. The film makes clear the consequences of this devastation on a global scale. Magnificent photography of plants, animals, and people inspires audiences to engage in solutions to protect the Amazon. Our eleven-lesson curriculum guide is particularly rich in STEM lessons.

Landfill Harmonic tells the true story of a youth orchestra that plays instruments made from recycled materials.  The curriculum explores air quality and human health. Flooding and environmental contamination from the landfill are also key topics in the lessons from our free curriculum guide

Altogether, we’re proud to offer a wide array of resources that educators can use to teach climate science. We’d love to hear about other tools you are using in the classroom to teach about the environment. 

Bold Black text over a white background says: "A Celebration of Nature: Resources for Grades 3-7". In the bottom right corner are Journeys in Film teaching guides for Jane and Landfill Harmonic. In the top right corner threre is the Journeys in Film logo.Environmental Studies Lessons

New Teaching Resources Update

We have launched two environment and nature focused lesson collections! We’re excited to highlight these standalone lessons, isolated from their respective comprehensive curriculum guides for your ease of use. A Celebration of  Nature explores the beauty and wonder of the natural world with resources for grades 3 to 7. Our Environmental Studies Lessons Collection is designed for grades 7 to 12.

Film Tools to Teach Climate Science in the Classroom

You Might Also Like…

Out of the dark poster

This film and our corresponding discussion guide offers opportunities to discuss water pollution and environmental racism.

 

 

 

 

Written by Jennifer Fischer. Updated by SJ Evans.

What to Teach in April

Here are guides and other suggestions for educators, homeschooling individuals, community groups, and others for what to teach in April!

Celebrate Earth & The Environment

April is Earth Month! Plus April 21 – 27 is Earth Week, April 22 is Earth Day and April 26 is Arbor Day. We have collections of teaching resources that can help you celebrate the environment all month long across the curriculum: Teach With Film for Earth Month.

April Teaching Highlights

Vibrant Earth celebratory background art with a globe, hearts and vegetables. Text reads: Happy Earth Month. #TeachWithFilm for Earth Month!
For Arab American Heritage Month, Wadjda is a film that students love.

For Genocide Awareness Month, we recommend our Holocaust Education films: Big Sonia, Defiant Requiem, and Schindler’s List, and our Facilitation Guidelines for leading sensitive group discussions of difficult topics.

Summer of Soul is a fantastic film to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month.

For Mathematics & Stats Month, enjoy the math lessons in our film guides for Children of Heaven, Hidden Figures, Like Stars On Earth, Please Vote For Me, The Cup, The Way Home, Walden, and Whale Rider.

For Poetry Appreciation Month, check out Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, the animated feature film about a poet based on the poetic writing of Kahlil Gibran.

Center text: April is Math & Stats Month. Teach Math with Film! Free Math Lessons Plans grades 4-12. Around the outside of the image various movie posters are visible.

Teach April Holidays With Film

Passover takes place April 22 – 30, 2024: introduce your students to Judaism with the lesson plan on Judaisim in The Story of God, and share Steven Spielberg’s moving Passover Story from the making of Schindler’s List.

In 2024, Ramadan takes place March 10 – April 8 followed by Eid al-Fitr “The Feast of Breaking the Fast” April 9-10. Celebrate Islam with Film: Children of Heaven, He Named Me Malala, The Neighborhood Storyteller, Wadjda, and The Story of God.

Photo of two small green shoots. Text says: "April Teaching Ideas. Teach With Film."

More April Teaching Ideas

Teach about public health in April:

  • National Interprofessional Healthcare Month
  • World Minority Health Month
  • National Public Health Week April 1-7
  • Black Maternal Health Week April 11-17;
  • National Infant Immunization Week April 22-29
  • World Immunization Week April 24-30

The Invisible Shield is a powerful teaching tool for exploring the importance of public health and public health workers, the critical role of immunizations in public health, and the urgency of addressing public health inequities to make healthcare available for all.

For School Library Month, National Library Week (April 7 to 13, 2024), National School Librarian Day (April 4), and World Book and Copyright Day (April 23), check out these tips to Bring Books and Films Together to Inspire and Engage Students. Plus also check out our article on Educational Film Distribution: What Librarians and Teachers Need to Know.

Celebrate Stress Awareness Month + National Psychology Week (April 14-20, 2024) with films about stress and mental wellness: Big Sonia, Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, Happy, and The Dhamma Brothers.

Volunteering Month is a great time to teach with our film guides featuring Service Learning & Community Service Lessons: Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops, He Named Me Malala, and Landfill Harmonic.

Week of the Young Child (April 6-12, 2024) is a great time to screen Children of Heaven.

Discover the magic of forests for National Parks Week (April 20-28, 2024): Learn about Forests.

April 3: Pioneering primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall was born on this day in 1934. Celebrate with her biographical documentary Jane. Learn more about teaching with this film with our article at Share My Lesson: Inspiring a Love of Nature and Learning: Celebrating Jane Goodall.

April 5 is International Day of Conscience. We have a large selection of human rights-themed films that are perfect to teach on this day. Among our favorites, we recommend: Crip Camp, He Named Me Malala, Rebel Hearts, and Summer of Soul.

April 7 is World Health Day. Teach about Coal and Public Health with From the Ashes. Explore the intersection of soil health, food quality and individual health with Greener Pastures. Celebrate the heroic public health system with The Invisible Shield.

International Day of Pink on April 10 (2024) is a great day to teach with Finding Pride.

Celebrate International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12 with Hidden Figures and One Strange Rock.

April 20 is Chinese Language Day. Students will enjoy our Chinese-language film Please Vote For Me with cross-curriculum lessons for grades 4-12.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind poster

April 21 is World Creativity and Innovation Day. Celebrate innovation with The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.

April 23 is English Language Day. We are pleased to offer over two dozen film guides with English Language Arts lessons. A great place to start is the oral history assignment for Big Sonia (grades 7-12), the Crip Camp lesson on language power and ableism (high school) , the lesson based on Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech at age 17 for He Named Me Malala (grades 7-12), and rich, engaging lessons combining language arts, music, and social studies for The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble (grades 7-12).

April 23 is Spanish Language Day. We offer film guides in Spanish for Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, River of Gold, and The Love Bugs. The lessons for The Love Bugs are appropriate for Grades 3-5.

Celebrate Syria Independence Day on April 27 with The Music of Strangers.

April 25 is International Girls in ICT Day (Information and Communication Technology) inspires your students of all genders about ICT careers with Hidden Figures.

April 28: Oskar Schindler of Schindler’s List was born on this day in 1908. Introduce your students to this remarkable and complex man with Who was Oskar Schindler.

April 28 is World Day for Safety and Health at Work: Explore the impact of the coal industry on coal miners with From the Ashes.

April 30 is International Jazz Day. Wrap up April with the joyful sounds of Summer of Soul.

Films to teach climate science

Our Top Ten Teaching Articles of 2023

We’re excited to share our top ten teaching articles of 2023 published across various educational outlets this past year.

Our Most Popular Articles About Effective Approaches to Teaching With Film

Prepare for the new year with our TOP articles of 2023!  Get ready to dive deeper into teaching with film — by theme, by activity, and by teaching challenge.

  1. Creating Safe Spaces for Student Engagement with Difficult Topics — A Share My Lesson Top 10 Resource of 2023!
  2. Celebrate Black History Month With Film — This article can help you prep for powerful lessons in February
  3. Teach With Film for Women’s History Month — Check out some great resources for teaching in March. 
  4. Celebrate Earth Month by Highlighting Youth Activism — These resources would be fabulous for Earth Day or Earth Month in April! 
  5. Announcing our new Schindler’s List 30th Anniversary Guide — Including our brand new lesson on antisemitism, a powerful resource. 

Black History Month collage image featuring movie posters for Summer of Soul, Hidden Figures, Just Mercy and Queen of Katwe. Text in center of image reads: Black History IS History. Link to journeys library is featured as is the Journeys in Film logo. Link is journeys in film dot org slash library. Additional text reads: Download your free resources today!

  1. Countering Islamophobia Through Film
  2. Freedom of the Press in a Changing Media Landscape: Teaching Journalism Ethics with Navalny and The Post
  3. Exploring World Religions Through Art: Hands-on Activities for Students of All Ages
  4. Educational Documentaries for Middle School Students
  5. Around the Web: Educational Resources

Are any of your favorite articles of the year missing from this list? Let us know which ones you liked best in the comments.

Image with purple background. Text across reads: Women's History Month Teach with Film. Grid below text features movie posters for Whale Rider, Hidden Figures, Rebel Hearts, Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down, He Named Me Malala, Queen of Katwe, Big Sonia, Jane and Wadjda. Text below grid reads: Free Lesson Plans

 

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