Celebrating Earth Day with Capstone, Shannon McClintock-Miller and Merge EDU

This special day is a golden opportunity for educators to tap into the wonder children naturally have about the Earth, fostering an appreciation for our natural world and promoting responsible stewardship in the next generation.

Capstone is the nation’s leading educational publisher of K-5 digital solutions, children’s books, and literacy programs for school libraries, classrooms, and at-home reading. Capstone Interactive is an eBook platform designed for elementary students, and so many of them are perfect to bring to your students this Earth Day!

Merge EDU is a hands-on digital learning platform that engages students with science simulations and digital teaching aids they can touch, hold and interact with using augmented reality (AR) technology and a Merge Cube. Merge EDU apps provide opportunities for students to explore Earth Science concepts (and more!) in the palm of their hands.

Using Merge EDU apps and Capstone's amazing e-book resources this Earth Day, you can transform your classroom or library into an enriching, immersive workspace for your students to learn about the environment and the reasons we should love and conserve it!

Future Ready Librarian, Shannon McClintock Miller

Shannon McClintock Miller is a teacher librarian, international speaker, consultant and author who has a passion for education, librarianship, advocacy, technology, social media and making a difference in the world and lives of others, especially children. Shannon's latest book, Sonia’s Digital World, was published by Capstone in collaboration with ISTE. The story shares how Sonia, her friends and her community chat, create, and play together with digital tools.

Shannon, Capstone, and Merge recently put their heads together to create a series of hands-on Merge EDU activities and e-books from Capstone Interactive you can use in your classroom or library for Earth Day! By including books and activities that cover various topics like bees, trees, and rain, students will learn more about these important aspects of Earth in a way that's engaging, memorable, and fun!

Earth Day Activities 

First read the Capstone Interactive e-book with your students, then complete the activities in either the Merge Explorer or Merge Object Viewer app! Find the links to the e-books below, then click the link to the Merge EDU activities.

For the Merge EDU Activities:

• Be sure you have a Merge Cube: find a free Merge Paper Cube here
• Get a free trial of Merge EDU by visiting: trymerge.com
• Download the apps here

Capstone Interactive eBook - Why Do We Need Rain? By Laura K. Murray 

Water & Weather

In this experience we’ll look at the atmosphere and its different zones. The atmosphere extends far beyond the surface of the Earth, and some scientists even say it goes all the way to the Moon!

Merge Explorer

Why Do We Need Rain?

Rain is necessary to all life on Earth! In the Pebble Explore book,

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

Why Do We Need Bees? By Laura K. Murray 

Why Do We Need Bees?

Bees are amazing! In this Pebble Go ebook,

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

The Plants and the Bees

Bees are important for many reasons, one of which is that they help plants to have babies – in other words, to make new plants! When a bee lands on a flower, it picks up some pollen grains on its body. As the bee flies around, it drops the pollen off on another plant, where the pollen helps the second plant to produce seeds. Watch the bee work its magic in this animation!

Merge Explorer

Why Do We Need Soil? By Laura K. Murray

Why Do We Need Soil?

What’s so great about soil? A lot, actually! In this Pebble Explore book, discover how this often overlooked—or even annoying—part of nature is essential to our world. We need soil to grow crops and construct buildings and roads. Soil is even important to the air we breathe, and provides homes to many different animals! In this collection, you will see an example of soil, insects that live in the soil, and also see different types of crops that grow thanks to soil!

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

The Plant Life Cycle

A plant’s life starts with a seed. With water and the right temperature, the seed germinates, meaning it sprouts a tiny plant. Just like a human goes through childhood, teenage years, and adulthood, a plant passes through different stages as it grows–tap below to see them all! Eventually, the plant will die, but it leaves behind more seeds to repeat the life cycle over again.

Merge Explorer

It’s All About Give and Take

Although plants get their energy from the sun, they also need water and nutrients from the soil to grow. But plants don’t just take what they need and give nothing back. They produce oxygen that allows animals, including us, to live on Earth! In this interactive model, take a look at the different things plants take from and give to their environment.

Merge Explorer

Why Do We Need Trees? By Laura K. Murray 

Why Do We Need Trees?

Trees come in many shapes and sizes! In the Pebble Explore book,

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

Bird - Secondary Consumer

Now the caterpillar is going to be energy for another creature, in this case a common sparrow. Animals that eat other animals are commonly called secondary consumers. The sparrow will now use the caterpillar for its own energy.

Merge Explorer