Back in 2015 the United Nations adopted 17 goals that they hoped the world could achieve by the year 2030.
If you have students who are doing Genius Hour/Passion Projects, etc…, the Global Goals are a great entry point that can help them to determine what is meaningful to them. For example, my fifth graders did their Genius Hour projects based on, “What breaks your heart?” and they could use the Global Goals to drill down to specific actions that could be taken to make change. Another example of a project related to the Global Goals, which I describe in this blog post, was the Art Drop Day my colleague facilitated with his high school students.
I have a Wakelet Collection of resources for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It can be a bit overwhelming when you first start delving into them, so I have some suggestions if you are just beginning. The World’s Largest Lesson has a page specifically aimed at those who are introducing their students to the Global Goals for the first time here. It includes videos and lesson plans, and even a link to teaching younger children about the goals. For access to even more ideas, you can visit their resource page, where you can do filtered searches.
There are also a couple of e-books on my list. This one is a cute story that introduces the goals (good for younger children), and this one explains each goal in simple language.
One resource that I found is great because it gives practical suggestions that anyone can do in their everyday lives to help with each goal. I also like this video, which shows students that there are three ways that you can help: invent, innovate, and campaign. That could be another way for students to funnel Genius Hour projects, by having them conclude with one of those three actions.
We are inundated daily with news of things going wrong in the world. By introducing students to the SDG’s, we can empower them to make even small changes that are steps toward righting those wrongs so that they can feel less helpless and overwhelmed.