A few weeks ago I wrote a post outlining some of the assignments I gave to my students.  I wasn’t sure what to expect since it was the first time I’ve used these assignments, and we were using an iPad app that we hadn’t used before.  Despite some technical hiccups, the students created some amazing posters and children’s books.  Below are just some of the amazing examples of my students’ work.

Posters

#1

Elisabeth B.- This poster represents the Sustainable Development Goal number 7, clean energy. The difference between the top and bottom is the Before is before clean energy and After is after clean energy. In the top half, the overuse of wood is represented by stumps in the ground. The train represents the use of coal. Oil is represented by its way of extraction with the oil rig and the oil spill. The factory represents all of the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. All of them are non-reusable sources of energy. In the bottom half, hydroelectricity is represented by the dam, solar energy is represented by the solar panels and the sun, and the wind turbines show the use of wind power. All of these are reusable ways of energy. With the world moving towards more reusable sources of energy, there will be less of a conflict of fighting over the sources of energy the will run out. Therefore, there will be less mining for coal, less deforestation, less production of carbon emissions, leading to a healthier planet. With less conflict, there will be more peace between countries, leading to more partnerships, and more prosperity between countries and nature. With less overuse of non-reusable sources of energy, the environment will become more healthier, leading to healthier people and economy.

#2

Molly M.– This poster represents the sustainable development goal of gender equality. Specifically, it represents the target of achieving equal pay between men and women. Within the poster, a man and a woman are both working on a strategy to earn their company money, and at the end, they both receive an equal pay of $100. By earning money and working together, the man and the woman portray peace, partnership, and prosperity which are three of the 5p’s with the preamble of the 2030 agenda. Additionally, this poster symbolizes the economic and social aspects of the three sustainable development targets. Overall, this poster is meant to bring attention to the fact that women are still not getting equal pay, and I hope that it will show how working together can help to achieve the sustainable development goals.  (Editor’s note: I also want to point out here that when Molly presented this to the class, she also explained that she wanted to illustrate that females could also do complex equations alongside males.  Additionally, she purposefully switched the traditional male/female colors on her characters.)

#3

Katie B.– For my poster I decided to showcase the developments in SDG 16– peace, justice, and strong institutions– by using the infamous Campbell’s soup can to represent the corruption and human rights violations currently challenging the world today. The “can of worms” shows all of the crime and injustice in the world that oftentimes goes unnoticed (such as the flow of illicit warfare or the high infant mortality rate), and when opened it may be messy but it gives an opportunity for discussion that is so crucial to solving these issues. Improving the lives and well-being of people is at the heart of this goal, I show how people are directly affected in my poster by depicting the people with chains (representing victims of human trafficking, violence, the high mortality rate, ect.) and the people holding hands (living harmoniously without risk to their lives). Peace is shown through the gun–noting that a world that is unstable and has conflict and illicit warfare is not peaceful–and the dove showing the alternative option that may be achieved through SDG 16. The necessary transition from a world filled with corruption and injustice to a place with accountable, effective institutions is seen as the can opens and the good possibilities come out. This also shows what the world needs to strive for to become more prosperous. The social aspect of how this helps the lives of citizens is evident but it also will ultimately help the economy flourish because when government institutions are more strong and transparent countries will be more willing to do business with one another, and the country’s citizens have more trust in the economic system.

#4

Bre W.– For my SDG I chose number 14, Life Under Water. The main goal of the entire SDG is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The goal of reducing marine pollution of all kinds is represented through my depiction of people, planet, partnership and the environmental and social developments. The reduction of marine pollution through these things is shown through the before and after side; on the before side, there is trash being dumped in the ocean along with oil which pollutes the water and kills the sea life. In addition to that pollution, the dark heavy smoke coming from the factory can also negatively affect sea life. On the after side, there is a volunteer who is partnered with Dawn cleaning the oil off of the bird and there is no trash being dumped into the ocean and the fish are lively. This symbolizes the detrimental impact that industrialization and the improper discarding of waste has on marine life. Placing emphasis on the reduction of marine pollution can ultimately improve the awareness of people concerning the welfare of marine life.

#5

Juan A.– This poster represents UN SDG #4 Quality Education. Education is the pivotal factor to success; knowledge is power, and it can give an individual the ability to have a sustainable and happy life. Yet, throughout the global community there are inequalities and inequities stopping so many from receiving an education. In countries like Mexico, where there are no free public schools many families in communities ravished with poverty, are unable to continue to pay tuitions past the 5th or 6th grade. Barriers to an adequate education are prevalent in all countries in the world. The misogyny that is infused in so many societies tops young girls from even entering a school. The deep lack of resources that halts many students from their fullest potential (transportation, hunger, poverty) is seen in developing and developed countries all around the world. To have access to a book or a teacher is necessary for quality education, yet the ability to further one’s education in an equitable manner is also needed to achieve SDG #4. In the US, undocumented immigrants are unable to apply for FAFSA; they don’t receive in-state tuition in 34 states; they cannot receive student loans unless they have a cosigner who is a US citizen; and many scholarships require proof of residency to apply. If the people in a country are given resources to an education, where their merit can establish their success, they will find prosperity and their situation (place) will mirror their quality of life. This partnership between people and an equitable education funded my political institutions will create a more unified and equal planet.

Books

Because the books were electronic documents, I couldn’t share them here, but I did take pictures as the students read them to each other (next year I want to go to a local elementary school and have them read the books to younger students).  It was interesting to see them come up with a conflict related to their chosen SDG, find a resolution to it, and turn that into a children’s book.

Conclusion

I was really impressed with my students’ work.  They showed creativity and a general understanding of the SDGs.  The posters in particular showed just how observant students are of the world around them and the obstacles they face as individuals and that we face as a global community.  Now, more than ever, we need to make sure teaching the SDGs becomes part of school curricula.

Thanks for reading.

I’ve recently become more involved with an amazing community on Twitter using #TeachSDGs.  We’re a group of teachers around the world committed to bringing the SDGs to our classrooms and communities.  In just the past two weeks or so, I’ve gained a lot of cool ideas from teachers that I want to use in my own classes, notably making children’s books and creating poems.  This is now my opportunity to give back to this community and share what I do in the classroom.

Letter to the Editor
One of the first actions we can take is to first alert local communities that the SDGs exist and that teachers play a crucial role in achieving them.  To that end, I wrote a general 200-world letter that can be used for most newspapers.

SDGs Poster and Icon Cards
I downloaded the logo and icons from the SDGs website (Note: Make sure you follow their guidelines) and sent the files to a local printer to make the poster and icon cards to use in my classroom and for our VAHSAid events.  As a result, I’ve already had interesting discussions with my colleagues and students who aren’t even in my classes.  I’ve also encouraged my students and colleagues to get their pictures taken with an icon card to share on social media.

Global Summits
Basically, this is like a Model UN conference, only much smaller in scale.

The first is the packet introducing the activity.  We are on a block schedule, so where it says three days, that’s about 280 minutes of class time.  We prepare for the summit the entire quarter (9 weeks), but I usually give them only 3-4 days in class to work on it; the rest of the time is research on their own.

The second document is just a sheet that I cut out to put on the backs of their placards to help with parliamentary procedure (I’ll send a pic of a placard to you via DM).  I also show them the two videos from a model UN conference so they can see what it looks like (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYu9mJz6S3I).  The third document are the rules of procedure (I broke it down from one of the Model UN conferences we attend).

The fourth attachment is the resolution prep guide.  Every summit focuses on two of the SDGs.  So, at the beginning I give them the most current UNGA resolution pertaining to each topic.  Then, they fill out the prep guide, and we go over it next class.

The next two attachments are the country roster and organization cheat sheet.  The last one is the rubric for the whole assignment.

From there, the students mostly work outside of class to prepare for the summit.

As an extension activity, I have the students write a letter to the head of the relevant UN body for one of the two topics, explaining their own personal opinion about what should be done to address the issues.  I’ve included the template I give them.  In the past we’ve written to the UNDP, FAO, UNEP, and UN Women.  The students get quite excited when we receive a letter back.

I am the “chair” for the summit, so I call on countries, keep track of the speaker’s list, and keep notes on what students say in their speeches.

1. Global Summits
2. Points and Motions for Placards
3. Rules of Procedure
4. UN Resolution Preparation Guide
5. Country Assignments
6. Countries and Regional Organizations
7. Business Letter Format FAO and UNDP

Front of the placard

Back of the placard with points and motions

Month-Long Units
Of the four different courses I teach, I’ve put together a month-long unit for three of them.  For World Studies (sophomores) and AP US History (juniors and seniors), I had them pick an EU Member State because I also do a lot of work on transatlantic relations and the EU (in fact, I’m taking eight students to Brussels this summer for a week to learn about the EU).  For AP classes, this unit is a nice way to end the year and have something that is academic, but not overly strenuous.  For the children’s books, I’m using The Children’s Picture Book Project lesson plan.

1. World Studies- SDGs Unit
2. AP US History- SDGs Post-AP Test Assignment
3. AP Comparative Government and Politics- SDGs Post-AP Test Assignment

Children’s Activities
For our VAHSAid events, like our 1st Annual Campout to Stamp Out Child Poverty and Food Insecurity, we have a table for children’s activities.  So far, I’ve developed an SDGs Word Search with key words from each of the SDGs.  I deliberately chose not to give the definitions because I want parents to talk with their children about the terms.  Once I create more activities, I’ll share them.

#TeachSDGs
Finally, I recommend following TeachSDGs and World’s Largest Lesson on Twitter.  I’ve also created a Twitter list of all the amazing teachers who I’ve had the pleasure of talking with about teaching the SDGs.

I hope that you’ll find something useful in all of this.  If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment.

Thanks for reading.