One Month at a Time

The Why: Why did you select this activity, and why is it important? How does it support the global competence of students?

I selected these activities to help my geographers gain an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals so that they can begin their journey to becoming globally competent. By teaching one SDG a month, my students gain an understanding of the goals and their importance to the global and local community. This activity also helps to build connections between students from different countries and cultures, as they will be discussing the same issues and gaining a better understanding of the SDG agenda. After teaching the SDG each month, I create a project or activity that allows the students to share their learning with the school community. For example, they create posters, presentations, or videos that explain the SDG and how it can be implemented in the school and in their local community. This allows students to learn and understand the SDGs while also sharing their knowledge with others in the school community.

Teaching the SDGs to students supports global competence by helping them understand the interconnectedness of global issues, the need for collaboration across nations, and the importance of taking action to improve the world. By learning about the SDGs, students gain a greater appreciation for the diversity of cultures and perspectives around the world, and how their actions can make a difference. Additionally, my students gain a better understanding of their own role in creating a better world and how they can be part of the solution to global challenges by simply starting at the local level.

The How:

Planning Considerations: What needs to be considered as part of the planning process? How much time should be allotted to this activity? When should it be incorporated into instruction? 

Since I will only spend one class period a month for each SDG, I plan one month in advance for each activity to ensure that I have all materials ready. Some of the materials include the Did You Know cards, the Google Slides template presentation for each of my classes in their corresponding Google classroom, poster boards, markers, colors, etc. I upload any announcements to be read to the school announcements page. 

If our monthly challenge includes volunteering, I contact the facility to set up a date and time. If it includes donations, a team of students volunteer for the donation stations at school. Although I spend only one class period each month with one SDG, the learning continues throughout the month because of the information around the school that the students continue to see, be it on Did You Know cards or on our school TVs. We also remind students of the monthly challenge in our daily announcements. It is also important to provide ample opportunities for students to discuss and reflect on the SDGs and their implications for their lives and the world through daily discussions.

Recommendations: When I first began working with the SDGs, I introduced only two goals each semester, one in September and the other in November. Once I was comfortable with what I wanted my students to learn and do, I added an additional goal. You can work with as many or as few as you feel most comfortable with.