Grade levels: All (a good continuation to the food recipes lesson)

SDGs: Zero Hunger, Life on Land, Climate Action

Introduction: Watching this video about food waste and how to set up a compost bin (in a garden or apartment)

Activity:

In school: Making a classroom compost bin that students can observe and add to. Once it turns into soil, the class can donate it to the Community Garden.

At home: Making a compost bin in students gardens or apartments. They can continue to submit photos of the progress via Seesaw.

Key takeaways:

• Understanding the energy and resources required to produce food

• Understanding the greenhouse gases emitted from landfill waste

• Understanding ways to reduce food waste when possible

• Understanding how to repurpose food waste otherwise

Grade levels: All with adult supervision 

Introduction: 300 million tons of paper is produced every year in the world and out of that, 85 million are wasted.  (RecordNations) The UN's Sustainable Development Goal #12 goal aims for sustainable consumption and production, therefore it is our job to recycle and reuse as much as we can. This activity will teach other ways we can use our recycled paper.

Activity:

• Better done with someone - Adult supervision may be needed as some of these activities may require scissors. 

• Choose one of these activities to do:

  •  snowflakes

  • doll chain

  • penguins   

  • Feel free to look on youtube for more paper crafts

Key Takeaways:

• Encourages children to always find ways to reduce our trash and reuse materials

• Helps explain "One man's trash is another man's treasure" 

Related SDGs: Responsible Consumption and Production

Grade levels: All (younger levels may need assistance when working with scissors, glue, etc)

Intro:

Everyday, over 3.5 million tons of plastic and solid waste is produced each day. Yet,  1.8 billion people consistently buy goods online. When purchasing new items, they are typically packaged in single-use plastics or plastic-lined cardboards and aluminum, which rarely get recycled. In fact, only 8% of solid waste actually gets recycled, regardless of whether or not it is tossed in the recycling bin. Therefore, it is our responsibility to create a circular economy wherein we purchase and discard as little as possible, and reuse the same products over and over again. However, most young students lack control of purchases in their household, so the next best option is to repurpose trash into items that can be useful. Some ideas of sculptures to make are: dolls, artworks, pencil holders, flower pots, candle holders, and origami.

Activity:

1. Several days prior to the assembly, make an announcement to the class stating that they should begin to collect "trash" from their homes and bring them in to the classroom. Remind them that they should wash and clean them if they have been in contact with food. Some examples of recycled materials to bring in are:

• Plastic bottles

• Cartons

• Cans

• Cereal boxes

• Wrappers

• Plastic utensils

• Paper plates

• Paper napkins

• Scrap paper

• Toilet paper rolls

• Newspaper

2. Display on the screen some example sculptures to give the students ideas, but remind them to use mainly recycled items rather than new ones such as paint and pipe cleaners: 

• https://www.rubbishplease.co.uk/blog/21-coolest-kids-toys-can-make-recycled-materials-part-2/ 

• https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2014/04/recycled-art-project-for-kids-2.html 

• https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/top-trash-to-treasures-crafts-1254258

• https://tinkerlab.com/recycled-art-sculpture-mystery-box-challenge/

3. Have students line their desks with newspaper to avoid mess

4. Sculpt! Make sure to carefully supervise when dealing with sharp objects

5. (optional) taking photos of their sculptures

6. Clean-up: Have the kids wash their hands well, put away their things, and wipe down their desks. If they have scraps and left-overs, they may save them for future recycled craft projects.

Takeaways:

• Educates them about the importance of a circular economy 

• Encourages children to always find ways to reduce our trash and reuse materials

• Helps explain "One man's trash is another man's treasure" 

Related SDGs: Decent Work and Economic Growth, No Poverty

Grade Levels: All

Introduction: 

In this activity, students will learn about what honey makers, basket makers, and cocoa farmers do in a day! These short videos give students a new found appreciation for our mother earth who continues to provide us with what we need. It also teaches them about who takes care of these resources and how they do it. 

Activity:

1. Visit this site  for three animated day in a life videos on honey makers, basket makers, and cocoa farmers.  Choose which videos you'd like our class to see. 

• Each video is approximately three minutes long

2. After watching a video, these are the key takeaways students should have: 

• The importance and advantage of properly taking care of our resources

• The role of humans which is to care but not to disrupt or damage resources

• All the possibilities we can do with our natural resources

• How all living things interact and help each other

3. Discuss they key takeaways with each other and how else can we support and protect these resources

Related SDGs: Reduced Inequalities, Gender Inequality, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

Grade levels: All

Intro: The majority of classic tales, fables, and children's stories focus their narratives on white males. However,  it is vital for children to be  well versed in the experiences of protagonists from different cultural backgrounds, races, and time-periods to expand their narratives and eliminate bias. We have listed in this post a variety of children's books with female protagonists and protagonists of color, many of which are set in major movements and social reforms, which will help students learn about history and its relationship with the present-day.

Activity: 

1. Depending on the chosen book, teachers should spend approximately 20 minutes to research and prepare a short speech giving some context of the time period to which the story is set. This is simply to minimize confusion on the students' part

2. The teacher will read one of the following books to the class. It may be physical or via PDF to screen-share on Zoom. We have included short descriptions of each one to aid in your choosing:

• The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath by Julia Finley Mosca (This series by Julia Finley Mosca is brilliant. The lyrical element of the story makes the historical topics approachable to young children. It tells the story of Dr. Patricia Bath.)

• The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin Julia Finley Mosca (This is another brilliant book published by The Innovation Press. Through the same lyrical storytelling, Julia Finley Mosca brings the reader into the life of Temple Grandin. I love how this story begins with Grandin’s childhood sharing the unique aspects of her being that made her the adult she is today.)

• Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement  Carole Boston Weatherford (Often when children are taught about the Women Suffrage Movement the focus is on Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. While these women are important let us not forget the Black women who were equally fighting for their rights. Voice of Freedom gives Fannie Lou Hamer the stage her life deserves through gorgeous illustrations.)

• Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya  Donna Jo Napoli (Wangari Maathai is an amazing woman who began the Green Belt Movement in Africa to combat deforestation. In 2004 she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. In addition to the powerful story I am in love with the vibrant illustrations that bring to life the story of Wangari Maathai.)

• One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia  Miranda Paul (This true story from Gambia tells how one woman, Isatou Ceesay, grew a movement that educated people on the importance of recycling plastic bags. Prior to her activism plastic bags were just dropped in the streets after using them, or burned. Both of these actions were reeking havoc on the environment, animals and people of Gambia.)

• Red Bird Sings: The Story of Zitkala-Sa, Native American Author, Musician, and Activist  Gina Capaldi and Q.L. Pierce (This book touches on the time period when Native American children were sent to boarding schools in the US in an effort to assimilate the children into Euro-American culture. The children were forced to cut their hair a certain way, not speak their indigenous languages and given Euro-American names. This is the true story of Zitkala-Sa who found comfort in music during her time in one of the residential schools. She would go on to be an Native American rights activist.)

• Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills  Renee Watson (Florence Mills is the daughter of two former slaves who was a famous Broadway singer in the 1920s. She used her talent and fame to support other black artists as well as fight for civil rights.)

3. Students will be put into groups of three prior to reading, each of whom will have an assigned role. There will be a scribe, who writes down words they don't know (many of these will be within historical context (e.g. Jim Crow Laws)) and defining them later on will educate them more about the chosen time period), someone who writes down the similarities between the protagonists and themselves, and someone who writes about the differences between the protagonists and themselves.

Takeaways:

After finishing the book, students will be put back into their groups of three. They will each share what they wrote and work together to uncover the meaning of their notes. Together, they will research the meanings of the new words and talk about how they are similar and different from the women in the novels. This activity will help them learn about women of different races, ethnic groups, and socio- economic backgrounds, while acknowledging their hardships and developing empathy.  They will then go into the main room and share their findings with the class. Teachers should wrap up the lesson by clarifying the message of the story.

Related SDGs: Reduced Inequalities, Gender Inequality

Grade levels: All

Intro: The majority of classic tales, fables, and children's stories focus their narratives on white males. However,  it is vital for children to be  well versed in the experiences of protagonists from different social backgrounds, races, and time-periods to expand their narratives and eliminate bias. We have listed in this post a variety of children's books about being unique and transcending stereotypes.

Activity: 

1. Depending on the chosen book, teachers should spend approximately 20 minutes to research and prepare a short speech giving some context of the time period to which the story is set. This is simply to minimize confusion on the students' part

2. The teacher will read one of the following books to the class. It may be physical or via PDF to screen-share on Zoom. We have included short descriptions of each one to aid in your choosing:

• "The Sneetches" by Dr. Seuss ("The Sneetches" explores the concept of the “haves” and the “have-nots”.  Within a couple of pages Seuss breaks down the ridiculous nature of prejudice in any of its forms.  This is a great starting point for conversations on discrimination and inequality.)

• "Yoko" by Rosemary Wells (This is a great book to explore in preschool and early elementary school as I have seen children be made fun of because their food choices are perceived as “weird” or a child is self-conscious to eat what they love for fear of being made fun of. Yoko demonstrates the importance of creating opportunities for our differences to be celebrated and explored.)

• "Amazing Grace" by Mary Hoffman (Amazing Grace  tells the story of an imaginative young girl who wants to be Peter Pan in the school play. Her classmates tell her she can’t because she is black and a girl. Grace goes home saddened by this news. Luckily she has two strong women at home, her mother and her grandmother, who teach her that Grace can be whoever she wants to be.)

• "One" by Kathryn Otoshi ("One" is a book that should be read from preschool through high school. It should be read in every home and school. "One" explores the concept of a bully and what happens when everyone else stays silent and allows the bullying to continue. Silence fuels hatred and we need to learn to stand up to prejudice, discrimination and inequality.)

• "Skin Again" by Bell Hooks (Skin Again is simple in words and illustrations, but full of meaning. Exploring the concept of race and racism, Skin Again shares the importance of looking within each person you meet.)

• "Crow Boy" by Taro Yashima (The story of Crow Boy  depicts Chibi, the main character, as a shy boy who is made fun of by the other students. In a small Japananese village Chibi travels far to come to school each day only to feel sad and alone. Finally a teacher celebrates his talents. The children are genuinely sorry for their horrible actions and learn the importance of caring for each other."

• "The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes" (The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes is so much for than a story about Easter.  In fact, whether or not you celebrate Easter you need to check this book out.  It is hard to believe Du Bose Heyward wrote this tale of feminism in 1939.  With some of the most breathtaking illustrations I have seen this story speaks with intelligence about the importance of a dream, a purpose, a plan and strength of mind, body and spirit.)

• "A Bad Case of Stripes" by David Shannon (A Bad Case of Stripes  is a Kindergarten class favorite. Camilla Cream is afraid to eat her favorite food, lima beans, because the other kids make fun of her. This book explores what happens when we start caring so much about what other people think that we forget to be true to ourselves.)

3. Students will be put into groups of three prior to reading, each of whom will have an assigned role. There will be a scribe, who writes down words they don't know (many of these will be within historical context (e.g. Jim Crow Laws)) and defining them later on will educate them more about the chosen time period), someone who writes down the similarities between the protagonists and themselves, and someone who writes about the differences between the protagonists and themselves.

Takeaways:

After finishing the book, students will be put back into their groups of three. They will each share what they wrote and work together to uncover the meaning of their notes. Together, they will research the meanings of the new words and talk about how they are similar and different from the women in the novels. This activity will help them learn about women of different races, ethnic groups, and socio- economic backgrounds, while acknowledging their hardships and developing empathy. They will then go into the main room and share their findings with the class. Teachers should wrap up the lesson by clarifying the message of the story.

Grade Levels: All with adult supervision 

Introduction:

Every day, so much food gets thrown away for many reasons such as being rotten or left overs. In a year, 1,300,000,000,000 kilograms of food is wasted (The World Counts.) and that affects the earth through carbon emissions but also waste resources that others have worked to provide and foods that could go to those who are hungry. So, what better way to enjoy food, spend some bonding time, and save almost spoiled food than making treats, drinks, foods and more with them! 

Activity:

1. Use this link to find 25 foods you can save and how. There is a wide variety like fruits, fish, dairy, meats and vegetables and some foods here will bring you to a wider list of recipes! 

2. Find an adult to do this with for safety and extra bonding time!

3. Enjoy your super delicious treat!

Key takeaways: 

• Brings awareness on what food waste does and how much of it there is

• Teaches students that "one man's waste is another man's treasure." Meaning that so much can be done to not waste resources and if others see it as trash, another person can make do out of it

• Teaches students that there are always new solutions and possibilities to any challenge we face