Written by Abigail Chifusa, (Project Officer).
Early this year, Amanda Tétrault, Global Schools Advocate based at River Heights School in Canada, began to brainstorm ideas to integrate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in her classroom activities and lessons.
Amanda provided training on SDGs to one of the teachers within her school, Kyle Collins, who added the SDGs to his project and also put together an SDG activity in a presentation format.
In December, all of the grade 7 students in Amanda’s school took part in a unit focusing on presenting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a visual presentation called "My Hands". Each student chose one SDG and performed a short speech to share information about the goal and how it impacts them.
All of the Grade 7 students completed research, and gathered data and statistics in order to get more information about each SDG that they selected. Their speeches covered their knowledge, personal feelings toward the goals, and what they believe should be done globally. They engaged in an extensive revision process to include beautiful language and metaphors, finally including movements to complement their individual story. Each student chose to tell their story differently through visual monologues to inspire leaders around the world and in their local communities. This cross-curricular project blends performance arts, social studies, and language arts.
The students’ presentation ended with a powerful call to action in the hope that the message will motivate people to act accordingly because they believe that the time for action is now!
Follow the link to watch the amazing video that accompanies the presentation.
