UN Sustainable Development Goals and Graphics
Provided by: Project Look Sharp|Published on: August 15, 2024|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Type: Activity - Classroom
Subjects: Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts
Authors: Project Look Sharp
Location: Earth
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this media decoding activity, students will use the Sustainable Development Goals icons to discuss how simple pictures represent big ideas.
- Students will read the descriptions for each Sustainable Development Goal and try to match them to the correct graphic, defending their position by pointing to evidence in the graphic.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This activity is a great way to introduce younger students to the Sustainable Development Goals without overwhelming them with too many details.
- The provided worksheet makes it easy for students to record their guesses.
Prerequisites
- Teachers will have to sign in or create an account to access the materials.
- The materials under Additional Support are not linked in the Activity Plan document.
- Before using the slides, teachers may want to review the Activity Plan and add speaker's notes to ensure the activity runs smoothly.
Differentiation & Implementation
- To support effective group participation, teachers can give students certain roles, such as reading the Sustainable Development Goals, writing the guesses, and keeping track of the time.
- To help students organize their ideas and prepare to defend their guesses, teachers can guide students in writing a claim, evidence, and reasoning statement for each guess.
- After completing this activity, older students can each choose one of the Sustainable Development Goals to research.
This resource introduces students to the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals and then engages them in a media decoding exercise. The attached documents and slideshow all feature clear text and graphics. Climate change is not a central focus of this resource, but teachers could lead a discussion of how climate action underpins sustainability. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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