SDG 9 Industries, Innovation & Infrastructure

 

Goal 9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.

Select a book from here.

Here is the chance to talk about all that helps people live their everyday lives, buildings, roads, bridges, technology, industry and how people make them happen. Of course there are questions about what is necessary, what is efficient, what can be sustained, but for children it is more a matter of what is there and how did it get there. A whole lot of pictures (photos) or a picture sort might be the way to start a discussion on infrastructure.

For younger readers who are always interested in trucks and construction perhaps start with building a road. Here's two, Road Builders by B. G. Hennessy and Simms Taback (old) and Road Crew Coming Through  by Sherry Duskey Rinker and A.G. Ford.

Here's the blurb:

Ever wonder how a road is built? First you'll meet the crew. Then you'll see all the trucks up close-cement mixers, bulldozers, dump trucks, graders, pavers-and learn what each one does. And finally, you'll watch a bustling new road come to life!

Here's the blurb:

The construction team is taking on their biggest challenge yet-building a brand-new superhighway! With the help of new rough-and-tough road-building machines, the crew gears up for an action-packed day of rolling, building, paving, painting, and all the jobs that go into making a strong new road. The process of putting a new road together is fascinating and involves a whole bunch of special vehicles, who help the original crew level, grade, flatten, pave, stripe, and open up a new road so that everyone can get home safe for bedtime!

For older students who know all about building roads and making things try How to Build a City by Isabel Otter and Harry Woodgate.

Here's the blurb:

From solar panels to sewers and from trams to tower blocks; follow our step-by-step guide and watch the city transform from a cluster of houses to a mega metropolis.

The picture book biography about urban planner, Jane Jacobs, Walking in the City with Jane by  Susan Hughes and Valerie Boivin is also worth reading.

Here's the blurb:

From the time she was a young girl, Jane Jacobs' curious mind made her a keen observer of everything around her. When she grew up, she moved to New York City, a place full of new wonders for her to explore. It was there she realised that, just like in nature, a city is an ecosystem. "It is made of different parts --- sidewalks, parks, stores, neighborhoods, City Hall . . . and people, of course. When they all work together, the city is healthy." So, when city planner Robert Moses proposed creating highways through the city that would destroy neighbourhoods and much of what made New York great, Jane decided she couldn't let it happen. She stood up to the officials and rallied her neighbors to stop the plans ---and even got arrested! Jane's bravery and ideas had a huge influence on urban planning that is still being felt today.

Booklet tasks:

Ask: Introduce the concept of infrastructure and what it means. • How did you get to school today? What infrastructure did you use to get there?

We read...

I think infrastructure is important because ...