SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

 

Goal 7 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

Now that the Sustainable Goals have become relatable to the environment, my students will have more to say. They have been looking at their impact on the environment since preschool where their teachers spend a large amount of time educating them about both their natural and built environment. They come to Kindergarten knowing about reducing their environmental footprint, including what to do to conserve energy at home and school so there is less reason to start at the beginning, but rather to leap in to a picture book that gives them 'food for thought'.

Here's the list of books to choose from.

Maybe start with an inspiring person who solved a problem for his environment, such as Iqbal or William Kamkwamba . These two books are truly inspiring.

Here's the blurb:

It's monsoon season in Bangladesh, which means Iqbal's mother must cook the family's meals indoors, over an open fire. The smoke from the fire makes breathing difficult for his mother and baby sister, and it's even making them sick. Hearing them coughing at night worries Iqbal. So when he learns that his school's upcoming science fair has the theme of sustainability, Iqbal comes up with the perfect idea for his entry: he'll design a stove that doesn't produce smoke! With help from his teacher, Iqbal learns all about solar energy cooking, which uses heat from the sun to cook --- ingenious! Has Iqbal found a way to win first prize in the science fair while providing cleaner air and better health for his family at the same time?

Here's the blurb:

When fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba's Malawi village was hit by a drought, everyone's crops began to fail. Without enough money for food, let alone school, William spent his days in the library . . . and figured out how to bring electricity to his village. Persevering against the odds, William built a functioning windmill out of junkyard scraps, and thus became the local hero who harnessed the wind. 

If you do not have these and you have a book from Allan Drummond's series about places that have taken on a sustainable energy project read one of them.

    

And of course there is always Philip Bunting's Superpower which explains renewable energy"with a positive outlook and a generous dollop of humour. Superpower shows that using renewable energy and taking care of our environment can be both fun and rewarding". 

Provocation: 

If your house had no access to electricity, what would you not be able to do? 

We read:

This book makes me want to... 

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being

Goal 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development. Currently, the world is facing a global health crisis unlike any other — COVID-19 is spreading human suffering, destabilising the global economy and upending the lives of billions of people around the globe. 

Select a picture book from here.

While there are many picture books that have wellbeing as a theme, and many more that encourage young children to think about germs, hand washing and disease, maybe this is the place to ensure that young children are informed about the wonders of modern medicine, vaccines, hospitals and doctors so that they are not afraid of them. When school resumes I am sure that I will be asked by parents for a book about vaccination in preparation for their child being vaccinated. For many of my students they have not had a vaccination since they started school and their memory of it will have dimmed.

For that reason perhaps I would start with Peppa Gets a Vaccination. It is not a child pictured, but Peppa, someone the children like and admire. The story is simple, not too many details and positive as Peppa is rewarded for doing as she is asked.

Then perhaps follow up with Philip Bunting's Me, Microbes and I so that  students  realise that microbes are part of normal everyday life.

Here's the blurb:

You are covered in microbes - tiny living things so small that you can't see them without a microscope. 
Me, Microbes & I is full of fascinating and entertaining information about microbes, and provides young readers with a simple and fun guide to how things like bacteria and viruses work in the body. It is packed with handy tips on how to stay healthy, from enjoying fermented foods to taking care of your immune system, and also provides information on how to stop the spread of nasty viruses - including how to cough like a vampire, and the best way to wash your hands. 

In my booklet, there are just three things to do:

* Before reading: Ask: Do you like going to the doctor? What makes you give that answer?

* Write the title of the book you read. We read ...

* Complete this sentence: Three things I can do to make sure I stay healthy are  ...