Sustainable Development Goals: choose one for your classroom

You do not need to cover all 17 goals at once. Start with a question students can investigate: what happens to our school waste, who can use a local space, or what helps people learn? The goal supplies a wider context; the lesson still needs a clear subject aim.

Choose a Sustainable Development Goal for your classroom

1. Begin with a subject topic you already teach.
2. Choose one related goal and read its official description.
3. Turn it into a question students can investigate locally.
4. Decide what evidence students will collect and how they will explain it.
5. Add a partner class when another perspective will help.

Use a narrow question and suitable evidence. A few observations, teacher-selected data or fictional examples can be enough to begin. For climate work, separate a short weather observation from a claim about long-term climate. If you use a sensitive topic, avoid asking students to disclose family circumstances.

How the 17 goals connect

The UN's 17 goals cover social, environmental and economic concerns, including poverty, health, education, equality, water, consumption and climate. They are connected: a decision about water can also affect health, education and fairness. Use the official goal pages to check the goal and its targets.

SDG Target 4.7 includes education for sustainable development, human rights, peace, global citizenship and cultural diversity. It gives a reason to connect these questions with learning. Students can connect the wider goal with a useful question in their own community.

Plan evidence, a response and reflection

Decide what students should understand in the subject and what they should be able to explain. In a waste enquiry, they might classify observations, compare amounts and support a proposed change. Assess the evidence and reasoning as well as the final poster or presentation. The sustainability project guide offers more ideas for a local enquiry.

• What did we observe or find in a source?
• How does the issue look in another community?
• Who might be helped or left out by our proposal?
• What changed after feedback, and what do we still not know?

Keep reflection short and connected with the task. Students can write an individual explanation, discuss a decision or review a first version after feedback. A thoughtful small response is more useful than a large campaign students cannot explain.

Add another classroom's perspective

Partner classes can investigate the same question in different settings. Agree a shared method, compare the findings and ask each other about the context. For water or climate, record how and when data were collected so the comparison is meaningful.

Sandra Maj, a teacher from Poland, describes celebrating World Environment Day with Class2Class teachers and students in the platform's teacher feedback. Her experience illustrates a reason to connect: teachers can share an activity and discuss it with another class.

Find materials and support on Class2Class

Class2Class is free for teachers and students. Browse current project ideas, read the activity details and choose one that fits the lesson. You can adapt a shared project around a global goal, then agree the plan with a partner teacher.

Use a short video, a diagram or a quiz when it helps students answer the question, rather than adding resources for their own sake. Check the material before using it and offer a non-video or paper alternative where needed.

The teacher training page provides platform guidance. For subject knowledge, start with the official UN goal descriptions and a relevant curriculum resource. A colleague or partner teacher can help you check the scope of the lesson.

Anuradha Sharma, a teacher from India, praises the platform's lesson plans and the opportunity to work with teachers elsewhere in the same teacher feedback. Choose materials for your own class, then keep the planning notes and student examples that will help you improve the next task.