Teaching Sustainability in the Classroom
Thinglink is a wonderful program to make interactive images.
Have a go - see what you can find in our image.
Use the comments to tell us how you could use this in your classroom.
Picture books engage children from their earliest days right through the primary school years. As a teaching resource, they offer limitless opportunities to explore a huge number of themes. For sustainability teaching in particular, picture books offer so much: from the simplest portrayals of our natural world, right through to complex examinations of global environmental challenges. In addition, it’s “through picture books, which represent pathways to sustainability, (that) children encounter possible actions to avert such environmental crisis” (Massey, 2014, p.25). Along with traditional printed texts, there are e-books and complementary apps, enabling students to engage with valuable environmental messages across multiple platforms.
The picture books suggested in our picture book resource list are tagged according to the Sustainability priority “3 Key Concepts” (ACARA, 2015). These books are all examples that we have used and found successful in our own classrooms. Suggested grade levels are listed, but are flexible. This is most certainly not an exhaustive list; rather it’s a conversation starter, an invitation for you to share your own examples of valuable Green Kids Books. Please also see our Twitter feed which is focusing on sustainability picture book resources. Share with us on Twitter using the hashtag #greenkidsbooks.
Looking for learning opportunities that are a little different? Try our web resources list for sites that offer to connect your students with such activities as online interactive incursions, tours, and video-conferences with sustainability experts and other schools - all without leaving the classroom. These highly engaging activities all reflect Australian Curriculum outcomes and provide supporting materials for today’s busy teacher. Take this opportunity to foster deeper student engagement as they explore various aspects of sustainability through these web-based resources.
As modern educators, the developers of this website understand all too well the need to incorporate Information Communication Technology (ICT) into our teaching. However, we believe that ICT is not a panacea that replaces all other resources. Rather, online websites are best used when they complement other information artefacts, especially books.
For this reason we have included both books and web resources in our rich collection of sustainability-related links found below. The resources can be used with students in the classroom or at home. Each resource is linked to more information and supporting activities that are ready to share with your students using a computer, projector, interactive whiteboard, or on paper. For ease of browsing our resources, check out the tags on the right hand side to further narrow down choices.
We encourage you to find and share other teaching ideas in our communities on Facebook, Diigo, Pinterest and Twitter. Please browse our site and provide comments to let us know of other resources you feel would be valuable for the collection.
To delve into the world of sustainability resources, click the button below.
References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2015). Cross-Curriculum Priorities. Retrieved 17 April 2015 from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/crosscurriculumpriorities/sustainability
Massey, G. (2014). Picturing sustainable futures. In K. Mallan, C. Allan & Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA) (Eds.), Picture Books and Beyond, (pp 25-40). Newtown, N.S.W: Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA).