News Feed

A Letter to Change the World!

Title: Write a letter to change the world!
Age Group:
(9-12), (12-15), (15+)
Subject / Topic:
English, (persuasive writing, reading, speaking and listening), Global Citizenship, Science, History, geography)
Real World Application:
TBC
Related Upschool Courses:
Be the Change!
Description:
This resource will guide students on how to craft and write a persuasive letter. They are encouraged to use emotive language and persuasive devices to persuade somebody to help change the world!

This resource can be used alongside the free live lesson found in Learning Sequence One – Be the Change. During the live lesson, students will craft a letter where they will collectively write to an important person telling them all about the importance of the polar ice caps and the important role they play in the future of the planet. They will also invite the person to write back to them and wait for their response.

Real-World Application: Our children must feel that there is nobody on Earth who is too hard to reach. Whether it is the most powerful man in the world or the author of Harry Potter. During this activity, our children will realise that no matter what the issue, they are only one letter away from talking to somebody who can help solve it.


Resource Preview:

Can you send a letter around the world in 9 weeks?

Title: Letter around the world!
Age Group:
(3-6), (6-9), (9-12), (12-15), (15+)
Subject / Topic:
Real World Application:
Related Upschool Courses:
Be the Change!
Description:
This resource will help children to understand how possible it is that they can contact anybody, in any location around the world. This is a challenge to send a letter all the way around the world, visiting a minimum of seven countries.

The first objective is to find somebody that you know who lives in another country and send them a letter. In the body of that letter, you must tell them that they need to send the letter on to another person in another country, and so on and so forth. You have nine weeks for your letter to visit seven countries and then arrived back at your school. To prove that your letter has visited seven countries in the envelope at the very end, there must be a memento from each of the countries it has visited. You’ll need a stamp and envelope and a very clear letter explaining exactly what needs to happen each and every time somebody receives the letter. You will also need a return address, which will be your school address.

This exercise will demonstrate to our students that nobody is out of the realm of possibility when deciding who to contact regarding global initiatives such as the one we’re about to undertake right now.

Real-World Application: It is not very often that we allow our children to explore the entire planet. This activity allows your children to think big. The children will attempt to send a letter around the world, finally arriving at the very place it began and thus, allowing the children to understand that literally anything is possible. This activity is what we call ‘Big Work.’

Resource Preview:

The Wall of Connection

Title: The Wall of Connection
Age Group:
(6-9), (9-12), (12-15), (15+)
Subject / Topic:
English, (writing, reading, speaking and listening), Global Citizenship, Geography
Real World Application:
TBC
Related Upschool Courses:
Be the Change!
Description:
This resource is about making connections and similarities between students in your class.

Once all of the task cards are on the wall (see lesson ‘All About Me’), the students will be given some string and a pair of scissors. They will then find similarities between their task card and other people’s test cards around the room and they will draw connections between the two, building a huge web of connections between all of the students in the class, and thus demonstrating that we are all very similar, although unique at the same time.

Real-World Application: One of the hardest things in schools is building a sense of collective responsibility and equality among the students. The wall of connection acts as a demonstration that the school is made up of lots of very unique individuals, who all have things in common. This activity allows for a visual representation of this concept to take shape in your school.

Resource Preview:

All About Me

Title: All About Me
Age Group:
(6-9), (9-12), (12-15)
Subject / Topic:
English, (writing, reading, speaking and listening), Global Citizenship, History, Geography
Real World Application:
TBC
Related Upschool Courses:
Be the Change!
Description:
This resource is a template for student biographies. The concept behind this activity is that children will start to analyse and think about who they are and what matters to them.

Following this activity, you may wish to display all of the task cards on one collective display board and make connections using pieces of string to show where people think the same with regard to the past, the present and the future. This will demonstrate to your class that we are all one community and connected in some way or another. See Resource – The Wall of Connection.

Real-World Application: The children can use this task card to further re-enforce that we all have things in common. The children may wish to use this card as an investigation into the similarities between children in the class and school. This activity will build a sense of community and acceptance, as they understand that even though we are all so different, we are very much alike.

Resource Preview:

How to save the planet from home!

Title: How to save the planet from home!
Age Group:
(3-6), (6-9), (9-12), (12-15), (15+)
Subject / Topic:
English, (reading, speaking and listening), Global Citizenship
Real World Application:
TBC
Related Upschool Courses:
Be the Change!
Description: Everyone can help limit climate change. From the way we travel to the electricity we use and the food we eat, we can make a difference. This resource gives families a tangible list of simple actions that they can work towards to make the world better for everyone!
Start with these nine actions to help tackle the climate crisis and help set an example to the children of tomorrow. 
Let’s demonstrate that the planet and nature are our greatest resources and we should work together to protect and preserve them as much as possible.

Real-World Application: Once the children understand and can comprehend the information on each of the pages. Their mission is to take the booklet home and convince their families to try and attempt each of the objectives. The children will enhance their use of essential skills whilst experiencing new initiatives and routines that may emerge within the community as the children drive this change.

Resource Preview:

Sustainable Development Goals Flashcards

Title: SDG Flashcards
Age Group:  
(6-9), (9-12), (12-15)
Subject / Topic: English (writing, reading), Global Citizenship
Real World Application:
TBC
Related Upschool Courses:
Be the Change!
Description:
Create a set of flashcards which can be used as a matching game. Use this template to create two cards for each SDG. One card will include the symbol and the other will include the definition of the goal.

Once complete, these can be cut out, mixed up, and used to show and teach younger children about the meanings behind the SDGs. These can even be sent to schools overseas that do not have resources or teaching materials to pass the message about sustainability on to children around the world.

Remember to make them colourful and laminate them if possible so they will last for a lifetime!

Real-World Application: Once the children have completed their task cards, these can be used to teach younger children about the SDGs in a really fun and entertaining way. They can also be sealed in an envelope and sent to another school that has limited resources. (The children may need to design an instruction card on how these can be used by others).

Resource Preview:

Defining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)

Title: Defining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)
Age Group:
(6-9), (9-12), (12-15), (15+)
Subject / Topic:
English, Social Science, HASS
Real World Application:
TBC
Related Upschool Courses:
Be the Change!
Description: This resource will guide students to define each of the SDGs. Students are encouraged to use simple language and terms that are easily recognisable to a primary-age student.

The template allows children to conduct independent research on each of the Sustainability Goals for the world, as provided by the United Nations. From this new understanding, children are requested to choose one of the goals that matter to them, and share this with their class or conduct further research.

Real-World Application: Once the children have defined the SDGs in their own words, they can then select one that is the most important to them. The children can then find children in their school who have chosen the same SDG and form a group or a club, that aims to tackle the SDG together.

Resource Preview:

The Human Body

Teaching the human body can be a difficult task. With so many systems happening at the same time, it can be daunting knowing which area to tackle first and how to get the children truly interested.

In this free resource, we have prepared a presentation all around the organs of the body and how they compare to the organs of animals such as the blue whale.

This presentation provides teachers with fascinating facts about the internal organs of the human body to get your children truly interested. The call to action involves your students creating a poster to promote healthy living within the community and there’s even a fun quiz at the end to allow your children to finish off the day with some fun!

We hope that you like this presentation. Please feel free to share it widely.


Related Resources

Anger Management Strategy Chart

Dealing with angry meltdowns can be one of the most difficult situations for parents. This strategy chart allows parents to communicate with their children and model these techniques that help us go from anger to calm.

To maximise the effectiveness of this resource, parents should talk through these techniques with their child and even run through each of them together. The idea is that when children do feel anger, they self-regulate using the techniques described in this infographic.

Parents may also wish to model each of the techniques so that their children can see what each of these look like and how they can be used in real-life.

It is completely fine to feel angry, but it’s important that we understand how to regulate that anger once it does occur.

The 5 Key Areas of Child Development

As children grow and develop, what are the 5 most important things we can do to support the whole child and set them up for a future of happiness and success.

This infographic will help you to understand the fundamental areas of child development, but also assist you with strategies in which you can optimise the opportunity to develop your children in these five key areas. 

Whilst school success may generally be orientated around the academic achievements of children, we must acknowledge these 5 key areas if we wish to develop the whole child and prepare our children for a future they are yet to understand.