Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Active learning works for the SDGs because students need to see how problems are connected across places and scales. When they map, discuss, and create, they move from abstract goals to tangible geographic realities. This hands-on approach builds the spatial reasoning and systems thinking required to analyze global challenges meaningfully.

• Grade 7
• Geography
• 4 activities
• 45 min–60 min

Learning Objectives

1. Classify the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals based on their primary focus area (e.g., environmental, social, economic).
2. Analyze the geographic factors contributing to specific global challenges addressed by the SDGs, such as water scarcity or poverty.
3. Explain how geographic concepts like resource distribution, migration patterns, and urbanization are interconnected with achieving the SDGs.
4. Design a local project proposal that addresses at least one SDG, outlining its geographic context and potential impact.

Gallery Walk

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Gallery Walk: SDG Profiles

Print posters for 6-8 SDGs with images, stats, and challenges. Students walk the gallery in groups, noting geographic connections on sticky notes. Regroup to share findings and vote on most relevant local goal.

Prepare & details

Analyze how the Sustainable Development Goals address interconnected global challenges.

Facilitation Tip: During the Gallery Walk, position yourself at key stations to listen for connections students make between SDG profiles and real-world regions.

Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter

Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Project-Based Learning

⏱ 50 min·Pairs

Mapping Activity: Global SDG Hotspots

Provide world maps marked with SDG indicators like poverty rates or CO2 emissions. Pairs shade regions, discuss patterns, and propose one geographic solution per goal. Share via class slideshow.

Prepare & details

Explain the role of geographic understanding in achieving the SDGs.

Facilitation Tip: For the Mapping Activity, provide colored pencils and a legend template so students visually distinguish SDG hotspots by issue type.

Setup: Flexible workspace with access to materials and technology

Materials: Project brief with driving question, Planning template and timeline, Rubric with milestones, Presentation materials

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Project-Based Learning

⏱ 60 min·Pairs

Local Project Pitch: SDG Action Plan

Individuals or pairs select one SDG, research Ontario links, and design a school or community project with steps, budget, and map. Pitch to class for feedback and vote on top ideas.

Prepare & details

Design a local project that contributes to one of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Facilitation Tip: In the Local Project Pitch, circulate with a clipboard to note which students rely on emotional appeals versus data-driven solutions.

Setup: Flexible workspace with access to materials and technology

Materials: Project brief with driving question, Planning template and timeline, Rubric with milestones, Presentation materials

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Jigsaw

⏱ 55 min·Small Groups

Jigsaw: SDG Interconnections

Assign groups one SDG to research deeply, including geographic factors. Experts teach home groups, then map how goals link, like Goal 13 (climate) to Goal 2 (hunger).

Prepare & details

Analyze how the Sustainable Development Goals address interconnected global challenges.

Facilitation Tip: In Jigsaw Expert Groups, assign roles like 'Geographic Reasoner' or 'Solution Designer' to ensure all students contribute meaningfully.

Setup: Flexible seating for regrouping

Materials: Expert group reading packets, Note-taking template, Summary graphic organizer

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Teaching This Topic

Experienced teachers approach SDGs by grounding abstract goals in concrete places students can visualize and discuss. Avoid starting with definitions—instead, let students uncover patterns through data and storytelling first. Research shows systems thinking grows when students repeatedly trace connections, so use activities that require them to link causes, effects, and solutions across scales. Modeling curiosity, such as asking 'What else is happening in this region?' helps students see complexity without feeling overwhelmed.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students confidently explaining how geography shapes SDG progress, connecting local actions to global patterns, and designing feasible solutions. By the end, they should view SDGs as interconnected systems rather than isolated targets, using evidence from maps, data, and real-world examples to support their ideas.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Gallery Walk: SDG Profiles, watch for students who assume SDGs only apply to developing countries. Redirect by asking them to find examples of SDG challenges in Canada on the profiles and share with the group.

What to Teach Instead

During the Gallery Walk, have students highlight on each profile one geographic factor (e.g., climate, population density) that shows how Canada or another developed country faces the same SDG challenge. Ask groups to present one example to the class.

Common Misconception

During the Jigsaw Expert Groups: SDG Interconnections, watch for students who treat SDGs as separate issues. Redirect by asking them to trace how their assigned goal connects to at least two others using the group’s poster paper.

What to Teach Instead

During the Jigsaw, provide each group with a large sheet divided into four sections labeled 'Goal A,' 'Goal B,' 'Goal C,' and 'Connections.' Require students to draw arrows showing how their goal links to the others and write one geographic reason for each connection.

Common Misconception

During the Local Project Pitch: SDG Action Plan, watch for students who claim individuals cannot contribute to SDGs. Redirect by asking them to research and include one local organization’s role in advancing an SDG in their pitch.

What to Teach Instead

During the pitch preparation, give students 10 minutes to look up one local group (e.g., a food bank for SDG 2) and describe how its work connects to a specific SDG. Have them cite this in their two-minute presentation to reframe individual agency.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After the Gallery Walk: SDG Profiles, provide students with a half-sheet asking them to name one SDG and one geographic factor (e.g., climate, trade routes) that challenges its success in either a developing or developed country.

Discussion Prompt

During the Mapping Activity: Global SDG Hotspots, facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'How might a lack of access to clean water (SDG 6) in one country affect economic opportunities (SDG 8) in another country?' Ask students to point to connections on their maps as evidence.

Quick Check

After the Jigsaw Expert Groups: SDG Interconnections, present students with a world map highlighting areas with high rates of deforestation. Ask them to identify which SDG is most directly impacted and explain one geographic reason for the deforestation in that specific region on a sticky note.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge early finishers to design a 30-second public service announcement for one SDG using only images from magazines or digital sources.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters for the Local Project Pitch, such as 'This SDG matters here because...' or 'We can take action by...'
• Deeper exploration: Invite a guest speaker from a local environmental organization to discuss how their work aligns with specific SDGs, then have students compare their project pitches to the speaker's strategies.

Key Vocabulary

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)	A set of 17 global goals established by the United Nations in 2015, aiming to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by the year 2030.
Global Challenge	A problem or issue that affects people and environments across the entire world, requiring international cooperation to solve.
Resource Distribution	The way natural resources, such as water, minerals, or fertile land, are spread unevenly across the Earth's surface.
Urbanization	The process by which populations shift from rural to urban areas, leading to the growth of cities and changes in land use.
Interconnectedness	The state of being connected or related, meaning that changes in one area or system can affect others, as seen in the SDGs.