This week, sixth grade students gave workshop-style presentations to an audience of parents and fifth grade students on one of the United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The “Transforming Our World” workshops started with research conducted in science class, where students explored the issues behind one of the U.N.’s goals and actionable steps that could contribute to a solution. The goals range from quality education to affordable and clean energy, and clean water and sanitation. The workshops are an interdisciplinary project between sixth grade English, science, and POD (Principles of Design) classes. 

Students started by brainstorming the big problems in the world that they care about and then selected three of those issues to research in depth. Students spend a month conducting research in science class and at home, eventually narrowing their research to one issue that connects to a U.N. Sustainable Development Goal. As students read and researched, they focused on discerning reliable sources and developed a command of their subject. “The students became such experts that they were questioning and quizzing each other on their statistics, and it was great to see them taking those analytical skills and applying them,” says Sixth Grade Science Teach Grace Crowell. 

The sixth graders brought their organized research to English class to turn it into a script for their presentation. English teacher Lara Gleason asked students to consider why they care about the topic and why others should care, to identify facts and visuals that elicit emotions about the issue, and to think about how to communicate the information in a clear and organized manner. Students wrote and edited scripts for a five-minute presentation. Simultaneously in POD class, sixth graders were learning to use the Google Jamboard to create a visual presentation with graphics and data to accompany their script. They also brainstormed and designed an interactive activity to engage the audience during their presentation. As the presentations came together, they practiced them in small groups in English and POD class, getting feedback from their peers and making edits to their work. Lara was particularly impressed with the support that students gave each other throughout the process. “They were so supportive and acted as champions for each other which was wonderful to see.”

In the final presentations, students showed a command of their topics and thoughtfulness and creativity in engaging their audience. Easun L. ‘26 ran a workshop on SDG Number 14, Life Below Water, and specifically the preservation of coral reefs. He invited audience members to come up to the Jamboard to play a game where they match an activity to whether it supports coral reef health or leads to bleaching. Eleanor Z. ‘26 introduced SDG Number 1, No Poverty, and focused her workshop on reducing and reusing. Eleanor talked about her experience volunteering at Cradles for Crayons in second grade at Fay and how that sparked a personal connection to the issue. Then she asked students and parents in the audience to share things they had done to help, such as donating clothing and toys. After each presentation, audience members scanned a QR code to complete a workshop evaluation so that sixth graders could see which aspects of their workshop were successful and where they could improve.

“I see this project as being about empowerment,” says Lara. “There are a lot of issues in the world that are hard, and it’s important for the students to feel that they can make a difference. Through this project, we could see students developing the recognition that these issues matter and that sharing their ideas with others matters too.”