Global Goals Book Club: Goal 7, Affordable Energy for All

Global Goals Book Club: Goal 7, Affordable Energy for All

Green-Schools Global Goals Book Club – The Rat that Wished to be Powerful

Explore some of the many energy options we have through storytelling, books, crafts and games. Our Global Goal book club storyteller tells the story of the rat that wished to be powerful. The story explores different types and influences of power. Discussing the story will be a fun way to look at: solar, wind, wave and geothermal energies. It also introduces how they are interconnected and interact. (Suitable for infants to 6th class).

 

 

Suggested questions to ask a class after listening to the story: 

Q: Why do most people not like rats? Is it because they are seen as dirty and can carry disease? But whose waste and littering habits do they thrive on? 

FACT: It is estimated there are around 7 billion rats in the world. Almost one per person!

Q: Imagine yourself as one of the characters/elements, which do you choose and why? What would it be like? (Suggested creative writing exercise.) 

Q: There is no perfect solution to our need to produce energy. List out the pros and  cons of the different energy sources. Can you see why a mix of energy sources is beneficial? In addition, what are the pros and cons of rats and kings?

Taking the discussion of sustainability further, the rat in the story could be a representation of low input and minimal impact living. Which it could be argued is the most important energy development/societal change needed to achieve meaningful Sustainability. Short animation created by kids: 

 

 

FACT: Still in Ireland today 50% of waste food is put in the wrong bin and so is not composted. More education and awareness is needed! 

FACT: Still in Ireland today 50% of waste food is put in the wrong bin and so is not composted. More education and awareness is needed! 

 
 
 

Activities

Age Group: Infants to 2nd class

  • Craft: make a windstreamer. 

Create colourful paper streamers to play with the wind:

 

 

Age Group: 1st to 6th class

  • Game (inspired by the Rat story). 

The ‘Power Game’, an adaptation of the classic Paper, Rock and Scissors game. Get the class to create hand motions to signify as many of the characters and elements in the story as they wish: Waves, Wind, Sun, Volcano, King and Rat. Let them have fun trying to work out the rules and who/what beats who/what. Allow for inventiveness, imagination and chaos! However, here are two working examples: 

Play: Waves, Wind, Volcano; 

Wind beats Waves, (by pushing them around) 

Volcano beats Wind (by blocking it) 

Waves beat Volcano (by cooling lava) 

Play: Sun, King, Rat; 

King beats Rat (by being more popular) 

Sun beats King (by being more powerful) 

Rat beats Sun (by hiding & coming out at night)

 
 
 


Global Goals Book Club: Goal 7, Affordable Energy for All

Green-Schools Global Goals Book Club – Iqbal and his ingenious idea

Age Group: Junior and Senior Primary 

Hello and welcome back to Green-Schools Global Goals Book Club! Our third book is Iqbal and his ingenious Idea by Elizabeth Suneby. It’s a fantastic story about a boy from Bangladesh who tried to help his family with a great idea. This week we will be linking to Global Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. You can watch a reading of the story here, in the video below and fill out the character profile sheet when you are done. Have a look at the glossary too, it will help explain some terms in the book you might not be familiar with. We hope you enjoy the story and take part in the fun activities we have planned for the week.

 
 
 
 
 

 Persuasive Writing Activity

Age Group:  Senior Primary

We want you to put yourselves in Iqbal’s shoes, pretend that you are at his school science fair. How would convince the principal and judges that your solar cooker should win the competition. Use your powers of persuasion in the activity below. Here are some facts that might help your argument. Did you know that:

  • Over three billion people around the world cook their food and heat their homes with open fires.
  • An open fire used to cook indoors produces 400 cigarettes worth of smoke an hour causing many problems to humans such as lung infections, eye damage , breathing problems and even cancers.
  • The most affected are women and children under five because they spend the most time at home.
  • To fuel fires families (mainly women and children) can spend 20 hours a week gathering firewood. Time that should be spend in school, working or at rest.
  • Other impacts include deforestation, timber smuggling and air pollution in cities and towns.
  • Household fires are also speeding up Climate Change
 
  
 

Arts and Crafts – How to make a solar cooker from a shoe box!

Age Group: Senior Primary and Secondary

Check out our home made Solar Cooker. It’s very easy to make and uses items that you probably have at home already! On the next hot sunny day this year, this is a great activity, we really enjoyed the yummy s’mores too!

 

 
 
 

 

Activity – Linking Global Goal 7 to Global Goal 1

Age Group: Senior Primary 

We are going to see how the story of Iqbal links to Global Goal 7, Clean and Affordable Energy for all. We are going to explore how important access to energy is in helping achieve Goal 1: No Poverty.

You will be looking at how energy is important for everyone and how we might even say it is one of the basic human rights! First we want you to think about all the things you do in your home and school that use energy and write them down in the activity sheet below. Now have a look at the following video and see what you think, maybe it reminded you of other things you do that use energy? Add them to your list.

 
 

We would like you to have a look at this video and learn about what human rights are.
Do you think that clean and affordable energy should be on the list of basic human rights? And do you think that having access to clean and affordable energy would help reduce poverty? Take our short quiz here to tell us what you think!

 

 
 
 
 

Stove Team: The Importance of Safe Cooking

Age Group: All

We’d like to show you the work of an organisation who are helping families in Latin America, much like Iqbal, this company has invented eco friendly stoves which use much less firewood and produce far less smoke. Have a look at the video clip and find out more about the work of Stove Team international by clicking the green button below.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Finally, we’d love to hear from you. Tell us how you are liking the Global Goals Book Club by completing the survey below.  

 
 
 

 

Don’t forget if you use any of the activities to tag us in social media @GreenSchoolsIre on Twitter and Instagram! 

 
 

So we can see from the book that even when there is plenty of food available you may not be able to access it because of not being able to afford to buy it, because of poverty (Goal 1; No Poverty.) 

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