United States: Eco Heroes in the national curriculum

"Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment."

Code: K-ESS3-3

• SDG 6
• SDG 12
• SDG 14

• Ages 6–10

• SDG 12 · Ages 6–10 Bin detectives

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain why making less rubbish helps the planet.
• SDG 14 · Ages 6–10 Ocean in a bottle

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Name 2 ways to keep rubbish out of the ocean.
• SDG 6 · Ages 6–10 Every drop counts

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain one way to save water, such as fixing a dripping tap.

"Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats."

Code: 2-LS4-1

• SDG 15

• Ages 6–10

• SDG 15 · Ages 6–10 Minibeast safari

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Find, observe and record at least 5 living things in the school grounds.
  • Sort living things into simple groups (plants, insects, other animals).

"Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment."

Code: 4-ESS3-1

• SDG 7

• Ages 6–10

• SDG 7 · Ages 6–10 Sun power

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Name 3 sources of energy (Sun, wind, fuel such as coal or gas).

"Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment."

Code: 5-ESS3-1

• SDG 13
• SDG 14

• Ages 11–13

• SDG 13 · Ages 11–13 The greenhouse effect and our carbon footprint

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain the greenhouse effect and how burning fossil fuels strengthens it.
• SDG 14 · Ages 11–13 Plastic interceptors: a litter survey

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Propose an action to stop plastic before it reaches waterways.

"Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment."

Code: MS-ESS3-3

• SDG 2
• SDG 7
• SDG 14

• Ages 11–13

• SDG 14 · Ages 11–13 Plastic interceptors: a litter survey

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Carry out a safe litter survey and classify what is found.
  • Use data to identify the main sources of litter in an area.
• SDG 7 · Ages 11–13 Energy hunters: renewable and non-renewable

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Identify energy being wasted in a building and suggest fixes.
• SDG 2 · Ages 11–13 Food waste detectives

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Estimate and calculate the amount of food wasted using simple data.

"Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems."

Code: MS-ESS3-4

• SDG 6
• SDG 13

• Ages 11–13

• SDG 6 · Ages 11–13 The water diary: how much do we really use?

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Estimate personal daily water use from a diary of activities.
• SDG 13 · Ages 11–13 The greenhouse effect and our carbon footprint

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Identify the main sources of carbon in a typical day.

"Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century."

Code: MS-ESS3-5

• SDG 13

• Ages 11–13

• SDG 13 · Ages 11–13 The greenhouse effect and our carbon footprint

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain the greenhouse effect and how burning fossil fuels strengthens it.

"Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among the management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity."

Code: HS-ESS3-3

• SDG 14

• Ages 14–16

• SDG 14 · Ages 14–16 Fish for the future: overfishing and the commons

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain how overfishing can cause fish stocks to collapse, using a simulation.

"Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems."

Code: HS-ESS3-4

• SDG 6
• SDG 7

• Ages 14–16

• SDG 7 · Ages 14–16 Planning the switch: the clean energy transition

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Design a 3-step transition plan for a school or town and evaluate its trade-offs.
• SDG 6 · Ages 14–16 Hidden water: virtual water and who goes without

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Propose a realistic action to reduce hidden water use and evaluate its impact.

"Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity."

Code: HS-LS2-7

• SDG 14
• SDG 15

• Ages 14–16

• SDG 14 · Ages 14–16 Fish for the future: overfishing and the commons

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Evaluate a sustainable fishing policy and who bears the costs of overfishing.
• SDG 15 · Ages 14–16 Pull one thread: food webs and extinction

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Analyse a threatened species’ role in its ecosystem and the root cause of its decline.

"Explain how weather, climate, and other environmental characteristics affect people's lives in a place or region."

Code: D2.Geo.4.K-2

• SDG 13

• Ages 6–10

• SDG 13 · Ages 6–10 Weather and climate: Earth’s warm blanket

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain the difference between weather (today) and climate (the usual weather over many years).

"Describe how human activities affect the cultural and environmental characteristics of places or regions."

Code: D2.Geo.5.K-2

• SDG 11
• SDG 14

• Ages 6–10

• SDG 11 · Ages 6–10 My dream street

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Suggest one change that would make a street better for everyone.
• SDG 14 · Ages 6–10 Ocean in a bottle

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain that most rubbish in the sea starts on land.

"Explain how the consumption of products connects people to distant places."

Code: D2.Geo.11.K-2

• SDG 8

• Ages 6–10

• SDG 8 · Ages 6–10 Who made my pencil?

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Name at least 4 jobs needed to make and deliver an everyday object.

"Describe how people have tried to improve their communities over time."; D2.Civ.10.K-2: "Compare their own point of view with others' perspectives."

Code: D2.Civ.14.K-2; D2.Civ.10.K-2

• SDG 11
• SDG 16

• Ages 6–10

• SDG 16 · Ages 6–10 Peacemakers

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Listen to another person’s point of view without interrupting.
• SDG 11 · Ages 6–10 My dream street

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Suggest one change that would make a street better for everyone.

"Explain how a democracy relies on people's responsible participation, and draw implications for how individuals should participate."

Code: D2.Civ.2.3-5

• SDG 16

• Ages 11–13

• SDG 16 · Ages 11–13 Fair rules for everyone

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain why communities need rules and what makes a rule fair.
  • Write and test class rules against the needs of the quietest person.

"Explain how natural and human-made catastrophic events in one place affect people living in other places."

Code: D2.Geo.12.3-5

• SDG 13

• Ages 11–13

• SDG 13 · Ages 11–13 The greenhouse effect and our carbon footprint

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain the greenhouse effect and how burning fossil fuels strengthens it.

"Analyze the ways in which cultural and environmental characteristics vary among various regions of the world."

Code: D2.Geo.10.6-8

• SDG 4
• SDG 6

• Ages 11–13

• SDG 4 · Ages 11–13 The road to school

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Identify at least 4 barriers that keep children out of school (distance, cost, work, gender, disability, conflict).
• SDG 6 · Ages 11–13 The water diary: how much do we really use?

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Compare that use with the reality for people who must carry their water.

"Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society."

Code: D2.Eco.1.6-8

• SDG 8
• SDG 12

• Ages 11–13

• SDG 8 · Ages 11–13 What makes a job a good job?

  Pupils will be able to:

  • List the elements of decent work (fair pay, safety, reasonable hours, rights, respect).
• SDG 12 · Ages 11–13 Fix it, don’t bin it

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain why repairing and reusing products saves resources and money.

"Compare historical and contemporary means of changing societies, and promoting the common good."

Code: D2.Civ.14.6-8

• SDG 4
• SDG 8

• Ages 11–13

• SDG 8 · Ages 11–13 What makes a job a good job?

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain why workers joining together can improve conditions.
• SDG 4 · Ages 11–13 The road to school

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain how a barrier affects some children more than others.

"Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences."

Code: D2.Civ.13.9-12

• SDG 1
• SDG 12
• SDG 14

• Ages 14–16

• SDG 1 · Ages 14–16 What actually works against poverty?

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Evaluate two real anti-poverty programmes (cash transfers and microcredit) against agreed criteria.
• SDG 12 · Ages 14–16 Cradle to grave: the life cycle of a product

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Evaluate policies that push producers and consumers towards circular choices, such as South Korea’s food-waste charges.
• SDG 14 · Ages 14–16 Fish for the future: overfishing and the commons

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Evaluate a sustainable fishing policy and who bears the costs of overfishing.

"Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights."

Code: D2.Civ.14.9-12

• SDG 5
• SDG 13
• SDG 16

• Ages 14–16

• SDG 13 · Ages 14–16 From evidence to action: making a climate campaign

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Explain why systemic change needs collective action as well as individual choices.
• SDG 16 · Ages 14–16 Trust and accountability: how fair decisions are made

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Propose changes that make a system fairer and more accountable.
• SDG 5 · Ages 14–16 Counting the voices: who makes the decisions?

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Evaluate which cause a school or young people could realistically influence.

"Analyze how incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups."

Code: D2.Eco.1.9-12

• SDG 1
• SDG 7
• SDG 12

• Ages 14–16

• SDG 12 · Ages 14–16 Cradle to grave: the life cycle of a product

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Evaluate policies that push producers and consumers towards circular choices, such as South Korea’s food-waste charges.
• SDG 1 · Ages 14–16 What actually works against poverty?

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Evaluate two real anti-poverty programmes (cash transfers and microcredit) against agreed criteria.
• SDG 7 · Ages 14–16 Planning the switch: the clean energy transition

  Pupils will be able to:

  • Design a 3-step transition plan for a school or town and evaluate its trade-offs.