Developed by the World Affairs Council of Seattle’s Global Classroom, these teaching and learning modules offer a comprehensive series of lessons designed to engage students in exploring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With 17 goals aimed at addressing global challenges such as quality education and climate change, this initiative, launched in 2015, encourages nations worldwide to collaborate for a sustainable future. The UN SDGs, also known as “Global Goals,” foster interdisciplinary learning and prompt actionable progress through local and global cooperation. These lessons enable students to connect local issues with global contexts, empowering them to contemplate meaningful actions for sustainability.

Emphasizing 17 specific goals, the curriculum integrates environmental studies and culturally responsive teaching into its activities, suitable for individual use or as part of a comprehensive series on the SDGs. Aligned with the Global Competence Certificate Portfolio Project (GCCP), the first six lessons support heritage language learners in Spanish, Romanian, Ukrainian, and Russian, with plans to expand translations to additional languages. Flexibly designed for both in-person and virtual learning environments across Washington State and beyond, the lessons include student-specific instructions translated to assist teachers and heritage language students alike. Overall, these modules equip students with essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions crucial for their academic, professional, and civic futures. 

MODULE 1

Human Interaction with the Environment: Local, National, and Global Impacts

(2022-2023)

MODULE 2

Building Equitable and Inclusive Societies through Resource Access

(2022-2023)

MODULE 3

Examining the Impact of Environmental Factors on Fundamental Human Rights

(2023-2024)

MODULE 4

Collaborative Strategies for Sustainable Practices: Protecting Global Biodiversity and Addressing Resource Needs

(2023-2024)

MODULE 5 (NEW)

Shaping Tomorrow: Inclusive Solutions for Work, Cities, and Sustainability

(2024-2025)

MODULE 6 (NEW)

Stronger Together: The Power of Global Partnerships

(2024-2025)

Attribution and License

Attribution

This Open Educational Resource, Cultivating Global Competence through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, was developed by Ryan Hauck, Michele Anciaux-Aoki, Julianna Patterson, Gloria Kuzmenko-Latmier, Ina Chong, Emma Hansen, Riya Kalra, Lydia Tu, Nadia Schwedrsky, and Global Classroom, World Affairs Council – Seattle. 

Cover images by Julianna Patterson from Canva.

Sustainable Development Goals images copyright United Nations. All rights reserved. Used pursuant to fair use.

Translations for the first six lessons by:

• Larisa Shuvalova
• Iryna Novachuk
• Inna Shynshyn
• Nathan Marks
• Brandon Severance
• Otilia Baraboi
• Ileana Marin
• Alexey Kuznetsov
• Pedro Lopez-Chaves 

License

Except where otherwise noted, Cultivating Global Competence through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, copyright World Affairs Council – Seattle, is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners. Sections used under fair use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107) are marked.

This resource may contain links to websites operated by third parties. These links are provided for your convenience only and do not constitute or imply any endorsement or monitoring by the World Affairs Council. Please confirm the license status of any third-party resources and understand their terms of use before reusing them.