Sustainable Living Board Game
Promotes thought on how to live in a healthy way, respecting others and the environment.
Level: Grades 5-7
Originated by: Treetop Publishing
As a classroom, ask the pupils how they can live in a sustainable way – in other words, how to live in a healthy way, respecting others and the environment. Encourage pupils to talk about how they can live more sustainably at school and at home. To give them some ideas, you could ask about ways of:
- keeping healthy – not smoking, eating a balanced diet, getting plenty of rest and exercise;
- respecting others – being considerate to others, looking after people’s things;
- respecting the environment – saving water, electricity and paper, recycling.
Write the gathered ideas and information on the board. Referring to the ideas, ask the pupils in pairs to think of about 15 pieces of text requiring players to go forward or back, such as “Didn’t turn tap off properly, go back 2” or “Switched to energy-saving light bulbs, move ahead 3”. The text needs to be brief to fit in the squares on the board game.
Develop “trivia” cards using information found in the Internet, and standard values can be given for correct or incorrect answers. (If the question is answered correctly – advance 3 spots, incorrectly, go back 2, etc.) Questions can be kept general, such as – Is it better to hand-wash your dishes or use a dishwasher? Make an answer sheet for the trivia cards, numbering the cards to correspond to the answers.
Have the pupils write the text into the squares or game track, including random squares for the “trivia” or “chance” cards. Play the games in groups taking turns so everyone’s game is played. You could also invite a younger class to play.
Pupils begin to realize that everyone can behave responsibly with regard to the world’s resources, and make a difference for the good.