The LEGO Group and The Day have created Build the Change Tuesday, a weekly sustainability resource that challenges students to use their creativity to build solutions to environmental concerns happening in the world right now. This resource is completely FREE and gives students and educators a new topic to discuss every single week. It can be accessed here.
The LEGO Group, one of the world’s largest play manufacturers, has a mission to build lifelong learners through play, and the Build the Change programme was set up to allow young people to express their hopes and dreams for the future.
By partnering with The Day, an online daily teaching resource using current affairs to prompt critical thinking and debate, the news can be used as an anchor to Build the Change for the sustainability issues affecting the planet we live on in a way that is quick and easy for educators.
Now you can join over 1000 schools who are starting to Build the Change, inspiring thousands of students to want to make a change when it comes to sustainability issues.
As part of this exciting new launch, educators can join the Build the Change Tuesday LIVE Lesson taking place here on 4th October at 13:30. This will bring the resource to life and even feature David Pallash from the LEGO Group.
Creating agents of change
83.2%* of educators think students need more sustainability skills and knowledge to become agents of change. The LEGO Group has an overarching goal to use learning through play to empower children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners. With the global challenges affecting the ever-changing world they’re growing up in, this is more critical than ever.
By engaging students as young as 8 in these topical issues and getting them to think critically, they are more likely to continue to engage with sustainability throughout their lives.
Build the Change Tuesday starts with reading an engaging sustainability article, where the news is an anchor to debate issues, from whether we should live in passive homes, or if heatwaves are the new normal. As there’s no right answer to most things in sustainability, it really puts students in the driving seat, where they need to weigh up different points of view and form their own opinions. For example, they can discuss and debate if we need to be more frugal to save the planet.
As they are tasked to devise their own solutions, they can think critically about what the right thing is to do, and use their creativity to come up with innovative ideas of how we can make a difference. The creative challenge links directly to the issues discussed and debated from the article, and they need to use either LEGO bricks or other creative materials for a hands-on way of thinking.
Using the news to promote critical thinking and debate is central to The Day’s mission, getting students to debate what’s going on in the news and how they feel about it. Now this model of learning that is already being used by over 1000 schools can be applied to the key factor affecting students’ future: sustainability. Students are going to be the future leaders of the planet, so they need to be equipped with the skills and knowhow to act on sustainability issues. Combining this hands-on, interactive challenge with current affairs means creativity can be channelled to drive real change. The LEGO gallery can be accessed here, for Build the Change inspiration and to upload finished creations.
Build the Change Tuesday gives students a voice. Targeting students aged 8 – 13, this programme is giving the generation who will have the power to act on climate change and other environmental issues a voice right now, when it actually counts. Before they have the power to shape these decisions that will affect their future, they can be inspired to make good choices and really have their say.
A time-saving tool
83.1%* of teachers wish sustainability was more broadly implemented across the curriculum; they often don’t have the tools or resources to tackle this topic confidently. Educators are often stretched for time so adding in extra planning for something lying outside of the core curriculum aims can be an added pressure for teachers.
This preparation-free, no hassle worksheet means educators have everything they need to start a discussion on a key news sustainability news article every single week.
With Build the Change Tuesday, educators can slot sustainability into the school day. This cross-curricular worksheet contains pick and choose activities that can be used flexibly whenever it makes sense to.
Whether educators prefer to start the morning by diving into sustainability news or they use it to get students to focus after lunch, it can slot into your schedule. Educators can use as little or as much as they like, so whether they pick a key activity to focus on in form time or take a deeper dive into sustainability, it’s completely up to you how you use it.
With bite-sized activities like ‘Spot the fake’ and a debate question, students can be empowered with sustainability education that can be delivered in under 20 minutes. These engaging tasks compliment their other lessons and support learning from all across the curriculum, making sustainability education work for even the most jam-packed Tuesdays.
Build the Change Tuesday can really be used however educators wish, and it can be delivered without a whiteboard, creating a screen-free activity if preferred The only thing educators really need to prepare for is the creative challenge.
To immerse students in this hands-on activity, they simply need to provide craft materials readily available in most classrooms or LEGO bricks for the creative challenge, but they can still engage with this worksheet by choosing other activities. It can also be complemented with a home-based task, whether that’s prior reading or completing the Build the Change challenge. Build the Change Tuesday will help hit many curriculum aims in a really easy hands-on way.
There is a dedicated homework portal that teachers can direct students and parents to, that outlines exactly what Build the Change is, directing them to homework challenges directly on the website, so you don’t even need to print anything off to get students building the change from home.
Building sustainability skills
Sustainability can be a complex topic to tackle, and it lends itself naturally to discussion and debate. Through Build the Change Tuesday’s guided debate, educators can confidently encourage students to really weigh up how they feel.
“It hits many curriculum areas in a real and easy way: children can develop reading; comprehension and discussion skills.” – Neela Moorghen, Headteacher, Grasmere Primary School
Sustainability is something students experience every day, from heatwaves to veganism, and Build the Change Tuesday equips students with the knowhow to confidently debate and discuss these issues with their peers.
Using LEGO bricks or craft materials connects students’ interests and creativity with critical thinking, engaging them with big ideas that can make a real change. Through debate, critical thinking and our upcoming competition, their voices can be heard.
Bring Build the Change Tuesday to life
To make Build the Change Tuesday even more interactive and even more hands-free for educators, the LEGO Group and The Day are hosting an exciting Build the Change Tuesday: LIVE Lesson, a free hour-long lesson to show to your students and introduce Build the Change with.
Educators are invited to sign up here for an engaging no-prep lesson on 4th October at 13:30. Featuring David Pallash from the LEGO Group and real-life teacher Jess Moher, you can see the team behind this exciting new resource explore Build the Change Tuesday challenges live on air.
Following on from the UN’s World Habitat Day, this live lesson will explore what a habitat really is, as well as core sustainability issues directly affecting where living creatures live.
Not only will debates and the creative challenge be brought to life, some real life habitats will be explored, both for animals and humans.
If you tune in live, you can ask key questions to the LEGO Group and habitat experts, with Q&A functions, but the lesson can also be watched and explored on demand, at a time that suits you.
Then students can have a go at constructing their very own habitats to help habitats affected by sustainability issues.
The live lesson will also be announced and begin the kick-off for the exciting new Build the Change Tuesday competition.
Competition
Students’ creations can not only be used to get students thinking about solutions to sustainability issues and to give them a voice, but they can also be used to inspire real change.
The competition will also be launched between the 4th of October and the 16th of December with a habitats-themed takeover of Build the Change Tuesday, where each of the four weekly Build the Change challenges in October can be chosen for the competition. This will deepen engagement with the integrated Build the Change activity and participants can upload the creations to an online photo gallery to inspire policymakers for real-world change, as well as materials to carry on thinking of innovative solutions and funding for sustainability projects. Competition details will be announced on 4th October here.
Making a real change starts with young people, and by giving them a voice, Build the Change gets students thinking about the solutions that might be out there to solve the issues affecting the world they live in. Educators are seeking ways to inspire students to be passionate and curious about sustainability and the steps we can take to make a difference, and Build the Change Tuesday allows them to do this every week as easily as possible.
Explore the weekly resources here or contact enquiries@theday.co.uk.
Part of the News Detectives programme, a new daily dip into the most fascinating topics in current affairs, Build the Change Tuesday is the only free resource from the week’s collection, allowing educators to try out News Detectives as a way to bring the news into the classroom. With Build the Change Tuesday, educators can access a brand-new exciting sustainability article, puzzles, debate questions and the creative challenge every single week for no cost.
*A survey conducted by The Day in 2022 with 1,115 total respondents comprising of a mixture of primary and secondary teachers as well as other educational professionals.
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