Today’s post responds to Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5, which we decided to tackle together, since gender and educational opportunities are so deeply intertwined, especially when it comes to limitations to access for girls worldwide. These SDGs state that cooperating countries will work to:
SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

But why are countries so concerned with increasing opportunities for women in education? Because increased education for women and girls can ripple outward to affect life on a local and global scale. Fertility rates, maternal and infant mortality rates, and the quality of life and economic opportunities for girls and women all improve in unison with educational achievement for females.

1) Lessons for Life, a middle grades lesson from our World of 7 Billion curriculum, provides personal stories about and from female students as they discuss their daily experiences with education. First, students read the story, “Why Has Wanjiku Dropped Out of School?” about Wanjiku, an eight year old girl in Kenya, and then compare and discuss this narrative alongside photo essays of Haitza Ortiz, a student from Nicaragua and Josiane, a student from the Central African Republic. Students can interact with pictures and oral interpretations of Haitza and Josiane as they discuss describing both their love for school and the challenge that comes with seeking these educational opportunities. Through the lesson, students will also respond to discussion and comprehension questions and analyze statistics that demonstrate the direct relationship between women’s education and population growth. *Note: This lesson comes with many opportunities to integrate technology. We provide links to the United Nations’ Girls Education Initiative which features photo essays and listening components, as well as many other recordings, photo collections, and even podcasts about female education around the world.

Content areas: Conducting this lesson will meet content standards in:
ELA, Math, Social Studies, Female/Women’s Studies

Skills: Through this lesson, students will be able to:
–Critically think about and dissect readings, oral accounts, and photo essays about female students in different countries in the world
–Discuss and explain in writing why girls in many countries have fewer opportunities for education than boys
–Compare and contrast female education in Nicaragua, the Central African Republic, and the United States
–Connect cause and effect between female literacy and status and population growth
–Interpret and analyze graphical data

Learning strategies: This lesson utilizes multiple learning styles including:
Reading comprehension, active listening, discussion, making cause and effect connections, research, writing (essays, summaries, book reports, audio/visual), technology integration

2) Maria’s Education/La Educacion de Maria, a lesson from our English/Spanish language curriculum Our World, Our Future, uses another narrative to illustrate opportunities and expectations for girls and their education. In this lesson, students follow Teresa, a school-girl who goes to visit her friend, Maria. Maria has recently become a teenage mother, and the story compares and relays the way that Maria and Teresa now view their education from their respective standpoints. The lesson includes a background reading about international gender divides in education, and a graphing component. In addition, the lesson plan, worksheets, and answer keys are available in both Spanish and English.

Content areas: Conducting this lesson will meet content standards in:
Social Studies, Family Life Education, ELA, ELL, Math

Skills: Through this lesson, students will be able to:
–Dissect and respond to a short dialogue about two girls and their educational opportunities
–Compare and contrast female education between two girls in similar socioeconomic positions
–Create a categorized list of heroes
–Critically think about opportunities for women to become leaders
–Discuss and explain in writing why women in many countries have fewer opportunities for education than males
–Connect female literacy and status and population growth
–Interpret and analyze graphical data

Learning strategies: This lesson utilizes multiple learning styles including:
Critical reading and discussion, brainstorming, graph interpretation, role playing/dialogue, cooperative, reading/listening comprehension, technology integration

For information on other SDG lessons, check out the Population Education SDG Series Home