193 world leaders have committed to The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to help make the world safer, fairer and more just for everyone. There 17 Sustainable Development Goals aim to accomplish three things by 2030: tackle extreme poverty fight inequality and injustice protect the planet. The resource challenges you and your students to discuss the 17 goals and think of practical solutions to contribute to a more sustainable world. Exploring the themes of the SDGs is an excellent way to get your students thinking about their wider community and environment, while also delving into the life obstacles faced by others.

According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, we enter the Year of the Rooster on January 28, 2017. This education pack for UK primary schools contains information and activities to help teachers and pupils learn more about this important spring festival and explore Chinese culture and language. Your pupils can learn about the story of The Rooster, the Dragon and the Centipede, how to play a traditional Chinese playground game, find out how to say what foods you like and dislike in Chinese and cook some delicious Chinese food. You can also get creative making rooster paper cuts and painting traditional plate designs, find out some facts and hear from children across China about their favourite meals. Age suitability: 4-7 years, 7-11 years Curriculum links: Art, PSHE/Citizenship, Design and Technology, Geography, History, Modern Languages.

We have developed a series of resources, in partnership with The Royal Society, to enhance science learning in schools. This third resource in the Commonwealth Science Class series focuses on the topic of rising sea levels and is filled with activity ideas to help your students investigate and explore the subject in more depth. Before downloading the resource, and to help you get started, we recommend you watch the accompanying video with your class.

What is Queens of Syria? The Syrian crisis is now in its fifth year and the violence that has forced so many to leave their homes shows no sign of abating. Queens of Syria is the story of fifty women refugees now living in Jordan who came together to create and perform their own version of The Trojan Women, the timeless Greek tragedy about the plight of women in war. Queens of Syria teaching resource In 2016 the Queens of Syria cast and crew will travel to the UK for a series of performances. To mark this occasion, the British Council have developed an education pack to provide teachers with resources that will help them explore the human impact of the conflict in Syria and the realities of life as a refugee.

Keep your students up to date with the latest news from across the Commonwealth using the First News monthly newspaper. First News is one of the leading newspapers aimed at students from ages seven to fourteen, investigating and delving into stories affecting the wider world. Each month, the newspaper will explore themes related to the environment, politics and citizenship within the Commonwealth states. The newspaper serves as an excellent source of debate within your classroom to get children engaged in the diverse world around them.

This resource pack provides ideas for discussion, activities and a framework to help you use social entrepreneurship as an engaging project in your school. It is designed to encourage students to develop an awareness and understanding of how business can help to address social problems as well as gain practical experience in planning and setting up their own social enterprise. From projects on social responsibility, the impact social enterprises can make, and successful entrepreneurship, the pack allows students to increase their knowledge of social innovation whilst also develop core skills for learning, life, and work. It will also enable students to develop personal skills and attributes such as teamwork, confidence, and innovation.

In 2014, the Commonwealth Class project produced this exciting pack to celebrate the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The pack contains cross-curricular activities, short films and discussion guides with learning outcomes that link to key skills, curriculum subjects and Commonwealth values.

We have developed a series of resources, in partnership with The Royal Society, to enhance science learning in schools. This fourth resource in the Commonwealth Science Class series is centred on the topic of global food security and is packed with activity ideas to help your students investigate and explore the subject in more depth. Before downloading the resource, and to help you get started, we recommend you watch the accompanying video with your class: https://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/classroom-resources/list/global-food-security-how-can-we-feed-growing-population

The armistice to end the First World War was signed between France, Britain, and Germany on 11 November 1918 in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiegne, about 60 km north of Paris. It ended a global conflict in which millions of soldiers and civilians lost their lives. This terrible war touched the lives of men, women and children across the globe and continues to have lasting implications in the world today. You can use the pack to teach your pupils more about the Armistice, to reflect on peace and to plan a commemoration of the centenary of the First World War.

The Arab world is a fascinating, diverse geographical region with a rich culture and history. Arabic is spoken by more than 300 million people. The education pack is designed to help primary school teachers introduce aspects of both Arabic language and Arab culture to your pupils, including: well known Arabic fables, teaching students moral lessons. counting to 10 in Arabic perfecting your pronunciation of Arabic greetings exploring the intricate geometric patterns of Arabic mosaics The Arabic Language and Culture pack is an excellent way to introduce young learners to the Arab world while also challenging their preconceptions of Arab culture. This education pack has been created as part of the British Council’s Arabic Language and Culture Programme in partnership with Qatar Foundation.

These lesson plans have been produced in partnership with First News to introduce your class to the important work of the Commonwealth and its values. The lesson plans aim to encourage schools around the world to celebrate the Commonwealth and its inclusive values and principles that unite the 53 member states. You can explore the social similarities and differences between countries through their flags and stories from children. The lesson plans also introduces the Commonwealth Charter, helping to contextualise the work of the Commonwealth across the world to your students.

This Shakespeare Lives schools’ pack has been created by the British Council in partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016. Specially designed to encourage learning across the curriculum, the resource is split into five key themes; Leadership and Power, Family and Relationships, Identity and Equality, Fate and Destiny, Justice and Rules. Throughout the pack you will find a variety of participative activities for pupils aged 7-14. These activities can be used as starting points in individual lessons, as elements of a cross-curricular project which could be carried out with a partner school overseas, or as standalone activities.

In China, young people hoping to go to university must excel in the Gaokao - a very tough entrance exam. This film follows Ma Li, 18, who is one of the 9.15 million Chinese high school students about to start studying for the exams. For Ma Li, and many like her, the exams will be the culmination of an exhausting year of cramming and revision. The pressure is high, with some schools going to increasingly extreme lengths to boost exam results.

Nada, 13, and Mina, 12, go to different schools with different head teachers in Keseljac, Bosnia Herzegovina. But the two schools are in the same building. This is known as ‘Two Schools Under One Roof’. After the Bosnian war ended in 1995, this kind of school was set up as the first step to bring people back together. But after so many years, it’s keeping them apart. Most of the Bosnian Muslim pupils here - like Nada - want the two schools to merge. But Croat pupils - like Mina – are concerned that they will lose their identity.

Inspired by a friendship, 12-year-old Oli from Bangladesh is campaigning against child marriage. Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. The issue is a huge problem in the country, with 20% of girls becoming wives before their 15th birthday, even though 18 is the minimum age allowed by law. Oli became fed-up of seeing his friends dropping out of school and decided to do something about it. He and his friends tour the slum where they live, looking for girls at risk and educating their elders.

Oli is a 12-year-old boy from Bangladesh who is campaigning against child marriage. Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. 20% of girls become wives before their 15th birthday, even though the law says that they should not get married before the age of 18. Oli became fed-up of seeing his friends dropping out of school and decided to do something about it. He and his friends tour the slum where they live, looking for girls at risk. They try to educate their elders by talking to them about why they shouldn’t marry off their daughters so young.

In China, young people hoping to go to university must do well in the notoriously difficult entrance exams, the ‘Gaokao’. Ma Li, age 18, is one of the 9.15 million Chinese high school students about to start studying for the exams. It’s a long, hard road, and both Ma Li and her family will have to make sacrifices if she is to do well. Follow Ma Li’s progress and find out why China’s university entrance exams, the ‘Gaokao’, are said to be the toughest in the world.

The Ragdoll Foundation is dedicated to developing the power of imaginative responses in children through the arts.‘What Makes Me Happy’ is a series of short, fun films showing that even where lives are difficult children can still find happiness. The films were produced in-country by working with the children themselves. These are their own stories about what makes them happy and we want to share them with you and as many children as possible around the world. There is so much you can learn about your own happiness and the happiness of others.

The Ragdoll Foundation is dedicated to developing the power of imaginative responses in children through the arts.‘What Makes Me Happy’ is a series of short, fun films showing that even where lives are difficult children can still find happiness. The films were produced in-country by working with the children themselves. These are their own stories about what makes them happy and we want to share them with you and as many children as possible around the world. There is so much you can learn about your own happiness and the happiness of others.

The Ragdoll Foundation is dedicated to developing the power of imaginative responses in children through the arts.‘What Makes Me Happy’ is a series of short, fun films showing that even where lives are difficult children can still find happiness. The films were produced in-country by working with the children themselves. These are their own stories about what makes them happy and we want to share them with you and as many children as possible around the world. There is so much you can learn about your own happiness and the happiness of others.