My goal with SustainEd is simple: to tap into the incredible educational power of today's streaming services to help students around the world understand and take action on the defining challenges of our time.
SustainEd will help you take learning from the couch into the classroom, with Netflix lesson plans for fascinating documentaries like The Social Dilemma and Our Planet to thought-provoking TED Talk Guides to accompany presentations by the likes of Greta Thunberg and more.
My goal with SustainEd is simple: to tap into the incredible educational power of today's streaming services to help students around the world understand and take action on the defining challenges of our time.
SustainEd will help you take learning from the couch into the classroom, with Netflix lesson plans for fascinating documentaries like The Social Dilemma and Our Planet to thought-provoking TED Talk Guides to accompany presentations by the likes of Greta Thunberg and more.
This engaging educational movie guide from Graeme Mitchell at SustainEd is a fantastic resource to complement the powerful film The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Perfect for Social Studies, English and Science classes.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind tells the true story of William Kamkwamba, a teenager from the small African country of Malawi, who uses his intelligence and determination to save his family and village from drought and famine in the early 2000s. Powerful | Relevant | Inspiring.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Movie Guide Includes:
A student movie guide - printer-friendly version (3 pages)
A student movie guide - Google Slides version that can be copied and edited and used with Google Classroom.
A comprehensive answer key (2 pages)
Quote Reflection Guide
An Extension Activity on Microcredit Lending
What, So What, Now What Reflection Guide
Need an easy sub plan? Maybe a movie day incentive? This turn-key movie guide package has you covered.
General Tips for Using The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind:
Print one, double-sided movie guide for each student
Turn on English subtitles so viewers can follow along
Give learners 5-10 minutes to complete the Pre-Viewing Questions and read the guide beforehand so that they can prepare for upcoming content.
Pause at the times after questions in the guide to encourage students to debate, discuss and talk about their ideas before writing their answers.
If time allows, feel free to rewind and show important parts of the movie again for additional analysis.
On average, this movie guide will require about 45 minutes in addition to the length of the movie.
Prompt the students to share their answers out loud and use the guide to lead a discussion.
Before the class is over, I often challenge my students to complete the “What, So What, Now What” Reflection (included). I have them briefly describe what the documentary was about (what), explain why the central topic was important (so what), and have them apply it to something they have been learning about in our class (now what).
