Global Voices Information Sheet

The Millennium Development Goals

Courtesy of the United Nations

What are the MDGs?

• In 2000, world leaders came together at the United Nations and adopted the United
Nations Millennium Declaration.
• This consisted of a set of eight goals aimed at reducing extreme poverty through a series
of time-bound targets.
• The deadline for meeting these targets was set at 2015.
• On Sept. 20-22, world leaders will meet again to talk about the advancements that have
been made in the last 10 years and the progress that needs to be made in the next five.
The Goals

• Goal One: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger by halving the number of people
living on less than $1 per day, halving the number of people suffering from hunger and
achieving full and productive employment.
• Goal Two: Achieve Universal Primary Education by ensuring that all boys and girls
everywhere complete a full course of primary schooling.
• Goal Three: Promote Gender Equality by eliminating inequality in both the primary and
secondary education system.
• Goal Four: Reduce Child Mortality by cutting by two-thirds the under-five mortality rate.
• Goal Five: Improve Maternal Health by cutting by three-quarters the maternal mortality
ratio and achieving universal access to reproductive health care.
• Goal Six: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases by halting their spread and
achieving universal access to treatment.
• Goal Seven: Ensure environmental sustainability by reducing biodiversity loss,
creating access to clean water and sanitation and improving quality of life in slums.
• Goal Eight: Develop a global partnership for development.
Key Terms

• education – the act of teaching and learning

• eradicate – to erase or get rid of
• indicator – a pointing or directing device
• legacy – something passed down from the past
• poverty – having little or no money, possessions or means of support
• universal – affecting or concerning all
Learn more about the Millennium Development Goals: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
See how countries are doing with the MDG Monitor: www.mdgmonitor.org
Global Voices Elementary Educator Resources

Note to Educators:

The following activities are designed to stimulate a current events discussion. Generative in nature,
these questions can be a launching point for additional assignments or research projects.
Teachers are encouraged to adapt these activities to meet the contextual needs of their classroom.

In some cases, reading the article with students may be appropriate, coupled with reviewing the
information sheet to further explore the concepts and contexts being discussed. From here,
teachers can select from the questions provided below. Activities are structured to introduce
students to the issues, then allow them to explore and apply their learnings. Extension and
conclusion activities are included to challenge students and finally, encourage them to reflect on the
issues at hand.

Since these activities are designed as discussions rather than formal lessons, assessment
strategies are not included.

Themes and Course Connections:

• Themes: human rights, development, goals, Millennium Development Goals, poverty,

education, hunger, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria,
disease, environmental sustainability, global partnership
• Course Connections: Social Studies and Language

Materials:

• Chart paper and markers

• Black board and chalk
• Internet, newspapers, books

Expectations and Learning Goals:

Students will:
• Explore the difference between goals and wishes.
• Learn how to set a goal and follow through and achieve it.
• Participate in class brainstorms around development and development needs.
• Discuss poverty, education, health and sustainable development.
• Learn about the Millennium Development Goals.
• Develop their reading comprehension skills.
• Reflect on how the Millennium Development Goals can improve quality of life around the
world.

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Knowledge and Understanding

1. Goals versus Wishes (estimated time: 5 minutes)

a. Divide the blackboard into two sections. Title the first section “wish” and the
second section “goal.”
b. Ask students to come to the front of the room and write one personal goal and
wish under the appropriate columns on the blackboard.
c. After each student has had a chance to record their answers on the board, have
a class discussion on the differences and similarities of a goal and wish.
d. Draw students’ attention to the lists, ask:
i. How many wishes on the board can become goals?
ii. How many goals are actual wishes?
iii. If you cannot reach a goal, do you consider this to be a failure? Why or
why not?
iv. Do you believe that it’s better to set lower goals than to risk failure by
setting higher ones?
v. Is it a good idea to set goals? Why? What do goals do for you?

2. Steps to Writing a Goal (estimated time: 10 minutes)

a. Before diving into the Millennium Development goals, it is important for the
students to understand the process that is followed to set and follow through with
a goal.
b. Guide students through the following steps:
i. Write the goal: ask students to write one personal goal and why this goal
is important to them. In addition, have students write what the goal looks
like when it is finished. (Teacher Note: some suggested goals could be
getting an A+ on a specific assignment, making a sports team, etc.).
ii. Outline the specific steps to achieve the goal: each step needs to be
broken down into small manageable tasks that the student is able to
accomplish.
iii. Chart the obstacles for achieving the goal: students must record the
different challenges that stand in the way of their goal as well as how
they will deal with each issue.
iv. Time frame: ask students to write an approximate deadline for achieving
the goal.
c. Promote an active class discussion about what the students learned about
setting goals and the different challenges that they may meet.

Thinking:

1. Imagine: Introducing the Millennium Development Goals (estimated time: 5 minutes)

a. Ask students to close their eyes and visualize the following:
i. Imagine what life is like for a child born in the poorest parts of the world.
Hunger. Disease. No chance to go to school. Today, hundreds of millions
of children live in conditions considered inhumane by most of us. Now,
imagine it was in your power to change the lives of these children – to
provide nourishment, health care, education and hope for a better
tomorrow. A brighter future isn’t just a dream it’s a reality.
b. Write the title “Millennium Development Goals” on the board.
c. Before going into detail, ask the students to brainstorm what they think these
goals might be. Write answers on the board.

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 (Teacher Note: you may have to provide the class with some hints, such as the
definitions of millennium and development, or a quick review of who created the
goals and why, without getting into what the specific goals are).
d. Leave the list on the board for later discussions.

2. Read the Global Voices Column as a class (estimated time: 10 minutes)

a. Discussion
i. Ask the class to work together to retell the events of the column in their
own words.
ii. Ask students to explain how they felt while the column was being read.
Did they feel sad? Why? Did they feel angry? Did they feel hopeful?
Why?

3. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (estimated time:20 minutes)

a. Put eight pieces of chart paper around the room with the following titles:
Goal 1: cut poverty and hunger in half
Goal 2: send each and every child to primary school
Goal 3: make sure girls and boys are treated equally and have the same
opportunities
Goal 4: make sure fewer children die because of poverty
Goal 5: improve the health of each woman who is about to have a baby
Goal 6: stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: meet people’s basic needs while protecting our environment
Goal 8: make sure countries work together to support development
b. Ask students to walk around the room and visit each goal. At each station
students must respond to the specific Millennium Development Goal. Ask
students to write two words on the chart paper that comes to mind when they
read the title. Students can emotions, names of countries, etc.
c. After the students have visited each goal, ask students to return to their seats.

Communication:

1. Millennium Development Goals Continued (estimated time: 20 minutes)

a. Divide the class into eight groups.
b. Assign each group one of the Millennium Development Goals and give them the
appropriate chart paper from the previous activity.
c. Using their chart paper filled out by the class, resources found around the
classroom and the knowledge gained from the Global Voices column and class
discussions, ask students to go through the same process as they did during the
“steps to writing a goal activity”:
i. Write the goal: ask students to record their Millennium Development
Goal and define the words in their goal. In addition, have students write
what the goal looks like when it is finished (ex.MDG 2: every child in the
world is going to school).
ii. Outline the specific steps to achieve the goal: each step needs to be
broken down into small manageable tasks that the student is able to
accomplish. (ex. MDG 2: every country declares right to education for
children, or every child has access to a school).
iii. Chart the obstacles for achieving the goal: students must record the
different challenges that stand in the way of their goal as well as how
they will deal with each issue.

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 iv. Time frame: ask students to write an approximate deadline for achieving
the goal.
d. Once the groups have completed their steps ask each group to stand in front of
the class and present their findings.
e. Encourage a class discussion around the MDGs.

Application:

1. Written Reflection: Revisiting the Global Voices Column (estimated time: continuous
project)
a. In the Global Voices column, the women describe the impact of Goal 2: Achieve
universal primary education (send each and every child to primary school).
b. Ask students to write a reflection from the point of view of either the Mama living
in Nairobi Kenya or Sahr Banga a 13-year-old girl living in Sierra Leone. Students
should reflect on the current situation (of either character) and the possible
impact that the achievement of Goal 2 will have on their life.

Additional Resources:

• United Nations Millennium Development Goals http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

• United Nations www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/mdgs/flash/index.asp
• United Nations Development Program http://www.undp.org/mdg/
• World Health Organization http://www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_goals/en/
• Unicef http://www.unicef.org/mdg/