Five-Minute Reads on Sustainability

Publication Date: 
December 4, 2017

Learning Objectives

To enhance reading skills of students

To learn about sustainability issues

To learn about issues connected to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Standards Addressed

Varied, depending upon the topic of the five-minute read.

Supplies/Materials/Articles Needed

All five-minute reads are linked on this page and available for download or for students to read online. Each file is in MS Word so that edits can be made before distribution to students.

Preparation Time Needed

None, beyond downloading and printing off copies of the stories for students to read.

Class Time Required

Each sustainability story is approximately 1,500 words in length, which takes on average five minutes to read. Teachers can then decide how much time they would like to spend on a class discussion, use a map to geographically locate the topic of a story, etc.

Activity Description

The following is a collection of five-minute reads on various topics relating to sustainabilty. The stories were written by undergraduate students at Penn State Brandywine studying the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (link is external) in the fall semester of 2017. Each link will take you to a MS Word file that has the student-authored story. The numbers after each student name refer to the SDGs listed in the chart below the list.

  • Water and Our Community  --  J. Bente (6, 11)
  • Hospitals are Good, Right?  --  J. Burton (3, 6, 7, 12, 13)
  • How Can We Stop Coral Reef Bleaching?  --  C. Caruso (13, 14)
  • A Colorful New Look at Fashion  --  J. Clement (3, 6, 14, 15)
  • The Silent Killer  --  T. Coffey (13, 15)
  • Paper is Dangerous to the Earth  --  T. Cottman (12)
  • Changing the Way We Use  --  A. Ellison (7, 9, 12)
  • Ozone Layer: Earth's Sunscreen  --  K. Flanagan (3, 15)
  • Acid Rain  --  I. Herm (6, 7, 12, 14, 15)
  • The Rising Tide of Jellyfish  --  S. Holt (9, 14)
  • Discovering the Unknown  --  L. Kreamer (4, 8, 14)
  • Bleaching of the Coral Reefs  --  K. Laffey (6, 14, 15)
  • E-Waste and the Importance of Electronics Recycling  --  F. Liu (3, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15)
  • The More is Not Always the Merrier  --  K. MacLeod (3, 6, 12, 14, 15)
  • Solar Energy: Renewable, Yet Possibly Disastrous  --  D. Murphy (7, 9)
  • Holy Crops!  --  C. Murray (12, 13, 15)
  • Protecting the Oceans  --  B. Nasella (3, 6, 12, 14)
  • Alternative Energy  --  P. ODea (1, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
  • Coral Reefs are Indulging on Plastic  --  W. Rodgers (6, 9, 12, 14)
  • As the World Warms  --  J. Rodman (3, 11, 12, 13)
  • Don't Let the Killer Whales Starve!  --  M. Sankey (12, 14, 17)
  • Just Throw It In The Trash!  --  S. Shabazz (3, 9, 12, 13, 15)
  • Nutrient Pollution Danger  --  C. Thomas (6, 14, 15)
  • Wildfire in Central USA  --  S. Tyler (3, 11, 13, 15)
  • E-Waste: A Misguided Environmental Nuisance  --  J. Tyson (9, 12, 17)
  • Food Waste in America  --  A. Wodack (3, 9, 10, 12, 15, 17)
  • Oil Pipelines  --  A. Yerk (3, 12, 14, 15)
  • Deforestation  --  N. Young (7, 11, 12, 13, 15)