“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
― Albert Einstein
A tradition since 1926, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides celebrate World Thinking Day on February 22, scouting founder Lord Baden-Powell’s birthday. The Girl Guides and Girl Scouts dedicated this day to thinking of each other and celebrating their sisters worldwide. In 1941, Powell left a farewell message before his passing, “Try and leave this world a little better than you found it.” World Thinking Day champions the spread of Powell’s message globally and continually inspires people worldwide.
From 2022 to 2024, the World Thinking Day theme is Our World, Our Future. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts has a free activity pack. By completing the activities, the site states, “Girl Guides and Girl Scouts around the world will be able to understand how girls and young women are disproportionately affected by environmental issues and explore how we could speak out and take action for a better world.” World Thinking Day themes challenge Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to contemplate more significant issues impacting themselves and the world around them. Listed below are ways to put World Thinking Day activities into practice in your classroom to celebrate diversity with communities across the globe.
XW1W (Across the World Once a Week)
XW1W is a fantastic way to broaden students’ knowledge about the world around them. It offers opportunities to connect worldwide with peers and also as a way to understand the similarities and differences among a variety of locations and cultures. XW1W provides a focus on global citizenship, allowing students to understand their place within our world. Global citizens are active within their communities and focus on making our world better. XW1W engages learners in deeper thinking and offers valuable perspectives about others, allowing them to grow through broader experiences as they share ideas with their global peers.
Research Changemakers
The World Thinking Day activity pack shares stories of environmental changemakers women. Encourage students to research, learn, and share how women address critical issues in the fight against climate change. For example, students could create a digital story using Microsoft Sway (reviewed here) to present their research. Students could also create a trading card using Big Huge Labs (reviewed here) or a documentary using Moovly (reviewed here).
Change Agents/Community Impact
Another World Thinking Day learner challenge is investigating how climate change affects women’s lives worldwide and practicing active debating. Practice students’ debate skills with Thinkalong (reviewed here). You can also designate topics for students to research with local or global environmental impacts. Finally, students could present their findings through a blog, website, or social media. For example, students could create infographics using Easelly (reviewed here) or interactive presentations with Genially (reviewed here).
World Thinking Day allows students to think about others and focus on the broader issues impacting their environment. Inspire your students to reflect upon themselves and the world around them. We’d love to hear your strategies for the classroom to celebrate World Thinking Day in the comments below!