LESSON 6

Thomas the Tank Engine and SDGs

Rapid Reading
Lesson 6 Rapid Reading

Part 45510

授業展開例

10The world today is quite different from how it was when Thomas the Tank Engine
was first created. People’ s values have greatly changed. There are also newproblems that people face today. The SDGs in Thomas & FriendsTM are an important
response to these changes.
It is very early in their lives that children form ideas about the world around them.
The messages in the SDG episodes are easy to understand, and they give life lessons.
For example, the episodes can help children learn about the importance of diversity.
The stories are about engines of both genders who work together. The engines feel a
responsibility to take care of the environment and are excited about receiving a goodeducation. They can help children learn important values at an early age.

内容紹介

Thomas the Tank Engine is a blue steam engine in a British children’s book series.
He first appeared in 1946. In the stories, Thomas has many adventures with his
fellow locomotives on the Island of Sodor. This series is still read by children in morethan 160 countries today.
Thomas also appears in an animated television show called Thomas & FriendsTM.
In the show’s 22nd series in 2018, Thomas leaves Sodor for the first time. He travels
around the world and meets new engine friends in India, China, Australia, and othercountries. The show’s creators worked to feature more female characters in the showby adding two female engines to the Steam Teams, a group of steam engines including
Thomas who are the main characters.
In that year, the United Nations (UN) decided to work with a US toy maker which
has Thomas’ brand and makes its animation. They incorporate some of its 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the storylines of several episodes fromthat series.

visited China, I traveled through a bamboo forest, and I was really lucky to see apanda in the wild! When I went to India, I saw monkeys in the coconut trees.”

特長Part 1

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Part 2

紙面紹介

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関連教材

The 17 SDGs were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. They
are what the UN created to help achieve a better and more sustainable future foreveryone. The UN has a hope of meeting the goals by 2030. Their global challenges
include improving education, achieving gender equality, and fighting climate change.
People all over the world are now working to achieve these goals.
The UN and the toy company see great value in the goals. They chose six of theSDGs that were a natural fit with the kind of stories that are often seen in Thomas &FriendsTM: Quality Education (Goal 4), Gender Equality (Goal 5), Clean Water andSanitation (Goal 6), Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11), Responsible
Consumption and Production (Goal 12), and Life on Land (Goal 15).
Part 3

TRUE OR FALSE
本文全体の内容理解を確認します。TRUE OR FALSE の正答数と本文を読むのにかかった時間をもとに，巻末の WPM 表でスコアを算出することができます。

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TRUE OR FALSE)

2. ()

3. ()

1. Thomas leaves Sodor for the first time and travels around the world and meets new friends.
2. The United Nations hopes to meet the goals by 2030.
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3. The life lessons in the SDG episodes are too difficult for children to understand.

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指 導 用 Data

Here are examples of how three of the goals were brought into the world of Thomas:
Goal 11: Thomas talked about living in cities. He said, “ Cities need good transport
networks to help people get from their homes to school and work.” Thomas also said
that more people should use public transport, instead of private cars, to help clean theair.
Goal 12: Thomas talked about reusing and recycling. He gave the example of hisfriend Reg. Reg works at a scrap yard and knows if waste can be reused or recycled.
Thomas said, “ When something is broken and can’t be repaired, Reg recycles it! Once,he even made a Christmas tree from scrap! ”
Goal 15: Thomas said that it is especially forests that we should take care of.
“ Nearly all the insects, plants, and animals on Earth live in forests,” he said. “ When I

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