GreenComp with STEAM Pulse

GreenComp For Every Age, From 5 To 16

Four STEAM projects for four age groups

The GreenComp Pulse sets out the European sustainability competence framework for four age bands: 5 to 8, 9 to 10, 11 to 13 and 14 to 16. Each of the 12 competences is written as an “I can” statement that learners in that band can read and use, with a matching note for the teacher. For the youngest learners, every competence also has a child-friendly name.

This third edition builds on the first, which set out GreenComp in plain English, and the second, which linked it to the 169 SDG targets. It adds age differentiation and connects each competence to STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics.

At the centre of the tool are four STEAM projects, one for each age band, and each one ends with an action outside the classroom. All 57 activities have a two-page lesson plan: one page to use with the class and one for the teacher, with timings, safety notes and sources.

Select · Classify · Prove

The GreenComp Pulse

A plain-English guide to the EU sustainability competence framework: the 12 green competences, and the knowledge, skills and attitudes behind each one. Follow each competence through four age bands from 5 to 16, run a STEAM project through the design cycle, rate progress with an age-band rubric, and find out whether your action worked.

Rewritten in plain British English from GreenComp (JRC, 2022), published under CC BY 4.0, with "I can" statements, a rubric and a STEAM project for each of four age bands.

12Competences
4Age Bands
169KSA Statements
4STEAM Projects
3rd Edition · Age Bands & STEAM All 12 competences matter equally. GreenComp treats them as one whole and is written for learners of any age. The "I can" statements, rubric and projects for ages 5 to 8, 9 to 10, 11 to 13 and 14 to 16 are 169to1's teaching progression, built on the GreenComp descriptors.
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Set Up For Your Class

Everything in this tool is organised around four age bands. Choose your learners and every tab opens at that band: the "I can" statements, the rubric, the design cycle questions and the STEAM project.

Which Learners Will Take Part?

What This Tool Brings Together

The 12 Competences

GreenComp, the EU sustainability competence framework, in plain English: four areas, 12 competences and the knowledge, skills and attitudes behind each one.

GreenComp, JRC, 2022. CC BY 4.0.

GreenComp Across The Ages

Each competence written as an "I can" statement for four age bands, from age 5 to 16, with a classroom activity for each one.

169to1 Teaching Progression, 2026. CC BY 4.0.

GreenComp Through STEAM

Four anchor projects, one per age band, that teach all 12 competences through Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics.

169to1 Teaching Examples, 2026. CC BY 4.0.

How To Use It With A Class

  1. Choose your learners.Pick an age band above. Every tab then opens at that band.
  2. Share the "I can" statements.On the Ages tab, read the statements for your band with learners.
  3. Take a starting point.On the Check tab, learners rate themselves on each competence using the rubric: Not Yet, Getting There or I Can Do This.
  4. Run the STEAM project.Open the project for your band and follow the design cycle: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test, Improve. Tick off each stage in the project's tracker.
  5. Find out what changed.On the Did It Work? tab, record the before and after, the evidence and your verdict, and check your claims before you share them.
  6. Rate again and plan the next step.Learners rate themselves again. The Profile tab shows what to work on next and the activities that build it.
  7. Print what you need.The Pack tab holds progression sheets, project sheets, the rubric, record sheets and teacher's and student's notes.

Quick Answers

About this tool. The GreenComp Pulse is a plain-English guide to the EU sustainability competence framework, for teachers of learners aged 5 to 16. The competence names, descriptors, examples and statements are rewritten in plain British English from GreenComp: The European sustainability competence framework (Bianchi, G., Pisiotis, U., Cabrera Giraldez, M.; edited by Bacigalupo, M. and Punie, Y.; JRC, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022), reused under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.

GreenComp holds all 12 competences as equally important, and learners need not reach the same level across all of them. The framework is a reference, not a syllabus, and is meant to be adapted to the learner and the setting.

Each STEAM project names the SDG targets it works towards. These links are 169to1's suggestion for teaching: GreenComp does not link its competences to SDG targets, and they are not an official EU or UN crosswalk.

The Ages tab and the progression sheets give each competence as an "I can" statement for four age bands, from 5 to 16. GreenComp is written for learners of any age and does not set levels by age, so these statements are 169to1's teaching progression, built on the GreenComp descriptors. The STEAM projects are 169to1 teaching examples. The rubric, the design cycle questions, the profile and the Did It Work? record are 169to1's own. The claims check follows Directive (EU) 2024/825 and the European Commission's Questions and Answers on the Directive, and is a teaching check, not legal advice. Data sources named in the activities are the FAO and BASIC Comparative Study On The Distribution Of Value In European Chocolate Chains (2020), the UK Government Greenhouse Gas Reporting Conversion Factors, the Copernicus Interactive Climate Atlas, Our World in Data (Global Carbon Budget), the ND-GAIN Country Index, and New Zealand's Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017.

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