National Recycling Week - Can You Recycle a House? (NAPLAN Writing Practice)

Australian curriculum content descriptions:

Year 5 English:

• Understand how texts vary in purpose, structure and topic as well as the degree of formality (ACELA1504)
• Create literary texts using realistic and fantasy settings and characters that draw on the worlds represented in texts students have experienced (ACELT1612)
• Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1704)

Year 6 English:

• Understand how authors often innovate on text structures and play with language features to achieve particular aesthetic, humorous and persuasive purposes and effects (ACELA1518)
• Experiment with text structures and language features and their effects in creating literary texts, for example, using imagery, sentence variation, metaphor and word choice (ACELT1800)
• Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, choosing and experimenting with text structures, language features, images and digital resources appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1714)

Syllabus outcomes: EN3-3A, EN3-7C, EN3-2A.

General capabilities: Literacy, Ethical Understanding.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.3.

Relevant parts of Year 5 achievement standards: Students create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts for different purposes and audiences. When writing, they demonstrate understanding of grammar using a variety of sentence types. They select specific vocabulary and use accurate spelling and punctuation. They edit their work for cohesive structure and meaning.

Relevant parts of Year 6 achievement standards: Students create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences. They demonstrate an understanding of grammar, and make considered vocabulary choices to enhance cohesion and structure in their writing. They use accurate spelling and punctuation for clarity and make and explain editorial choices based on criteria.

Unit of work: National Recycling Week – Primary

Time required: 90 mins

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – students who have difficulty with writing tasks set for Year 5 and 6 standard will require support for this task.

• Student worksheets – one per student (printed)
• Can You Recycle A House? Worksheet – one per student (printed) 
• Can You Recycle A House? Answers (only one copy required)
• Projector with sound to view video and Constructive Recycling Information
• Paper for narrative writing

If possible, use recycled paper to print worksheets on and save any discarded paper to re-use in other classroom activities.

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• communication
• creativity
• ethical understanding

Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week started in 1996 to bring a national focus to the environmental benefits of recycling. This highly regarded annual campaign continues to educate and stimulate behaviour change by promoting kerbside, industrial and community recycling initiative. It also gives people the tools to minimise waste and manage material resources responsibly at home, work and school. In partnership with Planet Ark, we have developed lessons from early learning through to year 10 to help educators bring these important topics into the classroom.

National Recycling Week is held in the second week of November each year but you can recycle all year-round with these lessons which were designed to be used at any time. Click here to find out more about National Recycling Week and the Schools Recycle Right Challenge.