Protecting the Earth: Plastic Pollution
ELA
Unit 3
5th Grade
Lesson 17 of 18
These assessments accompany this unit to help gauge student understanding of key unit content and skills.
Content Assessment
The Content Assessment pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards. This assessment should take approximately one class period.
Cold Read Assessment
The Cold Read Assessment tests students' ability to comprehend a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer standards-based questions. The Cold Read Assessment can be given in addition to the Content Assessment as a pulse point for what students can read and analyze independently, a skill often required for standardized testing. This assessment should take approximately one class period.
Fluency Assessment
The Fluency Assessment allows teachers to monitor students' oral reading fluency progress with a reading passage drawn from one of the unit's core texts. The Fluency Assessment should be given at the end of a unit. Teachers should plan to pull students one-on-one to do this while the rest of the class is independently reading or writing. Find additional guidance for using this assessment and supporting reading fluency in Teacher Tools.
Lesson 16
Lesson 18
Lesson Map
Write two strong paragraphs describing why we have a plastic pollution problem and how plastic pollution impacts the ocean.
- Trash Vortex
- Informational Writing Rubric (G5)
- Single Point Informational Writing Rubric (G5, U3)
- Two Paragraph Outline (G5, U3, L10)
- Brainstorming Page 1 (G5, U3, L10)
- Brainstorming Page 1 Sample Response (G5, U3, L10)
Distinguish between interesting and important details to support the main idea of each paragraph.
- Trash Vortex
- Single Point Informational Writing Rubric (G5, U3)
- Brainstorming Page 1 (G5, U3, L10)
- Brainstorming Page 1 Sample Response (G5, U3, L10)
Standards
W.5.2W.5.2.bW.5.9
Group and order details based on the paragraph structure.
- Single Point Informational Writing Rubric (G5, U3)
- Two Paragraph Outline (G5, U3, L10)
- Brainstorming Page 1 (G5, U3, L10) — Completed on Day 1
Standards
W.5.2W.5.2.aW.5.2.bW.5.2.eW.5.9
Include signal words that support the structure of the paragraph.
- Informational Writing Rubric (G5)
- Single Point Informational Writing Rubric (G5, U3)
- Two Paragraph Outline (G5, U3, L10) — Completed on Day 2
- Brainstorming Page 1 (G5, U3, L10) — Completed on Day 1
Standards
W.5.2W.5.2.aW.5.2.bW.5.2.eW.5.9
Write an opinion piece defending whether or not single-use plastics should be banned by citing evidence from multiple texts and building an argument.
- Trash Vortex
- “Queensland passes laws banning 'killer' single-use plastics”
- “'People need them': The trouble with the movement to ban plastic straws”
- “Mythbusting: 5 common misperceptions surrounding the environmental impacts of single-use plastics”
- Opinion Writing Rubric (G5)
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric 1 (G5, U3)
- Two Paragraph Opinion Outline (G5, U3, L14)
- Plastic Pollution Opinion Brainstorming Note Taker (G5, U3, L14)
- Plastic Pollution Opinion Brainstorming Note Taker Sample Response (G5, U3, L14)
Brainstorm and organize ideas and details before crafting an opinion statement.
- All unit texts
- “Queensland passes laws banning 'killer' single-use plastics”
- “'People need them': The trouble with the movement to ban plastic straws”
- “Mythbusting: 5 common misperceptions surrounding the environmental impacts of single-use plastics”
- Plastic Pollution Opinion Brainstorming Note Taker (G5, U3, L14)
- Plastic Pollution Opinion Brainstorming Note Taker Sample Response (G5, U3, L14)
Standards
SL.5.4W.5.1W.5.5W.5.8
Plan by completing an outline that includes main ideas and supporting details, listing supporting details in order of importance.
- All unit texts
- “Queensland passes laws banning 'killer' single-use plastics”
- “'People need them': The trouble with the movement to ban plastic straws”
- “Mythbusting: 5 common misperceptions surrounding the environmental impacts of single-use plastics”
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric 1 (G5, U3)
- Plastic Pollution Opinion Brainstorming Note Taker (G5, U3, L14) — Completed on Day 1
- Two Paragraph Opinion Outline (G5, U3, L14)
- Two Paragraph Opinion Outline Sample Response (G5, U3, L14)
Standards
SL.5.1SL.5.4W.5.1W.5.1.aW.5.1.bW.5.5
Include opposing facts to strengthen opinion writing.
- All unit texts
- “Queensland passes laws banning 'killer' single-use plastics”
- “'People need them': The trouble with the movement to ban plastic straws”
- “Mythbusting: 5 common misperceptions surrounding the environmental impacts of single-use plastics”
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric 1 (G5, U3)
- Plastic Pollution Opinion Brainstorming Note Taker (G5, U3, L14) — Completed on Day 1
- Two Paragraph Opinion Outline (G5, U3, L14) — Completed on Day 2
Standards
SL.5.4W.5.1W.5.1.aW.5.1.bW.5.5W.5.8
Use evaluative and modal words to strengthen an opinion.
- Completed draft of the opinion project
- Opinion Writing Rubric (G5)
- Editing Checklist 2 (G5, U3)
Standards
L.5.3.aSL.5.1SL.5.4W.5.1W.5.5
Write a paragraph that describes a solution for reducing the school's use of plastic after researching different alternatives. Create a presentation to convince others around the school to take part and minimize the school's use of plastic.
- Trash Vortex
- “Alternatives to Plastic”
- “The Best Eco-Friendly Alternatives for the Plastic in Your Life”
- “Eco-Friendly Plastic Bag Alternatives for Retail”
- “10 Worst Single-Use Plastics and Eco-Friendly Alternatives”
- “7 Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Plastics in Your Everyday Life”
- “19 genius inventions that can stop us from using so much plastic”
- “The natural products that could replace plastic”
- “Paper, bamboo, Twizzlers: Restaurants consider alternatives to the plastic straw”
- “Single-Use Plastic Straws”
- Opinion Writing Rubric (G5)
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric 2 (G5, U3)
- Editing Checklist 2 (G5, U3)
- Brainstorming Page 2 (G5, U3, L18)
- Brainstorming Page 2 Sample Response (G5, U3, L18)
- Brainstorming Page 2 Nonexample Sample Response (G5, U3, L18)
- Single Paragraph Outline
- Single Paragraph Outline Sample Response (G5, U3, L18)
- Presentation Sample Response (G5, U3, L18)
Paraphrase accurately and concisely.
- Trash Vortex
- “Alternatives to Plastic”
- “The Best Eco-Friendly Alternatives for the Plastic in Your Life”
- “Eco-Friendly Plastic Bag Alternatives for Retail”
- “10 Worst Single-Use Plastics and Eco-Friendly Alternatives”
- “7 Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Plastics in Your Everyday Life”
- “19 genius inventions that can stop us from using so much plastic”
- “The natural products that could replace plastic”
- “Paper, bamboo, Twizzlers: Restaurants consider alternatives to the plastic straw”
- “Single-Use Plastic Straws”
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric 2 (G5, U3)
- Brainstorming Page 2 (G5, U3, L18)
- Brainstorming Page 2 Sample Response (G5, U3, L18)
- Brainstorming Page 2 Nonexample Sample Response (G5, U3, L18)
Standards
L.5.4.cSL.5.4W.5.6W.5.7W.5.8W.5.9
Plan for writing by creating an outline that includes a topic sentence and relevant details for each section.
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric 2 (G5, U3)
- Brainstorming Page 2 (G5, U3, L18) — Completed on Day 1
- Brainstorming Page 2 Sample Response (G5, U3, L18)
- Single Paragraph Outline
- Single Paragraph Outline Sample Response (G5, U3, L18)
Standards
W.5.1.aW.5.1.bW.5.2.aW.5.2.bW.5.2.eW.5.7W.5.9
Use signal words and phrases to show the relationship between ideas in a paragraph.
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric 2 (G5, U3)
- Single Paragraph Outline — Completed on Day 2
- Single Paragraph Outline Sample Response (G5, U3, L18)
Standards
SL.5.4W.5.1W.5.1.aW.5.1.bW.5.2.aW.5.2.bW.5.2.eW.5.7W.5.9
Add or change specific facts and details to make general descriptions more effective.
- Completed draft of all three paragraphs — (Completed during Lesson 10 and Day 4 of Lesson 17)
- Editing Checklist 2 (G5, U3)
Standards
L.5.3.aW.5.2.b
Elaborate on reasons by adding text features to support the main ideas.
- Revised on Day 4 — Revised on Day 4
- Trash Vortex
- Opinion Writing Rubric (G5)
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric 2 (G5, U3)
- Presentation Sample Response (G5, U3, L18)
Standards
SL.5.4SL.5.5W.5.1W.5.1.aW.5.1.bW.5.2.aW.5.6W.5.7
