Lesson Planning Guide:English Series

Helping With A Poem

‘degrees that work’, Going Green Part I: Agriculture & RecyclingLesson Planning Guide – English Series

Recycling – Helping With a Poem

Unit: Types of Writing

Competency: Create regular and acrostic poems about recycling.

PA Academic Standards Included: 1.4.6-8.A, 1.5.6-8.A, 1.5.6-8.F

Grade Level: 6th – 9th

Approximate Time: Two 45-minute periods** Good activity for substitute

Big Idea: Information to gain and expand knowledge can be acquired through a variety of sources. Listening provides the opportunity to learn, reflect and respond.

Essential Question: How does productive oral communication rely on speaking and listening? Active listening facilitates learning and communication.

Performance Standards

Performance Standard Suggested Evaluation Method

1. Following a review of information on recycling, students will synthesize the information by creating regular or acrostic poems, which will both share factual information presented in the introduction and encourage recycling on the part of the poetry reader/hearer, with at least 80% accuracy on the rubric.

Project evaluation: rubric

Suggested ProjectsNone

Multiple Intelligence TypesVerbal/LinguisticMusical/RhythmicNaturalistsExistentialists

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Unit: Types of Writing Page 2Competency: Create a regular or acrostic poem about recycling.

Resources

1. Video – degrees that work, Going Green, Part 1http://www.pct.edu/degreesthatwork.Begin with landfill portion (approximately minutes 18-24 of the video)

2. Handout - Recycling facts for kids from varied websitesSee attached

3. Handout – Acrostic Poems by Jersey Shore Middle School StudentsSee attached

4. Rubric – Reduce – Reuse – Recycle Poem RUBRICSee attached

Equipment/Materials/Software1. Classroom white/blackboard

Any supplier

2. Computer with Internet access and a projection systemAny supplier

3. General classroom suppliesAny supplier

Suggested Learning SequenceStrategy Outline Resources/

EquipmentPerformance Standard 1

Following a review of information on recycling, students will synthesize the information by creating regular or acrostic poems, which will both share factual information presented in the introduction and encourage recycling on the part of the poetry reader/hearer, with at least 80% accuracy on the rubric.

Introduction Place the phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” on the board and ask students to articulate what they think of when they see these three words.

Begin by sharing the facts and figures from the websites first, or you may choose to show the video degrees that work, Going Green, Part 1. When you show the video for this lesson, focus on the segment featuring the Lycoming County Landfill which takes approximately four minutes to view. It can be found at minutes 18 – 22 of the video.Related Academic Standards: S8.A.1.3, S8.B.3.2, S8.D.1.2

Resource #1Resource #2Equipment #1Equipment #2

Discussion Following the segment on the landfill, as a large group, have students discuss the amount of trash they (as individuals) generate in a day. Make a list on the board of items they throw away. Maybe categorize by paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, etc. Refer back to information in the video and on fact sheets. Ask students to predict what will happen to our environment if we continue to create trash that is simply dumped in a landfill.

Place students in groups of three or four. Ask each group to create a

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Unit: Types of Writing Page 3Competency: Create a regular or acrostic poem about recycling.

list of ways middle school students can begin to recycle and reuse. Give the groups some time, then ask for their ideas. List each new idea on the board.

Tell the students they are now going to produce a poetry poster, using either a regular poem or an acrostic poem, which will both instruct and encourage others to begin to reduce, reuse and recycle items to lessen our trash impact on the environment. Related PA Academic Standards: S8.A.1.3, S8.B.3.2, S8.D.1.2

Presentation Explain to students that an acrostic is formed by taking a word or phrase and writing the letters vertically rather than horizontally. Each phrase coming off of a letter begins with that letter. Examples of “refuse” poems from 7th graders that you should share with students are attached.

Have students choose a word or phrase from their discussion about the environment, landfills and recycling. Allow them to utilize a thesaurus if necessary to find words that add significant imagery and emotion to the poems.

Some students are natural poets and love to play with words and rhyme. Again, model this type of poem using the attached student created poems. Once the models have been viewed and questions answered, put the kids to work.Related PA Academic Standards: 1.4.6-8.A, 1.5.6-8.A

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Activity Depending on the amount of class time available, students can be placed in pairs to write poems or be assigned individual work. Be sure to review the rubric that will be used to grade the poem with the students before they start writing.

The poem can be completed as homework and shared in class the next day. For those teachers who like to utilize the writing process, especially peer editing and revision, students can be paired up to read each others poems and offer suggestions to improve the meaning and vocabulary.Related PA Academic Standards: 1.4.6-8.A, 1.5.6-8.A, 1.5.6-8.E, 1.5.6-8.F

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Assessment/Activity

Grade the poems using the rubric. Return the poems to students and let them rewrite them using the feedback from the rubric.

Once the poems are completed, they can be mounted on construction paper and used to create an excellent and attention grabbing bulletin board or wall display. Environmental protection and recycling is taught through all school years and levels, so this makes a great two-day lesson and offers students a chance to create, using factual information and their own opinions.

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Unit: Types of Writing Page 4Competency: Create a regular or acrostic poem about recycling.

WHERE TO

W

The introduction of this lesson focuses students on the facts of solid waste disposal and the need for each individual to “reduce-reuse-recycle”. The group discussion allows students to voice their concerns and opinions and share what they already know. The rubric will be shared with students prior to writing their poems.

H Students’ interest will be held by allowing them to generate the initial information and suggestions for helping solve the problem of solid waste disposal.

EThe amount of information presented in the short video and from the websites will provide excellent information to get students thinking about the problem/solution and recognize that each individual can make a difference.

R

Students will be taking what they know and what information was added today and creating a poem about recycling. They must reflect on the information and create ways to apply that information to recycling. Also, by utilizing revision and editing of the writing process, students will revisit their writing and the writing of a peer editor, rethink and then revise to make their poems more forceful. Students will get an additional chance to rewrite after the teacher’s review.

EStudents will use their creative energies and knowledge to create these focused products and in doing so will be expressing their inner understandings of the environment and our responsibility to its protection.

T

Although all students will create a poem, each student has the ability to choose which poem format with which they are most comfortable and may choose to rhyme or not rhyme. Students of all levels can successfully complete this project and do so with some enthusiasm.

O

The organization of this lesson begins with students creating the lists of items we generate as middle school students. They also see a video of a land fill and hear about recycling. They then move to sharing their own ideas about ways to help solve the generation of tons of trash and finally take all that information to create a poetry poster which must have certain items of information included in the poetry itself.

This planning guide was written by Holly Webster, Middle School Teacher, Jersey Shore Area Middle School, Jersey Shore, PA

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Reduce – Reuse – RecycleRecycling Facts for Kids

While the most important way to save valuable resources is to use as few as possible in the first place, recycling and using recycled products is the next step. Below you’ll find some fascinating Recycling Facts that will give you an idea of how much is used and how much can be saved by recycling!

Recycling Glass Glass can be recycled virtually forever. It never wears out. For every 2,000 pounds of glass that is recycled, we save more than 2,000 pounds of other

resources (1,330 pounds of sand, 433 pounds of soda ash, 433 pounds of limestone and 151 pounds of feldspar).

Most bottles and jars that you use contain at least 25% recycled material. The energy saved by recycling just one bottle could light a 100-watt bulb for 4 hours.

Recycling Metals Recycling an aluminum can saves 95% of the energy needed to make aluminum from

bauxite ore. In the United States, the amount of steel that is discarded and not recycled every year is

enough to build all the new American-made cars.

Recycling Paper 75% of each tree that is cut down for paper is not used in a paper product. 98 tons of various resources are required to make one ton of paper. Paper made from recycled paper uses 70% less energy.

Recycling Plastic Americans use 4 million plastic bottles every hour, but only 25% of plastic bottles are

recycled.

Thanks to the Washington State Department of Ecology for this valuable information.“Learn…It’s like Brain Candy.” http://www.chevroncars.com/learn/wondrous-world/recycling-facts. 1/30/11.

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Fun Facts About Recycling for Kids by Carmel Perez SnyderThink of all the trash your family takes out every week. It adds up. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA,) without recycling, a family of four throws away about 2,000 pounds of garbage each year.

Businesses, factories, restaurants and schools also have lots of trash. Most cities and counties have dump sites where the garbage goes. Some of it is burned, some of it is buried. Every year, the garbage humans create gets larger.

But there is a way to change that through recycling--reusing or making new things from garbage.

Recycle This:Metal food and drink cans are usually made of aluminum or steel. In the United States, 60 percent of aluminum drink cans are recycled. Put a magnet on the side of a can. If it falls off, the can is aluminum.

Glass can be melted down to make new glass. Recycling centers must sort glass by color.

Paper is made from wood pulp, which is made from crushing trees. We can save trees by recycling our waste paper because it can be mixed with water and broken down by machine into pulp. The pulp can be used to make cardboard or recycled paper. Americans use more than 580 pounds of paper per person every year.

Plastics are an important part of our lives. We use plastics to make things such as drink containers, household items such as combs and brushes or computers and furniture. Natural gas and oil (the same oil used to make gasoline) are used to make plastic.

Plant waste--grass cuttings, potato, orange and banana peels, leftovers from salads and natural foods combined--can fill a garbage can quickly. This kind of garbage can easily be used to make compost, which can then be used to fertilize plants and gardens. Vegetables and other plants completely break down and make food for plants.

Reuse:Learning to reuse things that are still in good shape can save our environment. Reusing things creates less air and water pollution than making a new item or even recycling.

In France, most grocery stores sell drinks in glass bottles that can be returned for refilling.

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Plastic bags cut into thin strips and tied together can be reused to knit or crochet bags, purses and clothes.Buying used clothing at a consignment or thrift stores helps save energy because it extends the life of a garment.

Reduce:With a little effort, we can reduce the amount of garbage we create.

According to the EPA, American workers throw away enough paper every year to build a 12-foot high wall from San Francisco to New York. – WOW!Because school children started a campaign to ban throw-away chopsticks, about 100 restaurants in Beijing have promised to wash and reuse the eating utensils, according to a story in the Washington Post.

Recycling effects and rewards:Making products using recycled goods saves energy and money.

Recycling one aluminum can saves energy--enough that you can run a TV for three hours or a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.

Steel cans are used to package more than 1,500 different kinds of food, according to the Steel Recycling Institute.

Glass never wears out. It can be recycled forever.

Do your part:You can earn money by saving and crushing aluminum cans that scrap companies will buy.

Help save the Earth. Use cloth dish towels instead of paper towels and limit the use of paper plates and plastic utensils.

Make a survey of how many cans of soft drinks or bottles of water your friends in your class at school drink each week. How many of them throw the cans and bottles away? How many recycle? Use the information to create a poster to show your class. Encourage them to recycle.

Toxic waste:Paint, oil and batteries are examples of toxic waste that can hurt the environment if thrown into the city landfill site.

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Most cities have guidelines for disposing of hazardous waste. Ask your parents to check where to deposit batteries or other toxic waste.

Use rechargeable batteries and a charger instead of disposable batteries for your electronics

References:

Environmental Protection Agency

Steel Recycling Institute

Roca, Nuria. The Three R's: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. Barron's. New York. 2007.

Snyder, Carmel P. “Fun Facts About Recycling for Kids.” http://www.ehow.com/about_5374269_fun-recycling-kids.html#ixzz1CYFh3V3c. 01/30/2011.

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Cool Recycling Facts for Kids

Plastic Recycling Facts for Kids

US citizens use 4 million plastic bottles every hour! However, only 25% of these plastic bottles are used for plastic recycling.

Did you know that, over 46,000 pieces of plastic debris float on every square mile of the ocean?

Every year, a person gets through 90 drink cans, 70 food cans and 107 bottles and 45 kg of plastic.

Metal Recycling Facts for Kids

Did you know that recycling aluminum can save up to 95% of energy which is required to make aluminum from bauxite ore?

Tin cans are 99% steel, with a thin layer of tin added to prevent the tins from corroding. Recycling 1 ton of aluminum can save up to 27 cubic yards of landfill space.

Paper Recycling Facts for Kids

One of the recycling facts according to the EPA is that making paper from recycled materials can result in 74% less air pollution and 35% less water pollution, rather than making paper from wood pulp.

Recycling one ton of paper saves around 17 trees, 463 gallons of oil, 6,953 gallons of water and 3 cubic yards of landfill space.

An average British family throws away paper, which is worth 6 trees, in their household garbage can each year.

Glass Recycling Facts for Kids

One of the most interesting recycling facts about glass is that glass can be recycled again and again. As it never wears out. Most glass bottles and jars that we use contain at least ¼ of the recycled material.

Did you know that, the energy saved by recycling just one bottle can light a 100 watt light bulb for four hours!

Recycling centers sort glass by color, so that the glass pieces and items can be used for recycling.

In France, most grocery stores sell drinks in glass bottles which can be returned to the store for refilling.

Other Recycling Facts for Kids

The first municipal dump was formed in ancient Athens in 400 B.C. The recycling symbol was designed by Gary Dean Anderson in the year 1970.

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Every year we dispose around 24 million tons of leaves and grass clippings, which can be used by converting to compost to conserve landfill space.

Use and throw bags are a waste of trees (paper bags) or fossil fuels (plastic bags). Not just that, they also contribute to water pollution during their production. Reusable cloth or paper bags are a better alternative to single use bags.

Plant waste like potato, orange, banana peels and grass cutting, leftover food, can quickly fill up the garbage can. This kind of waste can be easily used to make compost, which is a very good fertilizer for plants.

Did you know that, up to 80% of an average car is recyclable?

These were the various recycling facts for kids. So, remember to reduce the amount of trash, reuse the items once more before buying new ones, and buy products made from recycled materials, to keep the recycling loop on!

“Recycling Facts for Kids.” http://www.buzzle.com/articles/recycling-facts-for-kids.html . 1/30/2011.

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Below is another good website in the form of a .pdf, contains many other facts and figures regarding garbage and recycling.

“How Much Do Americans Throw Away? http://students.arch.utah.edu/courses/Arch4011/Recycling%20Facts1.pdf. 2/2/2011.

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Acrostic Poems by Jersey Shore Middle School Students

Garbage by Josh

G. is for ground, which we pollute.A. is for arrested, which will happen if you litter.R. is for recycling, what we all should do.B. is for benefit, which we get out of recycling.A is for anemones, which keeps the earth beautifulG. is for grass, which goes brown when we pollute.E. is for everyone, who should help save the earth. Y. is for YOU who must start this first.

Recycle by Tabby (This poem only has 7 lines, would receive -2 on rubric)

Recyclables are used over and overEveryone thinks that recycling doesn’t help – so they don’tCans and plastics should be recycled – paper too.You think that the rules don’t apply to you. Well, it’s your world that you’re ruining too.Can you try to recycle your trash so plants can have life too?Look at you. It isn’t fair that humans can pollute the plants and the poor plants can’t do anything about it.Everyone should do their share and recycle, because it is only right for our environment.

Trash Poetry by Jersey Shore Middle School Students

Malodorous Offal by Justin (Justin enjoyed playing in the thesaurus.)

Filthy, scummy, insipid refuse lying on the sod,I’d hate to call upon an act of GodTo clear this rubbish off of the pulchritudinous green earth.We need to lock away these people that bring it forth.

I despise these creatures that sire this refuse.No thing can yield to it, not even Mother NatureIt’s making food and water denatured,Now, it’s so atrocious, we can’t even come up with an excuse.

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GARBAGE by Robbie

Garbage can reach to the stars and the moon,And you can’t pick it up with just one spoon.If you throw it in a recycling bin, It certainly wound not be a sin.Landfills look like pig sties,And they attract many flies.If a solution is not found,Many years from now, this garbage will still be around.

A MONSTER LOOKS ME IN THE EYE by Rachel

A monster looks me in the eye,Though I’m not sure I know why.It does not move, or speak a word.It’s not a perch for any bird.

It’s always here every day,Causing me to sneeze.It’s been near ever since last May,Here to startle me.

Startle me with its gruesome looks,And its collection of decay.With rusted springs and molded books,Now there’s nothing more to say,

Except that if this thing lives on,Rising each morning before dawnCausing things to be swirled and twirled,Garbage will soon rule the world.

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Reduce - Reuse - Recycle Poem RUBRIC

Appropriate title 5/ _____Poem written 8 lines or more 16/ _____Two facts about recycling 4/ _____One recommendation for recycling 2/ _____Poem makes sense to reader 3/ _____No spelling errors 5/ _____Neat/Effort apparent 5/ _____

Total Possible Points 40 _____

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle Poem RUBRIC

Appropriate title 5/ _____Poem written 8 lines or more 16/ _____Two facts about recycling 4/ _____One recommendation for recycling 2/ _____Poem makes sense to reader 3/ _____No spelling errors 5/ _____Neat/Effort apparent 5/ _____

Total Possible Points 40 _____

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle Poem RUBRIC

Appropriate title 5/ _____Poem written 8 lines or more 16/ _____Two facts about recycling 4/ _____One recommendation for recycling 2/ _____Poem makes sense to reader 3/ _____No spelling errors 5/ _____Neat/Effort apparent 5/ _____

Total Possible Points 40 _____

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