Unit 5 — Project Earth
Description
This unit emphasizes environmental care through persuasive texts and opinion writing focused on protecting Earth. Students read texts like "The Protective Power of Nature Preserves," "Living Green," and "Potatoes on Rooftops" to understand how individuals and communities can address environmental challenges. The unit develops skills in identifying author's purpose and audience, recognizing persuasive techniques, and using figurative language. Students write environmental public service announcements and opinion pieces arguing for environmental action, using evidence from texts and their own reasoning. The unit includes a climate change education focus and connections to sustainability.
Essential Questions
- How can caring for Earth and its living things improve life now and in the future?
- How do you effectively create and support a written argument?
- How do you identify the author's purpose and audience in an unfamiliar persuasive text?
Learning Objectives
- Identify author's purpose and target audience in persuasive texts
- Recognize persuasive techniques and appeals used in texts
- Understand figurative language in environmental contexts
- Write opinion pieces with claims supported by reasons and evidence
- Use digital tools to draft and revise persuasive writing
- Develop arguments that address environmental issues
Suggested Texts
- The Protective Power of Nature Preserves — informational text (week 1)
- Potatoes on Rooftops: Farming in the City — persuasive text (week 1)
- Living Green — play (week 2)
- The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough — realistic fiction (week 2)
Supplemental Resources
- Sentence strips with persuasive language examples
- Graphic organizers for recording claim and supporting reasons
- Chart paper for displaying environmental action ideas
- Folder for collecting persuasive text examples
- Printed fact sheets on environmental topics
Language
Reading: Informational Text
Speaking and Listening
Writing
Students explore inventions, natural disasters, environmental topics, space exploration, and animal behaviors through reading and writing about scientific phenomena and discoveries.
Students apply mathematical thinking through data analysis, problem-solving, measurement, and quantitative reasoning embedded in reading and writing activities across units.
Formative Assessments
- Analysis of persuasive techniques in mentor texts
- Discussion of author's purpose and intended audience
- Drafting and peer feedback on opinion statements
- Practice with forming and supporting claims
- Fluency practice with expression and phrasing
Summative Assessment
Environmental PSA and End of Unit Assessment
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding of persuasive techniques and author's purpose through oral discussion with teacher support, visual mapping of persuasive appeals with sentence frames, or simplified written responses using word banks and graphic organizers. Students may create a shorter PSA using images with captions or recorded audio instead of a full written piece.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students may benefit from pre-reading supports such as graphic organizers that map out an author's claim, reasons, and evidence before engaging with persuasive texts in this unit. For opinion writing, allow students to dictate or use speech-to-text tools to compose their PSA or opinion piece, reducing barriers related to written output while still developing persuasive reasoning skills. Provide sentence frames or partially completed outlines to help students organize a claim and supporting evidence, and offer visual references that illustrate common persuasive techniques so students can identify and apply them with greater independence. Modifications and accommodations listed in curriculum guides are suggested for all types of learners; specific student accommodations and modifications listed in an IEP will take priority for each individual student.
Section 504
Students should be given extended time to complete persuasive writing drafts and the end-of-unit assessment, particularly when tasks require sustained reading and written argumentation. Preferential seating and a low-distraction environment during independent writing work will support focus during the drafting and revision stages of the opinion piece and PSA. Printed copies of on-screen texts and directions ensure students can highlight, annotate, and reference materials without relying solely on digital formats. Modifications and accommodations listed in curriculum guides are suggested for all types of learners; specific student accommodations and modifications listed in an IEP will take priority for each individual student.
ELL / MLL
Build background knowledge around the environmental topics in this unit—such as nature preserves, sustainability, and urban farming—using images, short video clips, and real-world examples before introducing the written texts. Pre-teach unit-specific vocabulary related to persuasion and environmental content (such as claim, evidence, preserve, and sustainability) and consider allowing students to maintain a personal word bank with definitions in both English and their home language. Simplified sentence frames for forming and supporting an opinion claim can scaffold both discussion participation and written work, helping students engage with persuasive writing in a linguistically accessible way. Modifications and accommodations listed in curriculum guides are suggested for all types of learners; specific student accommodations and modifications listed in an IEP will take priority for each individual student.
At Risk (RTI)
Connect the unit's environmental themes to students' existing knowledge and community experiences, helping them find a genuine entry point into opinion writing before formal drafting begins. Reduce the complexity of early drafting tasks by having students focus first on forming a single strong claim and one supporting reason before building toward a full opinion piece, ensuring early success that builds confidence. Frequent, brief check-ins during the writing process—rather than waiting until a final draft—allow teachers to identify and address gaps in understanding of persuasive structure before they compound. Modifications and accommodations listed in curriculum guides are suggested for all types of learners; specific student accommodations and modifications listed in an IEP will take priority for each individual student.
Gifted & Talented
Invite students to examine the rhetorical strategies used across the unit's texts at a more analytical level, comparing how different authors tailor their persuasive appeals to distinct audiences and considering the ethical dimensions of those choices. Students who are ready for deeper work might research a real local or global environmental issue and construct a multi-modal argument—combining written opinion, data, and a public-facing format—that moves beyond the classroom audience. Encourage students to explore how figurative language functions specifically as a persuasive tool in environmental advocacy writing, and to experiment with crafting their own figurative language that strengthens the emotional or logical appeal of their PSA. Modifications and accommodations listed in curriculum guides are suggested for all types of learners; specific student accommodations and modifications listed in an IEP will take priority for each individual student.