Students work collaboratively to transform their experiences and understanding of plastic pollution into a product that encourages other community members to reduce their single plastic usage. Students work together to research the effects of single-use plastic on plants, animals, and the environment. Reading skills are strengthened by reading numerous nonfiction articles and websites about the effects of plastic; students then use these sources to write opinion pieces about plastic use. Students interview staff members, participate in Zero Waste Week, and create a sculpture from discarded materials.

Inclusion is an important concept in that it promotes equity and equality in the classroom. Students learn to work together despite their differences, capitalizing on their strengths and minimizing their deficits. Students within the school will be educated about the importance of inclusion, collaborating to complete activities and advocating for a school-wide inclusion program that involves all students, teachers and administrators.

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 5th Grade ELA. 

In this lesson, students explore how to write from an object’s perspective. The teacher uses a picture book, Dear Mrs. La Rue, to introduce the idea of writing from a non-human’s perspective. A mini-lesson follows in which students work together to define the word "perspective." Students collaboratively write and share a short example of writing from a pencil sharpener’s perspective. Students ultimately write their own stories from an object’s perspective after reading the model story. This lesson takes multiple days as students prewrite, draft, revise, edit, and publish their stories.

Should water from the Great Lakes be used in other places? The question of “who owns the water?” and “should it be used to help other places in the country that need it?” is one that our nation has been wrestling with for years. You will be responsible for writing an opinion essay on this very topic. You will be introduced to the topic of decreasing water levels in the Great Lakes by watching two videos and reading a short passage. Finally you will compose an opinion essay on the public issue: Should water be diverted from the Great Lakes to other parts of the United States that need water?