GRADE 10A: Recycling Describing a process; writing a persuasive letter

About this unit

This unit is designed to guide your planning and teaching of English lessons. It provides a link between the standards for English and your lesson plans. The teaching and learning activities in this unit should help you to plan the content, pace and level of difficulty of lessons. You should adapt the ideas in the unit to meet the needs of your class. You can also supplement the ideas with appropriate activities from your schools textbooks and other resources. In this unit, students read and write about household waste and discuss ways to reduce waste.

UNIT 10A.6 10 hours

Expectations
By the end of the unit, most students will: follow and respond to descriptions and explanations; understand and distinguish some differences between American and British English; talk about the hypothetical present and future; prepare and present an opinion or point of view to persuade an audience; plan and participate in discussions; speak at length, develop ideas and give examples; ask and answer questions from the group; read widely for information, searching books and the Internet, skimming and scanning, and comparing and synthesising information from at least two sources; read and understand persuasive and discussion texts identifying the purposes, content, typical language and organisational features; express views based on evidence from the texts; write information and persuasive texts of up to 250 words, weighing arguments for and against an idea or issue. use the principal features of common word-processing software to independently plan, compose, edit and present their own writing. Students who progress further will: speak accurately using simple and complex utterances and a range of appropriate connectives; read widely for information, synthesising information from two or more sources. Students who make slower progress will: present ideas and opinions using simple connected utterances with supporting ideas; extract the main ideas and supporting details from an information text.

Resources
The main resources needed for this unit are: a listening text describing the process of recycling household waste in the UK or another developed country; a reading text of 400600 words about communities who earn their living from recycling in a developing country; a persuasive text of 400600 words intended to encourage people to recycle.

Key structures and functions

Passive voice: Glass is separated from the rest of the rubbish. Most rubbish is buried in a landfill site. Expressing degrees of certainty: If theres a water shortage, we wont be able to clean the streets. If its very serious we might not be allowed to wash our cars. Expressing reasons and consequences: We wont be able to clean the streets because there wont be enough water. The woods and parks will become very dry so fire will become a risk. Provided that people are careful, it wont be necessary to ration water. Giving advice, making warnings: We have to start saving water now or we will run out by the summer. Unless we reduce the amount of water we use drastically, our reservoirs will be empty in three months.

Vocabulary
Rubbish: waste, rubbish, garbage (AE), refuse, dispose, etc. Recycling: recycle, biodegradable, crush, melt, landfill, etc. Persuasion: encourage, support, urge, put pressure on, etc.

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Standards for the unit

10 hours
4 hours Describing a process 10A.3.2 2 hours Making a presentation 10A.3.5 1 hour Persuasive writing 9.4.1 2 hours Simulation Speak accurately and at length to explain, present opinions, recount, describe and summarise events and plans, using a series of 68 clear, connected, utterances. 10A.4.1 10A.3.7

Unit 10A.6
CORE STANDARDS Grade 10A standards
10A.2.4 Continue to collect and compare and extend knowledge of a range of homographs in order to secure and extend understanding and use of these. Understand and respond to descriptions and explanations of people, places, events and processes: identify detail accurately; note detail with sufficient precision to re-use without error; note logical progression. Consolidate understanding of a range of utterances constructed in the passive voice. Understand and distinguish between different varieties of English: British and American pronunciation and vocabulary. Speak accurately, using a series of up to 10 connected, simple and complex utterances with: accurate and appropriate use of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, including appropriate stress and intonation; appropriate cohesive devices to link ideas within utterances and organise ideas at discourse level; a variety of subordinate clauses, linked with appropriate conjunctions; precise delivery of ideas backed by relevant examples and minimised use of redundancy; ability to deal with unexpected questions or comments. 10A.4.4 Use different styles and registers appropriate to the situation: passives and zero conditionals used in descriptions of scientific experiments. 10A.5.7 Prepare and present a description of a process of several steps that is related to study in other subjects, using the passive voice. 11A.4.2 Speak accurately, using a series of up to 12 clear, connected, simple and complex utterances demonstrating: rich content; ideas developed with elaboration and detail, backed by relevant examples and minimised use of redundancy; readily comprehensible content, requiring little interpretation, and where pronunciation enhances communication;.

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 9 standards

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 11A standards

1 hour Extensive reading

10A.5.3

Discuss possible scenarios in the past, present and future, based on hypothesis and supposition.

10A.5.10 Prepare and present to an audience an opinion or point of view to convince or persuade, in a series of complete utterances with appropriate use of: first and second person language; expressions to indicate degrees of certainty; connectives for reasons and consequences.

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10 hours

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 9 standards

CORE STANDARDS Grade 10A standards

10A.5.11 Summarise and evaluate persuasive texts: discuss merits, intentions, accuracy and effectiveness; distinguish fact from opinion and give reasons for views, drawing on evidence from the text; give feedback, seek clarification, weigh up options, state preferences; discuss alternatives in proposals for business, social and community purposes. 10A.6.1 10A.8.1 Independently and intensively, read texts up to 1200 words long. Extend techniques from Grade 9 for retelling ideas in ways that make sense as written texts: sequencing information, chronologically, logically, in order of importance, relevance etc; using appropriate tenses and connectives (e.g. for narrating or instructing). 11A.5.9

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 11A standards

Summarise and evaluate persuasive texts and presentations, distinguishing fact from opinion, seeking clarification, giving relevant feedback, discussing merits, issues, options, preferences and proposing alternatives.

10A.8.6

Use common word-processing software such as Microsoft Word to plan, compose, edit and present own writing:

10A.9.3

Drawing on experience of reading, compose information texts which present information based on personal knowledge or research, showing ability to: construct a plan in the form of notes, a summary, a flow-chart, concept map etc. showing the main elements and the connections between them, as a basis for writing; synthesise information from two written sources; extend ability from Grade 9 to select vocabulary and typical language to suit the purpose including a range of connectives for addition, contrast, reason, purpose, result, condition, concession; enhance precision of writing through using a wide range of quantifying words and expressions; use ICT to organise and present the text attractively.

11A.9.3

Drawing on experience of reading, compose information texts which present information based on personal knowledge or research.

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10 hours
10A.7.7

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 9 standards

Read and understand a variety of persuasive texts presenting and arguing for a particular point of view: understand how persuasive arguments are typically organised an opening statement, a sequence of supporting arguments, reiteration of the case to persuade. 10A.9.4

CORE STANDARDS Grade 10A standards

From Grade 9, extend writing of persuasive texts, which argue for or against a particular view on an issue of topical, or personal interest, in a variety of forms: use titles and introductory statements to capture the readers attention and win sympathy for the arguments; articulate a clear position in an introduction; provide supporting arguments (e.g. as points plus elaboration); support points using personal views, anecdotes and evidence as appropriate; conclude by reiterating or summarising; use ICT to organise and present persuasive writing to particular audiences use formatting to capture interest and emphasise key messages, structure points and paragraphs, illustrate, compare. 11A.9.4

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 11A standards

From Grade 10 Advanced, extend writing of persuasive texts.

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Activities
Objectives
4 hours Describing a process Students are able to: understand and respond to descriptions and explanations of processes; identify detail accurately and with sufficient precision to re-use without error; understand homographs; present a description of a process of several steps that is related to study in other subjects, using the passive voice; compose information texts which present information based on personal knowledge or research; sequence information chronologically or logically in order of importance or relevance; use appropriate tenses and connectives.

Unit 10A.6
Possible teaching activities
Introduce the topic of recycling by asking students what happens to the rubbish they throw away each day (e.g. plastic water bottles, drink cans, paper). Introduce key vocabulary, for example: waste, rubbish, garbage (AE), refuse, dispose, recycle, biodegradable, crush, melt, landfill. Highlight stress on the first syllable for the noun refuse and contrast with the verb to refuse. Compare pronunciation and meaning. Elicit more examples of homographs from students, for example: content, minute, etc. In pairs, students write sample sentences showing the different meanings of the word. Students listen to a description of what happens to household waste in the UK. As they listen, they complete a flowchart or table to show the steps of the process. Elicit from students a description of the recycling process and make notes for each stage on the board, recording the key nouns, verbs and other important information. Notes Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Students use the notes to identify the key features in describing a process, which may include: logically ordered steps to describe or explain; vocabulary to suit the purpose; frequent use of the passive voice; general statements using zero article; use of present tense; use of connectives signalling time, and logical or causal relations; use of a range of subordinating conjunctions for addition, contrast, reason, purpose, result, condition, concession. Review use of passive voice. Students complete a gapped text about recycling in which the gaps focus on verb forms. Students read a narrative text about the families who live on the waste tips in Cairo or Manila and identify the steps in the recycling process. Students compare and contrast recycling in the two countries using subordinating conjunctions to show similarities and differences. The Internet has many excellent teaching and learning resources on the topic of recycling. Links to many of these. can be found through: www.recylcezone.org.uk

Notes
Point out words that are more commonly used in American English (e.g. garbage).

School resources
This column is blank for schools to note their own resources (e.g. textbooks, worksheets).

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Objectives

Possible teaching activities

Highlight homophones, homographs and/or words that change pronunciation between noun and verb forms as they arise in the texts, for example: homophone: waste/waist, sauce/source; homograph: refuse; words that change pronunciation between noun and verb forms: increase (v) / increase (n). Explain to students that they are going to study water and what happens to waste water in Qatar. Elicit how they might find information (e.g. call or write to the water authority, ask a science teacher, look up on the Internet). Divide the class into groups. Each group examines one source of information and prepares to report back to the class. In their groups, students examine the information they have collected and propose headings for collating the information. Students prepare to present their information with the class, using the agreed headings as an outline. They rehearse the presentation, paying attention to use of tenses and cohesive devices. Groups take turns to present their information. As each group presents, the others make notes under the agreed headings. They compare information, asking questions to seek clarification or more information as necessary. Using their notes, students prepare an information text to explain what happens to waste water. Students edit their first draft using the list of features developed above.

Notes

School resources

Useful information on waste water can be found at: www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/ waste_water.htm www.bambooweb.com/articles/ w/a/Waste.html Useful information on recycling can be found at: www.bambooweb.com/articles/r/e/ Recycling.html www.epa.gov/recyclecity

2 hours Making a presentation Students are able to: summarise and evaluate persuasive texts with a discussion of their merits and effectiveness; prepare and present to an audience an opinion or point of view to convince or persuade.

Review the functions of suggesting, warning and talking about obligation by having students match sample sentences to their function. Highlight use of tenses, etc. Introduce the three Rs of waste management: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. In groups, students briefly discuss what they think the words mean. Present a text intended to encourage people to recycle household waste. Students read the text and identify the purpose and the intended audience. They complete comprehension tasks such as matching numbers (percentages, fractions, etc.) to nouns/noun phrases from the text, and answering true/false questions. Students discuss the effectiveness of the text, drawing attention to what they found interesting, informative, memorable, humorous, etc.

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Objectives

Possible teaching activities

Students identify the organisation of the text, noting: use of titles and introductory statements to capture the readers attention; articulation of a clear position in the introduction; provision of supporting arguments, using, as appropriate personal views or anecdotes, speculation about consequences, factual evidence, reference to the views of others, authoritative opinion; reiteration or summary of the authors position in the conclusion. Present students with a fictitious situation such as: it is a long hot summer in Britain and water levels in the reservoirs are alarmingly low. Britain is in a state of national emergency. In whole class work arrangement, brainstorm the possible consequences of the water shortage. Students use a range of structures to express future possibility (e.g. will/wont, may, might). For example: People wont be able to water their gardens so all their flowers and vegetables will die. They might not be able to clean the streets so theyll become very dirty and full of rats. Tell students that, owing to the water shortage, they have been asked to develop a campaign to educate young children (1215 years old) about saving water. In groups, students must work together to: identify the messages they want to give; develop a poster; develop a presentation based on the poster to urge young people to use less water. Before students begin preparation, brainstorm the criteria for evaluating the presentations. For example, write two sentence stubs on the board: Presentations should be Presentations should have In groups, students brainstorm a list of adjectives or adjectival clauses to complete the sentences. For example: Presentations should be clear in good English memorable supported by facts humorous Presentations should have a clear introduction practical ideas

Notes

School resources

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Objectives

Possible teaching activities

Students prepare their presentations by researching facts about water usage and by brainstorming ways in which people could reduce the amount of water they use. Presentations should also include descriptions of possible scenarios in the present and the future, based on hypothesis and supposition, using first and second conditionals and variations with unless, provided (that), can, could, may and might. Each member of the group should be active in both preparing and delivering the presentation. Groups take turns to make their presentations. Other students evaluate the presentations according to the agreed criteria. Encourage children to visit English-language websites and play online games related to recycling.

Notes

School resources

An online crossword to revise or consolidate vocabulary on the topic of recycling can be found at: www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/kids/ games/crossword/index.htm

1 hour Persuasive writing Students are able to: write short persuasive texts arguing for or against a particular view on an issue of topical or personal interest; use common wordprocessing software to plan, compose, edit and present own writing. 2 hours Simulation Students are able to: prepare and present to an audience an opinion or point of view to convince or persuade, in a series of complete utterances.

Review the layout of the reading text used in the previous activity. Using the text as a model, students work in groups to discuss an outline for a letter to a newspaper persuading British people to reduce the amount of water they use. Before they begin, students identify criteria for evaluating their writing with particular reference to its purpose (to inform and persuade) and the intended audience (newspaper readers). Students write their essays individually, using ICT to organise and present their work. The task could be started in class and completed for homework.

Students read a persuasive text about the need to reduce packaging. They complete comprehension tasks to identify the purpose of the text, the intended audience, and the main and supporting details. They note the organisation of the text and the use of persuasive language. Students work in groups of 45. They imagine they are part of a marketing team for a large company and have been asked to design a name, a label and packaging for a new product (e.g. a shampoo or washing powder). They brainstorm the information to include (e.g. contents, quantity, ingredients) for the packaging. Revise typical language features of a persuasive presentation, including: first and second person language; expressions to indicate degrees of certainty; connectives for reasons and consequences. Groups take turns to present their ideas to the rest of the class. They justify their decisions and respond to questions. Students use agreed criteria to vote for the best presentation.

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Objectives
1 hour Extensive reading Students are able to: read extensively from graded readers and other appropriately levelled texts in 2500 key word range, in a variety of genres and organised in paragraphs and chapters.

Possible teaching activities

Students read a book from a range of graded or appropriately levelled readers within the 2500+ key word range. They may be given time to read their book in class and reading should be set for homework. Set a time within which students should complete a certain number of pages or chapters of the book and an activity that shows their understanding of the book. Activities will depend on the content of the book and can include: writing a book review asking for a summary and their opinion of the story and/or characters; responding to questions to show understanding of the main ideas; completing a table, graph or other diagram; language-focus work (e.g. tense, use of adjectives); role-playing characters in the book; writing a letter as if from a character in the book; developing a story map and illustrations.

Notes

School resources

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Assessment
Examples of assessment tasks and questions
Listening Students listen to a text describing a process (e.g. how glass or paper is recycled) and demonstrate comprehension by labelling a diagram, drawing a flowchart, etc. In small groups, students discuss ways that they could reduce the amount of waste they generate at home and at school and agree on three action points.

Unit 10A.6
Notes
Listening carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Speaking carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Assessment scales should include both accuracy and fluency criteria. Reading carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade.

School resources

Speaking

Reading

Students read a persuasive text connected to the topic (e.g. a newspaper article about the use of packaging manufacturers), and demonstrate understanding by answering multiple-choice or true/false questions. Students write a letter of approximately 250 words for a school magazine to encourage students to reduce waste.

Writing

Writing carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade.

96 | Qatar English scheme of work | Grade 10A | Unit 10A.6 | Recycling

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