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This unit integrates humanities and social sciences (HASS) with English, focusing on sustainability, environmental care, and persuasive communication. It engages Year 3 students by helping them understand their role in caring for the environment while developing persuasive speaking and writing skills. By the end of the unit (5 lessons), students will be empowered to express their ideas effectively, advocate for sustainability, and inspire others to take action for a more sustainable future.

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“We are learning to understand how to care for our environment and share our ideas to persuade others to help.”

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Students will explore the idea of caring for the environment, including identifying human impacts and ways we can help. They will learn how to share their ideas by creating short persuasive texts and spoken presentations.

Students will:

Understand what sustainability and environmental care mean.

Identify a problem in their environment (e.g., littering, water use).

Suggest a solution.

Write and present a short persuasive message.

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✓ Explain what sustainability means
✓ I can describe a way people affect the environment.
✓ I can suggest a way to care for the environment.
✓ I can use persuasive words in my writing and speaking.

✓ I can plan and share a short speech

✓ Write persuasive texts about sustainability

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This unit is designed to meet specific standards in the Australian Curriculum for Year 3 students, while also fostering the development of critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, literacy, and personal and social capabilities. It also integrates a cross-curriculum priority of sustainability, focusing on environmental care and persuasive communication.

English (Year 3)

ACELY1682: Plan, draft, and publish persuasive texts, demonstrating understanding of text structure and language features.

ACELY1687: Plan, rehearse, and deliver short presentations on familiar and new topics.

HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) (Year 3)

ACHASSK075: The significance of natural environments and how people interact with them.

ACHASSI060: Pose questions about people’s actions, and evaluate their impact on the environment.

General Capabilities

Critical and Creative Thinking: Pose questions and seek solutions.

Ethical Understanding: Understand rights and responsibilities.

Literacy: Use language features to persuade.

Personal and Social Capability: Build teamwork and communication skills.

Cross-Curriculum Priority

Sustainability: Systems, world views, and future actions.

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- Monitor student contributions during class discussions
- Check understanding through questioning

- Group discussion contributions.

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Students will write and present a 1-minute persuasive speech about an action that helps the environment (e.g., “We should plant more trees at school”).

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Introduction to sustainability and the human impact on the environment.

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Students will understand the concept of sustainability and why it’s important for the Earth’s future.

Students will identify human actions that harm the Earth and begin to think about how they can make a positive difference.

Students will participate in discussions and contribute to the creation of class charts.

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Class discussion “What do we love about the Earth?”
Prompt questions:

What things do we enjoy doing on Earth? (e.g., walking in nature, playing outside, enjoying animals, eating fruits from trees, etc.)

What are some special things we want to protect on Earth? (e.g., forests, oceans, animals)

Write their answers on the board to get them thinking about the positive aspects of Earth and their personal connection to it.
(For example: “The ocean,” “The trees,” “Animals,” “The sky,” “Clean air”).

Watch the video “what is sustainability?”

Have a class discussion on thoughts of the definition and how similar they were to their initial thoughts.

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Watch this Scene from ‘The Lorax’ and as a class discuss the environmental messages and what happened in this scene.

Some starter questions could be:

1. Why do you think the Once-ler says, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better”? What do you think this means for the Earth?

Encourage students to reflect on the idea that individual actions can have a big impact on the environment.

2. How does the Once-ler’s message to Ted show that it’s important for everyone to care about nature?

This question prompts students to consider the responsibility each person has to protect the Earth, as the Once-ler urges Ted to take action.

3. What do you think Ted can do with the last Truffula seed, and how does that connect to the idea of caring for the Earth?

This question encourages students to think about the power of one person (like Ted) to make a difference, symbolized by the seed, and how caring for the Earth starts with small actions.

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Dr. Seuss' the Lorax (2012) - Unless Scene (8/10) | Movieclips

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Students create a sustainable action plan for their classroom or home.

Example :

Reduce Waste:

I will bring my lunch in a reusable container to avoid using plastic bags.

I will use both sides of paper before recycling it.

Save Water:

I will turn off the tap while brushing my teeth.

I will take shorter showers to save water.

Recycle:

I will separate paper, plastic, and cans in the recycling bin at school and at home.

I will encourage my family to recycle more often.

Save Energy:

I will turn off lights when I leave a room.

I will unplug electronics when I’m not using them to save energy.

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Identify problems that harm the environment and suggest solutions to help protect the Earth.

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Students will identify environmental problems that affect our local area and the planet.

Students will brainstorm possible solutions to these environmental problems.

Students will design a mini-poster to present a solution for an environmental issue, demonstrating their understanding of how we can care for the Earth.

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Introduction to Environmental Problems and Solutions

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Introduction to Environmental Problems and Solutions

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Start with a class discussion about environmental problems:

Prompt: “Can anyone think of a problem that hurts the Earth?”
Write down student ideas on the board (e.g., littering, pollution, deforestation, waste of water, endangered animals).

Introduce the concept of solutions:

Prompt: “Now, how can we fix these problems? What can we do to help the Earth?”
Share some possible solutions (e.g., recycling, using reusable bags, saving water) and add them to the list. Make it clear that solutions should be realistic and something we can start doing right now.

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Students work in small groups to investigate sustainable practices in their school. They can photograph examples and non-examples of sustainable practices.

After have a class discussion about each groups findings and solutions or improvements for the practices.

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At the end of the 5 lessons students will be assessed on what they have learnt.

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Introduce persuasive language and its role in convincing others.

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Identify and understand the use of persuasive words and phrases.

Recognise how persuasive language can influence opinions and actions.

Apply persuasive language in writing to advocate for environmental care.

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Discussion: Begin by explaining what persuasive language is and its purpose.

Modeling: Write a simple persuasive sentence on the board, such as “We should plant more trees at school.” Highlight the persuasive words and discuss their impact.

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As a class, compile the list of persuasive words and phrases onto a “Persuasive Power Words” wall.

Encourage students to refer to this wall during writing activities to enhance their persuasive language skills.

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Present students with this image depicting ocean pollution. Ask student's to write a persuasive sentence convincing others to care for the ocean.

Example:

“If we continue to pollute our oceans, countless marine animals will suffer and die, and future generations will inherit a planet devoid of the beauty and resources our seas once provided.”

Share with the class and highlight the persuasive words in the sentence.

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Students will plan and draft a persuasive, 1-minute speech encouraging sustainable actions or proposing ways to help the Earth.

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Identify a sustainability issue or environmental problem they care about.

Use a graphic organizer to logically develop their argument.

Draft a clear, persuasive speech that calls their audience to action.

Practice giving and receiving feedback through peer-sharing.

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Students will fill out a graphic organizer to map out their speech ideas clearly.

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Using their organizer, students will write a persuasive speech draft.

Guidance:

Start strong: Hook the audience with a startling fact, a short story, or a bold statement.

Explain clearly: Why is this issue urgent and personal?

Offer hope: Show that their solution can make a real difference.

End powerfully: Use emotional, confident language to push for action.

Reminders:

Keep it about 130–150 words (around 1 minute of speaking).

Stay passionate and convincing, but also respectful and realistic.

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Here is an example to show students. Explain to students that it’s not only pervasive words that matter but tones in voices.

“Plastic is hurting our oceans and animals. If we don’t help, there could be more plastic than fish! We can fix it by using reusable bags and saying no to plastic straws. Let’s start today and keep our oceans clean!”

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Students will pair up and read their drafts aloud to each other.

Did they say what the problem is?

Did they give a good idea to fix the problem?

Did they tell you something you can do to help?

Did they sound excited and make you want to help too?

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Students will rehearse their speeches in pairs or small groups to practice speaking clearly and confidently. They will then present their speeches to the class and give and receive constructive feedback using the “Two Stars and a Wish” method.

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Practice my speech with a partner or small group, improving my confidence and delivery.

Speak clearly and make eye contact with my audience during my speech.

Give and receive helpful feedback to improve my speech.

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Students will practice their speeches with a partner or in a small group to build confidence and improve delivery.

Students will refer to this checklist to ensure all requirements are met.

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Students will present their 1-minute speeches to the class, practicing public speaking skills and gaining confidence.

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Students and the teacher will give positive and constructive feedback to each speaker, focusing on what went well and one thing to improve.

Instructions for Feedback:
After each student presents, the teacher and classmates will give two stars (two things that went well) and one wish (one idea to make it even better).

Example feedback:

“Two Stars”:

“You spoke clearly and made good eye contact!”

“I liked how you used your voice to sound excited.”

“One Wish”:
“Next time, try not to rush through your words so we can hear every part.”

“Maybe take a little pause after your opening to let the audience think about it.”

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At the end of the 5 lessons students do a self assessment.

Reflection rubric

Students highlight how they felt they succeeded throughout the 5 weeks.

Reflection questions

What is one important thing you learned about helping the Earth?

What part of your speech are you most proud of?

What is one thing you would do even better next time?

How will you keep caring for the Earth in your own life?