Visy Education - What Is Plastic?

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• collaboration
• communication
• community engagement
• critical thinking

Australian Curriculum (v9.0) content description:

Year 7 & 8, Science

Students learn to:

• use a particle model to describe differences between pure substances and mixtures and apply their understanding of properties of substances to separate mixtures (AC9S7U06)
• compare physical and chemical changes and identify indicators of energy change in chemical reactions (AC9S8U07).

Relevant parts of Year 7 achievement standards: Students use particle theory to explain the physical properties of substances and develop processes that separate mixtures.

Relevant parts of Year 8 achievement standards: Students classify and represent different types of matter and distinguish between physical and chemical change.

NSW Syllabus outcomes:

A student

• explains how uses of elements and compounds are influenced by scientific understanding and discoveries relating to their properties (SC4-17CW)

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Literacy.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability 

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate class discussion, oversee independent and group tasks.

UN SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

• Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.

• 1 clean, empty PET bottle
• Plastics Identification Code Cards
• Plastic Pathways Worksheet - one copy for each student
• Plastic Polymers Factsheet 
• Student Worksheet - one copy for each student

This lesson has been developed in partnership with Visy. For over 70 years, Visy has been committed to finding sustainable solutions for Australia's and New Zealand’s recyclables and helping to reduce local landfills. Visy collects, receives, and sorts paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, steel, and aluminium from households, businesses, and schools to reuse these products and re-manufacture new packaging products.

Fit Sustainability Into the Secondary Curriculum

Quick Summary: In this course, you will learn a holistic definition of sustainability, which goes beyond compost bins and solar panels and how to embed sustainability concepts to enrich your current curriculum without it being an add-on.