Writing prompt Kindergarten Careers & CTE
Who Should Visit Our Class? A Ridgeway Water Job Prompt
A kindergarten opinion prompt where students hear about three water yard workers, pick one to invite to class, draw the visit, and give one reason why.
Objectives
- Students will state an opinion about which water worker should visit the class.
- Students will give one reason that supports their choice.
- Students will draw a picture of the visit that matches the worker they chose.
Vocabulary
Key words: invite, reason, opinion
Teacher overview
Kindergarten opinion writing works best when the choice is small, concrete, and about something that could actually happen. This prompt describes three workers at an invented town water yard in Ridgeway and asks each student to pick one to invite to the classroom and say why. All three are presented as good work that somebody is proud to do, because the task is to state a preference with a reason, not to rank the jobs. If your class is genuinely able to write and send one invitation afterward, say so before students choose; the writing gets noticeably more careful when the audience is real.
Prompt
Read this part aloud to the class. Read it twice.
Three people work at the Ridgeway water yard.
Otis drives the pipe truck. He digs down and fixes broken pipes. His boots get muddy.
Pearl runs the pumps. The pumps push water up to the tall tank. She listens to each pump.
Lena tests the water. She fills small jars. She checks that the water is safe to drink.
Our class can invite one of them to visit. Here is your job. Pick the worker you want to invite. Draw a picture of that worker in our room. Then tell one reason you picked that person. Your teacher can write your words for you.
Planning Organizer
Talk with a partner first. Then fill in the boxes. Your teacher can write for you.
| Box | What goes here | Write or draw here |
|---|---|---|
| My pick | The name of the worker I want to invite: Otis, Pearl, or Lena | |
| My reason | One reason I picked that worker, starting with "because" | |
| My picture | The worker in our room, with one thing from the job |
Say the whole idea out loud before you draw. Use this sentence: "I want to invite ___ because ___."
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Exemplar & Rubric
Complete exemplar response (a drawing plus dictated words, as a kindergartner would produce it):
Picture: A woman standing on the classroom rug holding three small jars, with a row of children sitting in front of her and a faucet drawn on the wall.
Dictated words: "I want to invite Lena because I want to see the little jars. I want to know if our water is clean. She can test the water from our sink."
A second acceptable exemplar, for a student who chooses the pipe truck:
Picture: A man in a hard hat standing in the classroom holding a shovel, with his truck parked outside the window and a pipe drawn in a hole.
Dictated words: "I want to invite Otis because I like the big truck. He can show us the shovel. I want to see how deep the pipe is."
Rubric
| Criterion | Emerging | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion | Names no worker, or names someone outside the three | Names a worker only after the teacher asks again | Names one of the three workers clearly and without prompting | Names the worker and the job that person does at the yard |
| Reason | Gives no reason, or repeats the worker's name as the reason | Gives a reason that has nothing to do with the job chosen | Gives one reason tied to the job, often using "because" | Gives one clear reason and adds what the class would get to see |
| Drawing and words | Drawing does not show the worker or the room; no words recorded | Drawing shows a person but no tool or setting; one word recorded | Drawing shows the worker in the room with one tool; a full sentence recorded | Drawing shows the worker, a tool, and the class watching; two or more sentences recorded |
Score each row separately. A student who dictates rather than writes can earn Advanced on every row, since this standard permits drawing and dictation.
Differentiation
Support (below grade level)
Narrow the choice to two workers instead of three and offer a pre-drawn outline of each so the student colors the one chosen. Ask for the reason orally with a forced choice, such as "Did you pick Otis because you like trucks or because you like digging?" Scribe the exact words the student says.
Extension (above grade level)
Ask these students to write the words themselves with inventive spelling, then read their sentence to a partner who chose a different worker. Have each pair name one good thing about the other person's choice, which builds toward hearing another opinion without ranking the jobs.
ELL supports
Act out each of the three jobs before reading, using a digging motion, a listening motion, and a pouring motion, and repeat the same motion whenever that worker is named. Give each student three picture cards so the choice can be made by holding one up. Accept the reason in the home language, write it down as spoken, and add the English phrase together while scribing.
Extensions
Tally the class choices on chart paper and write one short invitation together to whichever worker got the most votes, using two sentences the class dictates. Utilities and public works departments often say yes to a kindergarten visit when the request comes from the students, and the drawings make a good display for the day the visitor arrives.