Writing prompt Grade 3 English Language Arts
The Car Wash at Oxbend Elementary: A Grade 3 Opinion Prompt
Students take a side on where a school club should hold its fundraising car wash, using background facts about a parking lot storm drain that runs to a creek.
Objectives
- Students will state an opinion about where a school car wash should be held.
- Students will support the opinion with two reasons that use facts from the background.
- Students will connect reasons with linking words and end with a concluding sentence.
Vocabulary
- Storm drain
- A storm drain is the grate at the edge of a street that swallows rainwater and sends it through pipes to the nearest creek or river. That water is usually not treated, so only rain belongs down the drain.
Also: opinion, reason, soak in, linking words
Teacher overview
A student club at the fictional Oxbend Elementary wants to hold a car wash to pay for library books, and the choice of where to hold it decides whether the soapy water reaches a creek or soaks into a field. The background gives students facts for both sides, since washing on grass keeps soap out of the creek while a torn-up field is a genuine cost. One misconception is worth naming before students write, which is the assumption that soapy water must itself be clean water because soap is what cleans things. The background states plainly that soap, oil, and road dirt all travel down the same drain.
Prompt
Background
The student council at Oxbend Elementary wants to buy new books for the library. The club has planned a car wash to raise the money. Families would drive to the school on a Saturday and pay to have their cars washed.
The club wants to wash the cars in the parking lot. Mr. Dunlap, the school custodian, told the club about the drain in the middle of that lot. It is a storm drain. Water that goes into it flows to Mullein Creek. Nothing cleans that water on the way. A car wash would send soap, oil, and road dirt down the drain along with the water.
Mr. Dunlap gave the club another idea. The club could wash the cars on the grass field instead. Water that lands on grass soaks into the ground. The dirt under the grass holds the soap, so it does not reach the creek.
Some parents do not like that idea. Cars on wet grass leave ruts. The field would be muddy for the soccer game the next day. The parking lot is flat and paved, and it would dry fast.
The club must pick one place.
Your writing task
Write an opinion for the club. Tell them where the car wash should be held: in the parking lot or on the grass field. Give two reasons for your opinion. Use a fact from the background with each reason. Use linking words such as because, since, and for example. End with a sentence that tells your opinion again.
Planning Organizer
Fill in every row before you start writing.
| Part of my writing | My notes |
|---|---|
| My opinion (parking lot or grass field) | |
| Reason 1 | |
| A fact from the background that goes with reason 1 | |
| Reason 2 | |
| A fact from the background that goes with reason 2 | |
| Linking words I will use | |
| My last sentence, telling my opinion again |
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Exemplar & Rubric
Exemplar response
I think the car wash should be on the grass field, not in the parking lot. My first reason is that the soapy water would not reach Mullein Creek. The background says the drain in the parking lot goes to the creek, and nothing cleans the water on the way. Grass is different, because water that lands on it soaks into the ground. The dirt under the grass holds the soap, so the soap does not reach the creek.
My second reason is that the club can still earn the money for the books. The background says families would drive to the school on a Saturday and pay to have their cars washed. Since the families pay for the wash and not for the pavement, they can still do that on the grass field. That is why the club should hold the car wash on the grass field.
Rubric
| Criterion | Beginning | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion | No place is chosen, or both are chosen | A place is named but it changes later in the writing | One place is named clearly at the start and stays the same | One place is named at the start and the ending sentence says it again in new words |
| Reasons | No reason is given | One reason is given | Two reasons are given, and each one is about the car wash choice | Two reasons are given, and each is explained in more than one sentence |
| Facts from the background | No facts from the background appear | A fact appears but is not tied to a reason | At least one reason is backed by a fact from the background | Both reasons are backed by facts from the background |
| Linking words and ending | Sentences are listed with no connecting words and no ending | One linking word is used, or the writing stops without an ending | Linking words connect reasons, and a closing sentence restates the opinion | Several linking words are used correctly, and the closing sentence adds a final thought |
Differentiation
Support
Provide the opinion sentence already written in both versions so the student chooses one and crosses out the other, then fills in only the reason rows of the organizer. Offer sentence starters for each reason: "My first reason is that ___," and "The background says ___."
Extension
Ask students to write a short note to Mr. Dunlap suggesting a third place or a change that would make their second-choice place work, such as washing cars on the pavement with a bucket that gets emptied in a sink. The note should use one fact from the background to explain why the change would help.
ELL supports
Pre-teach "opinion," "reason," "storm drain," and "soak in," and act out soaking with a sponge and a plate to show the difference between grass and pavement. Allow the organizer to be filled in with phrases and drawings before drafting, and provide the linking words on a card taped to the desk.
Extensions
The class can hold a short vote after everyone reads their writing aloud, then count how many students changed their minds and name the reason that moved them. Tracking which reason changed votes gives a concrete way to talk about what makes a reason strong.