Writing prompt Grade 3 English Language Arts
Explain How Salterly Cleans the Water It Has Used
A grade 3 informative writing prompt with five plant steps from a fictional town, a five-row planning table, a full exemplar, and a four-level rubric.
Objectives
- Students will write an informative paragraph explaining a process in order.
- Students will use order words to connect the steps they choose.
- Students will close with a sentence telling where the water goes.
Vocabulary
Key words: screen, settle, grit, microbe, clump
Teacher overview
Students write a short informative piece explaining, to a younger reader, what happens to the water a town has already used. The background gives five plant steps in order and in plain language, so the writing work is choosing, ordering, and joining rather than researching. Third graders very often assume that used water runs straight back to the river with nothing done to it, and a good number believe it returns through the same pipe that brought the drinking water in. The five steps below contradict both ideas directly, and the closing sentence of the exemplar is the place to check whether a student has taken that in.
Prompt
Read this first.
What happens to the water the town of Salterly uses
Salterly is a small town beside a river. Every sink, tub, and toilet in town drains into pipes under the streets. Those pipes slope downhill. They all meet at one low building near the river. People call it the water plant. Older signs on the fence still say sewer plant.
Step one: the screen. A metal screen stands where the water comes in. It catches rags, wipes, and sticks. A worker rakes the screen clean every shift.
Step two: the first tank. The water sits still in a big round tank. Heavy grit sinks to the bottom. Grease floats to the top. Workers scrape away both.
Step three: the air tank. Air bubbles up through the water. Tiny living things called microbes live in this tank. They eat the dirt that is still in the water. As they eat, they grow and clump together.
Step four: the second tank. The water sits still again. The clumps of microbes are heavy now, so they sink. Clear water slides off the top.
Step five: the last check. Ms. Quilty tests the water before it leaves the building. If the test looks right, the water goes back into the river. If it does not, the water goes back for more cleaning.
Your writing task.
Write a paragraph that explains to a second grader what happens to the water the town of Salterly has used. Tell at least three steps, and tell them in the right order. Use the order words first, next, then, and last. End with one sentence that tells where the water goes when the plant is finished with it.
Planning Organizer
Fill in every row before you write.
| Part of my paragraph | What I will write |
|---|---|
| Topic sentence: what this paragraph is about | |
| First step I picked, and what happens there | |
| Next step I picked, and what happens there | |
| Then the step after that, and what happens there | |
| Last sentence: where the water goes at the end |
Word bank. screen, rake, tank, grit, grease, sink, float, bubbles, microbes, clump, test, river
Order words. first, next, then, after that, last
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
The water that people in the town of Salterly use does not go back to the river dirty. It goes to a plant near the river, and the plant cleans it in steps. First, the water runs into a metal screen. The screen catches rags, wipes, and sticks so they cannot go any farther. Next, the water sits still in a big round tank. Heavy grit sinks to the bottom, and grease floats to the top. Workers scrape both of those away. Then the water goes to the air tank. Air bubbles up through it, and tiny living things called microbes eat the dirt that is left. The microbes grow and clump together, and the clumps sink in the next tank. Last, Ms. Quilty tests the water. If the test looks right, the clean water goes back into the river. If it does not look right, the water goes back through the plant again.
Rubric
| Criterion | Beginning | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topic sentence | No topic sentence, or the first sentence names a step instead of the subject. | A topic sentence is there but is very general, such as "This is about water." | A clear topic sentence names the used water and the plant that cleans it. | The topic sentence names the subject and also tells the reader why the steps are coming. |
| Steps and order | Fewer than three steps, or the steps are out of order. | Three steps appear, but one is out of order or is only named with no detail. | Three or more steps appear in the correct order, each with what happens there. | Four or more steps appear in order, and the writing shows how one step sets up the next. |
| Order words | No order words are used. | One order word is used, or the same one is repeated. | Three different order words connect the steps, such as first, next, and then. | Order words are varied and placed so the paragraph reads smoothly aloud. |
| Ending and word choice | No ending sentence, and words from the background are copied in long strings. | An ending sentence appears but does not say where the water goes. | The ending says the water goes back into the river, and two or more word-bank words are used correctly. | The ending says where the water goes and adds the check that decides it, with word-bank words used in the student's own sentences. |
Differentiation
Support
Give these students a planning table with the topic sentence already written and with the three step rows narrowed to steps one, two, and five. Provide the sentence starters "First, the water ___," "Next, the water ___," and "Last, the water ___." Accept a labeled drawing of the five steps beside the paragraph, and allow dictation for the first draft.
Extension
Ask students to add a short second paragraph explaining what would happen if the screen at step one were missing, using only what the background says the screen catches and what the later tanks do. The added paragraph must stay inside the given steps rather than inventing new equipment.
ELL supports
Walk the five steps physically before writing, with five labeled stations around the room and a paper cup of water carried from one to the next. Post the order words on a chart with a numbered arrow beside each. Let students say each step aloud to a partner before writing it, and allow the planning table to be filled in with drawings and single words that the student expands into sentences during drafting.
Extensions
Students can rewrite their paragraph as a short sign for the plant fence, keeping only the sentences a person walking past would need, and then compare the sign with the paragraph to see what had to be cut. Choosing what to leave out gives students practice with a part of informative writing that the paragraph task does not otherwise reach.