Writing prompt Grade 4 English Language Arts
Bottled or Tap Water? The Whitfield Family's Opinion Prompt
A grade 4 opinion writing prompt where students help a fictional family decide between bottled and tap water, using cost, waste, and safety information as evidence.
Objectives
- Students will state a clear opinion on whether the Whitfield family should switch from bottled to tap water.
- Students will support their opinion with at least two reasons and information from the background material.
Vocabulary
Key words: opinion, reason, tap water, bottled water, reusable
Teacher overview
The Whitfield family buys cases of bottled water every week, a habit they started years ago and have never really questioned. This prompt asks students to consider whether that habit still makes sense, using background information about cost, plastic waste, and how tap water is tested, and to state their own opinion in an organized piece of writing that gives reasons for their view.
Prompt
Background: The Whitfield family is fictional, used for this prompt. They buy bottled water every week. They have always done it. They like grabbing a bottle on the way out the door. A case of 24 bottles costs about $6 each week. That cost repeats all year. Tap water is different. Public water systems must test their tap water. This is required by law. The results go to the community. Most families can learn what is in their tap water for free. Each plastic bottle gets thrown away. It goes to a landfill. Or, if recycled, it still takes energy to process. A reusable bottle costs about $10, one time. The family could fill it from the tap. It can be used for years.
Writing task: Should the Whitfield family keep buying bottled water? Or should they switch to tap water in reusable bottles? Write an opinion piece. State your view. Support it with two reasons and facts from above.
Planning Organizer
| Category | Your notes |
|---|---|
| My opinion | |
| Reason 1 and evidence | |
| Reason 2 and evidence | |
| Closing sentence |
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 Whitfield family should switch from bottled water to tap water in reusable bottles. Tap water is a smarter choice for this family because it saves money and cuts down on plastic waste.
One reason is the cost. The background material says the family spends about $6 every week on a case of bottled water, but a reusable bottle only costs about $10 one time and can be used for years. Over a whole year, buying bottled water every week costs much more than buying one reusable bottle a single time.
Another reason is safety and waste. Public water systems are required to test their tap water regularly and share the results with the community, so the Whitfield family does not need bottled water just to feel safe about what they are drinking. On top of that, every plastic bottle they throw away either sits in a landfill or has to be recycled, which still uses energy. Switching to a reusable bottle means the family stops adding new plastic bottles to that problem every single week.
For these reasons, I believe the Whitfield family should stop buying bottled water and start refilling reusable bottles from the tap instead. It would save them money and create much less plastic waste, without giving up anything they actually need.
Rubric:
| Criterion | Emerging | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion | No clear opinion is stated | States an opinion but it is unclear or changes partway through | States one clear, consistent opinion | States a clear opinion and briefly previews the reasons that will follow |
| Reasons & information | No reasons from the background material are used | Restates one piece of background information without explaining how it supports the opinion | Uses at least one piece of background information and explains how it supports the opinion | Uses two or more pieces of background information and explains how each one supports the opinion |
| Organization & conventions | Ideas are disconnected; frequent errors interfere with meaning | Some organization is present; errors are noticeable but do not block meaning | Opinion, reasons, and a closing statement are clearly organized; few errors | Clear paragraph structure with a strong closing statement that restates the opinion; very few errors |
Differentiation
Support
Provide sentence starters for each Planning Organizer row ("I think the Whitfield family should/should not ___ because the background material says ___.") and allow the closing sentence to simply restate the opinion sentence with one word changed.
Extension
Ask students to add a third reason to their opinion piece by researching, using only the background material provided, what happens to a plastic bottle that is not recycled, and explain how that detail strengthens their argument.
ELL supports
Pre-teach "opinion," "reason," and "reusable" with simple visuals (a thumbs-up icon for opinion, a bottle with an arrow curving back to a tap for reusable) before the writing task, and allow the Planning Organizer to be completed with short phrases instead of full sentences before drafting begins.