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Worksheet Grade 6 English Language Arts

Whitfield's PFAS Notice: A Grade 6 Claim and Evidence Worksheet

A grade 6 ELA worksheet using a fictional town's PFAS water notice to practice finding a claim, sorting reasons from evidence, and writing an argument.

Objectives

  1. Students will identify a claim and distinguish reasons from evidence in an informational notice.
  2. Students will write a claim and support it with reasons backed by evidence from the text.

Vocabulary

PFAS
A large family of human-made chemicals used in things like nonstick pans, waterproof fabric, and firefighting foam. They are called forever chemicals because they take a very long time to break down.
Contaminant
A contaminant is anything in water that should not be there, whether it is a germ, a chemical, or too much of a natural mineral, that could make the water unsafe or unpleasant to use. Treatment plants are built specifically to find and remove contaminants before water reaches the tap.

Also: claim, evidence, reason

Teacher overview

This worksheet gives students a short, plain-language water notice from the fictional town of Whitfield and asks them to work with it as an argument. Students find the notice's claim, tell reasons apart from evidence, and then write a claim of their own with support. The scenario uses PFAS, a real family of contaminants, but every local detail and result is invented for this worksheet. The 4 parts per trillion limits for PFOA and PFOS come from an April 2024 EPA rule that gives water systems until 2029 to comply; in May 2026 EPA proposed letting eligible systems apply for an exemption to 2031, and that proposal was not final as of September 2026.

Whitfield's PFAS Notice: A Grade 6 Claim and Evidence Worksheet — Grade 6 English Language Arts
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Read this notice from the town of Whitfield, then answer the questions. The town is fictional, and its test result is made up for this worksheet.

Whitfield Water Notice. Our routine testing found a group of chemicals called PFAS in Whitfield's drinking water. PFAS do not break down easily and can build up in the body over many years. The federal limit for two common types, PFOA and PFOS, is 4 parts per trillion each. Whitfield's most recent test found PFOA at 18 parts per trillion, which is above that limit. The water is safe for washing and cleaning. To lower the level, the town should install a granular activated carbon filter, which soaks up PFAS as water passes through it. We ask residents to support funding this filter at the next town meeting.

  1. In your own words, what is the main problem the notice is telling families about?
  2. A claim is a statement the writer wants you to accept. What is the notice's main claim about what the town should do?
  3. Identify one reason the notice gives to support that claim.
  4. Identify one piece of evidence in the notice. Explain how it is different from a reason.
  5. Sort these two statements. Which one is a reason, and which one is evidence? (a) "The water is not safe to leave as it is." (b) "The test came back at 18 parts per trillion, above the limit of 4."
  6. The notice says the town should install a granular activated carbon filter. Is that the claim, a reason, or evidence? Explain your choice.
  7. Write one clear claim sentence stating what you think Whitfield should do next. Use the word "should."
  8. Give two reasons that support your claim from item 7. Back each reason with a detail or number from the notice.
  9. A neighbor says, "It is only a few parts per trillion, so there is nothing to worry about." Using the notice, write one sentence that uses evidence to show why the level still matters.
  10. Explain why the test result compared to the limit is stronger evidence than a statement like "the water tastes fine."

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key
  1. Answer: PFAS chemicals were found in the town's drinking water above the federal limit, and PFAS can build up in the body over time. Accept any answer that names the contamination and that it is above the limit.
  2. Answer: The town should install a granular activated carbon filter (and residents should support funding it). This is the statement the notice is asking people to accept and act on.
  3. Answer: Any one of: PFAS do not break down easily; PFAS can build up in the body; the level is above the federal limit. Each is a reason that supports installing the filter.
  4. Answer: The evidence is the test result of 18 parts per trillion compared with the limit of 4 parts per trillion. Evidence is a specific fact or number, while a reason explains why that fact matters.
  5. Answer: Statement (b) is evidence because it gives a specific number and limit; statement (a) is a reason because it explains why the situation calls for action.
  6. Answer: It is the claim. It is the statement the notice wants readers to accept and act on, as in item 2, while the facts about PFAS and the 18 parts per trillion result are the reasons and evidence that support it.
  7. Answer: Answers will vary. Look for one clear position using "should," such as "Whitfield should fund the carbon filter as soon as possible."
  8. Answer: Answers will vary. Each reason should connect to a notice detail, such as the 18 parts per trillion result, the limit of 4, or PFAS building up in the body.
  9. Answer: Answers will vary but should cite that 18 parts per trillion is above the limit of 4, so the level is not small compared with the standard set to protect health.
  10. Answer: Answers will vary but should note that a measured result checked against a set limit can be verified and compared, while "tastes fine" is only an opinion and PFAS has no taste, so taste cannot show whether the water meets the limit.

Differentiation

Support

Highlight the notice's claim sentence in advance and give students a two-column sorting mat labeled "Reason" and "Evidence" for items 4 and 5. Provide a claim sentence starter for item 7: "Whitfield should ___."

Extension

Ask students to rewrite the notice's request as a short letter to a town council member, adding a third reason and arranging the reasons from strongest to weakest, then explain in one sentence why they chose that order.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "claim," "evidence," "reason," and "contaminant" with simple definitions and an example unrelated to water. Allow students to answer items 1 through 6 with short phrases and to use the claim sentence starter provided in Support for item 7.