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Worksheet Grade 7 English Language Arts

Merridale's Earthy Tap Water: Summary and Evidence

A grade 7 ELA worksheet in which students read a fictional utility notice and a resident's letter, cite evidence, sort fact from opinion, and write an objective summary.

Objectives

  1. Students will quote specific sentences from an informational notice to support an answer.
  2. Students will distinguish a statement of fact from a statement of opinion in a letter.
  3. Students will write a three-sentence objective summary that leaves out personal opinion.

Vocabulary

Reservoir
A human-made lake, usually created by a dam, that stores water for later. Reservoirs supply cities and farms and help control floods.

Also: objective summary, evidence, opinion, taste and odor, algae

Teacher overview

Late in the summer, some water systems that draw from lakes get calls about tap water that tastes or smells like dirt or freshly cut grass. The cause is usually a compound released by algae, and it is a taste problem rather than a safety problem, which makes it a useful case for teaching students to separate what a text states from what a reader assumes. This worksheet pairs a notice from the fictional Merridale Water Department with a short letter from a resident who has drawn a different conclusion. Students quote the notice, sort fact from opinion, and write an objective summary.

Merridale's Earthy Tap Water: Summary and Evidence — Grade 7 English Language Arts
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Read both texts, then answer the items that follow.

Text A: Notice from the Merridale Water Department (fictional)

To Merridale customers: Some of you have called about a taste or smell in your tap water. You may have described it as earthy, musty, or like fresh dirt. We want to explain what is happening.

Merridale draws its water from Merridale Reservoir. Every August, the lake warms and algae grow near the surface. Some kinds of algae release a compound that people can taste and smell at very low levels. The human nose is unusually good at finding it. Many people notice it long before any instrument would.

The water is safe to drink. This compound is not harmful, and it is not a sign of bacteria in the water. Our required tests this month all met state and federal standards. We will keep testing on our normal schedule and will tell you at once if anything changes.

We have started feeding powdered activated carbon at the plant. Carbon holds on to the compound and carries it out of the water. The change should reduce the taste within two to three weeks. It will not remove the taste overnight.

If the taste bothers you, chill a pitcher of tap water in the refrigerator. Cold water carries less smell to your nose. Boiling will not help, because heat does not break this compound down.

Text B: Letter to the Merridale Weekly (fictional)

I have lived here for twenty years, and this is the worst our water has ever been. My kitchen smells like a wet basement. Nobody should have to drink this. If the water tastes like dirt, then the water is not safe, and the department should say so instead of hiding behind test results. The department clearly waited too long to act. I have started buying bottled water for my family, and my neighbors should do the same. -- R. Okonjo

Items

  1. According to Text A, what is causing the taste and smell in Merridale's water?
  2. Copy the sentence from Text A that states whether the water is safe to drink.
  3. What two things does Text A tell residents to do, and not do, if the taste bothers them at home?
  4. Text A says the problem appears every August. Using one detail from the text, explain why the taste shows up in late summer rather than in March.
  5. Text B claims that if the water tastes like dirt, the water is not safe. Copy a sentence from Text A other than the one you used in item 2 that contradicts that claim, and explain how it does so.
  6. Find one statement in Text B that is an opinion rather than a fact, and explain how you can tell.
  7. Explain the difference between a taste problem and a safety problem. Use at least one quotation from Text A in your answer.
  8. Write an objective summary of Text A in exactly three sentences. Report the cause, the safety finding, and the plan. Do not include your own opinion.
  9. Based on Text A, what should a resident expect over the next three weeks, and why will the change not happen sooner?
  10. A neighbor tells you she plans to boil her water to get rid of the taste. Using only Text A, write one or two sentences explaining what you would tell her.

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: Algae in Merridale Reservoir. Text A explains that the lake warms every August, algae grow near the surface, and some kinds release a compound that people can taste and smell at very low levels.
  2. Answer: "The water is safe to drink." Accept the full sentence, and accept students who also quote the following sentence about the compound not being harmful.
  3. Answer: Chill a pitcher of tap water in the refrigerator, and do not bother boiling it. Text A gives the chilling tip and states that boiling will not help because heat does not break the compound down.
  4. Answer: Because the lake warms in late summer and algae grow near the surface then. Students should cite the sentence about August warming rather than reasoning from outside knowledge.
  5. Answer: Accept either "This compound is not harmful, and it is not a sign of bacteria in the water" or "Our required tests this month all met state and federal standards." A workable explanation notes that taste and smell are not the measures the department uses to decide whether the water is safe.
  6. Answer: Accept any opinion sentence with a sound explanation, such as "this is the worst our water has ever been" or "my neighbors should do the same." A workable explanation notes that the statement expresses a judgment or a recommendation that cannot be checked against a record, unlike the test results named in Text A.
  7. Answer: A taste problem changes how water smells or tastes without making it unsafe, while a safety problem means the water could make someone sick. Look for a quotation such as "The water is safe to drink" or "This compound is not harmful" used as support.
  8. Answer: Accept any accurate three-sentence summary with no opinion, such as: algae in Merridale Reservoir release a compound each August that gives the tap water an earthy taste and smell; the department reports that the water is safe and that this month's required tests met standards; the plant has begun feeding powdered activated carbon, which should reduce the taste within two to three weeks. Deduct for summaries that add judgments about the department.
  9. Answer: The taste should fade but not disappear right away. Text A says the carbon treatment should reduce the taste within two to three weeks and states plainly that it will not remove the taste overnight.
  10. Answer: Boiling will not remove the taste, because Text A says heat does not break this compound down. Accept answers that add the chilling suggestion as a better option.

Differentiation

Support

Give these students a copy of Text A with the safety sentences already highlighted, and let them answer items 1 through 5 by copying and labeling the sentence they used. Provide a two-column chart headed "Says it in the text" and "I decided this myself" for item 6.

Extension

Ask students to write a short reply to the letter writer that stays polite, quotes Text A twice, and acknowledges one reasonable part of the complaint before answering it. The reply should not claim that the writer's frustration is unreasonable.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "earthy," "musty," "reservoir," "objective," and "summary" with pictures and simple definitions, and let students smell a jar of damp soil so the described odor has a referent. Provide the sentence frame "Text A says '___,' so I know that ___" for the evidence items.