Writing prompt Grade 2 Health & Consumer Science
Where Should Room 11 Clean the Fish Tank at Crowberry School?
A grade 2 health opinion prompt: should a class pour old fish tank water into its snack-time sink or the custodian's deep sink? Includes organizer, exemplar, and rubric.
Objectives
- Students will state one opinion about which sink Room 11 should use for old fish tank water.
- Students will support the opinion with two reasons about germs, splashes, or clean hands taken from the read-aloud background.
- Students will join the opinion and reasons with because and also and finish with a closing sentence.
Vocabulary
Key words: germs, custodian, splash, faucet, opinion, reason
Teacher overview
Room 11 at Crowberry School, a fictional school, keeps a class goldfish named Biscuit, and once a week the teacher, Mr. Varga, replaces some of the old tank water with fresh water. The class has to decide where the old water should be poured: into the classroom sink, where students wash their hands before snack and fill their water bottles, or into the deep sink in the custodian's closet down the hall. Students write an opinion piece that names the choice, states which sink they would use, gives two reasons joined with because and also, and closes by restating the opinion. The health content is illness prevention: water that looks clear can still carry germs, and a splash can leave those germs on a faucet that people touch before eating or drinking.
A common misconception at this age is that clear water is clean water. Fish tank water often looks clear, yet it holds fish waste and the germs that grow in it, which is why public health guidance on pet fish advises washing hands after touching tank water and keeping tank cleaning away from sinks used for food. Read the background aloud and pause after the paragraph about germs to ask the class whether anyone could tell that the tank water is clean just by looking at it. Students should come away understanding that no one can, and that the safe habit is to keep dirty water away from the places where hands and bottles are meant to get clean. Students who choose the classroom sink can still write a well-supported piece if their reasons come from the background, and the rubric scores the reasons rather than the side a student picks.
Prompt
Read aloud with your teacher.
The fish tank in Room 11
Crowberry School is a made-up school. Room 11 has a class fish. His name is Biscuit. He lives in a tank by the window.
Once a week, Biscuit needs some fresh water. Mr. Varga is the teacher. He scoops out some of the old water with a bucket. Then he pours in clean water.
The old tank water can look clear. But it is not clean. Fish poop goes into the water. The water can have germs in it. Germs are too small to see. Some germs can make people sick.
Room 11 must pick a sink for the old tank water. Here are the two sinks.
Sink 1: The classroom sink. It is at the back of Room 11. It is close to the tank. Kids wash their hands there before snack. Kids fill their water bottles there, too. The whole class could watch Mr. Varga do the job.
Sink 2: The custodian's sink. Ms. Albee is the school custodian. She keeps the school clean. Her sink is in a closet down the hall. It is big and deep. She uses it to dump mop water. No one washes hands for snack there. No one fills a water bottle there. It is a long walk with a heavy bucket, so a grown-up has to carry it.
Here are three more things to know.
- Water can splash when you pour it into a sink.
- Germs from a splash can stay on the sink and the faucet.
- Everyone who helps with the tank must wash hands with soap and water after the job.
Your writing task
Write an opinion piece about Room 11 and the fish tank water.
Tell what Room 11 has to choose. Then tell which sink you think Room 11 should use. Give two reasons. Use the word because for your first reason. Use the word also for your second reason. End with one sentence that tells your opinion again.
Planning Organizer
Fill in each box before you write. You may use words from the word bank.
Word bank: germs, splash, faucet, clean, snack, water bottle, hands, soap, close, deep
| Box | What I will write |
|---|---|
| My topic: what does Room 11 have to choose? | |
| My opinion: which sink should Room 11 use? | |
| Reason 1, with the word because | |
| A fact from the story that helps reason 1 | |
| Reason 2, with the word also | |
| A fact from the story that helps reason 2 | |
| My 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
Room 11 has a fish named Biscuit. Once a week, some of his old tank water has to go down a sink. Room 11 has to choose the classroom sink or the custodian's sink. I think Room 11 should use the custodian's sink.
Room 11 should use that sink because the tank water has germs in it. The water looks clear, but fish poop is in it. If the water splashes in the classroom sink, germs could stay on the faucet. That is the faucet where we fill our water bottles.
Also, we wash our hands at the classroom sink before snack. Our hands should get clean there. They should not pick up germs from fish water. The custodian's sink is big and deep, and it is made for dirty water. Nobody eats or drinks near it.
The walk down the hall is long, but a grown-up can carry the bucket. Keeping germs away from our snack sink is more important. That is why Room 11 should use the custodian's sink.
Rubric
| Criterion | Emerging | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topic and opinion | Does not name Room 11's choice or state an opinion | Names the choice or states an opinion, but not both | Names the choice between the two sinks and states one clear opinion | Names the choice, states a clear opinion, and hints at a reason in the opening |
| Health reasons | Gives no reason, or a reason unrelated to the story | Gives one reason, or repeats the opinion in place of a second reason | Gives two different reasons, each supported by a fact from the background, such as germs, splashes, or where hands and bottles are washed | Gives two supported reasons and explains how germs could travel from the tank water to a person |
| Linking words | Uses no linking word | Uses one linking word | Uses because for the first reason and also for the second | Uses because and also correctly and adds another, such as but or so, to connect ideas |
| Closing and conventions | Stops with no closing sentence; errors make parts hard to read | Ends with a sentence that is not about the opinion; several errors | Ends with a sentence that restates the opinion; sentences begin with capitals and end with periods | Ends by restating the opinion and pointing back to a reason; nearly all capitals and end marks are correct |
A student who chooses the classroom sink can reach Proficient on the reasons row with two supported reasons from the background, for example that the sink is close to the tank and that everyone who helps must wash with soap afterward. To reach Advanced on that row, the student also has to address the germ facts, such as explaining that the sink and faucet would need to be scrubbed with soap after the water goes down.
Differentiation
Support
Let students dictate the organizer boxes to an adult and then copy their sentences. Offer the frames "Room 11 has to choose ___." and "I think Room 11 should use ___ because ___." Accept a labeled drawing in each fact box, such as a splash on a faucet, with one or two words written beside it. Reread the germ paragraph of the background with these students just before they write.
Extension
Ask students to add a paragraph that answers a classmate who picked the other sink, using one fact from the background. Students can also write a short list of three steps Room 11 should follow on fish tank day, ending with the hand-washing step, and explain in one sentence why that last step matters.
ELL supports
Pre-teach germs, splash, faucet, custodian, and bucket with pictures and a quick demonstration of pouring water into a tub so students can see a splash. Give a two-column picture chart, one column for each sink, so students can mark their choice before writing. Post because and also at eye level with the sentence frames, and allow students to use the word bank labels in their organizer.
Extensions
After the writing is finished, invite the school custodian or the school nurse to visit and answer student questions about how the school keeps sinks and fountains clean. Students can compare what the visitor says with the reasons they wrote, then make a small sign for the class fish tank that reminds helpers to wash hands with soap and water after tank day.