Writing prompt Grade 4 Health & Consumer Science
A Medicine Drop-Off Box for the Pellisford Library: Opinion Prompt
A grade 4 opinion prompt asking whether a fictional town should put a medicine drop-off box in its library, using facts on home safety and wastewater treatment.
Objectives
- Students will write an opinion letter that states a clear position on a library medicine drop-off box and supports it with at least two reasons.
- Students will explain, using facts from the background, why only an adult should handle old medicine.
- Students will describe what a wastewater treatment plant removes and why some medicine can pass through it.
Vocabulary
- Wastewater
- Wastewater is used water from sinks, showers, toilets, and businesses that goes down the drain. It travels through sewer pipes to a treatment plant to be cleaned before returning to nature.
Also: medicine, treatment plant, take-back box, opinion, reason
Teacher overview
Old and leftover medicine creates two separate health problems. At home it can poison a young child or a pet who finds it, and when it is flushed or poured down a drain it travels to a wastewater treatment plant that was not designed to remove every medicine. In this prompt, fourth graders write an opinion letter to the town council of the fictional town of Pellisford, which is deciding whether to install a locked medicine drop-off box in the public library. The background gives students enough to argue either side, since the box would be easier to reach than the current one at the police station, while it also costs money and needs weekly emptying.
A common misconception, held by many adults as well, is that flushing old pills is the safe way to get rid of them because the medicine disappears and the treatment plant cleans the water. Treatment plants are built mainly to remove solids, organic material, and germs, and some medicines pass through them, which is one reason take-back programs exist. Federal guidance does list a small number of especially dangerous medicines that should be flushed when no take-back option is available, because the risk of accidental use at home is greater than the harm to water; the background therefore speaks about "most old medicine." Teachers should also reinforce throughout that children never handle old medicine themselves and should tell an adult if they find some.
Prompt
Background
Pellisford is a fictional town on the Saltonby River. The town council is deciding whether to put a locked medicine drop-off box in the lobby of the Pellisford Public Library. Families could bring old or leftover medicine to the box. A police officer would take the medicine away so it can be destroyed safely. The council wants to hear from students before it votes.
Old medicine at home. Medicine can help a sick person when a doctor or a trusted adult gives the right amount. Old or leftover medicine can hurt people, though. Some pills look like candy to a young child. A dog can chew open a pill bottle. Children should never handle old medicine. If you find some, do not touch it. Tell an adult right away.
Where the drain goes. Some people flush old pills down the toilet or pour them down the sink. That water travels through pipes to the wastewater treatment plant. The plant takes out trash, dirt, and most germs. Then it sends the cleaned water back to the river. The plant was not built to take out every medicine, though. Some medicine can pass through and end up in the river, where fish and frogs live.
What health experts say. For most old medicine, health experts say the best choice is a take-back box. The medicine is collected and destroyed in a safe way.
Facts about Pellisford in our scenario
- Right now the only drop-off box is at the police station, on the far edge of town. It is open on weekdays only.
- The library is on the main bus line. It is open six days a week, including Saturday.
- The box costs money. The council would have less to spend on other things, such as new library books.
- A police officer would have to come to the library every week to empty the box.
Writing task
Write an opinion letter to the Pellisford town council. Tell the council whether the library should get a medicine drop-off box. Give at least two reasons. Support each reason with a fact from the background. Put each reason in its own paragraph. Use linking words such as for instance, in addition, and because. Include one health fact about who should handle old medicine or about what the treatment plant can and cannot do. End with a sentence that sums up your opinion.
Planning Organizer
Fill in every row before you start your letter. Write the fact from the background in your own words or copy the exact words.
| Part of my letter | My notes |
|---|---|
| My opinion: should the library get the box, yes or no? | |
| Reason 1 | |
| Fact from the background for reason 1 | |
| Reason 2 | |
| Fact from the background for reason 2 | |
| The health fact I will explain (who handles old medicine, or what the plant can and cannot remove) | |
| Linking words I will use | |
| 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
Dear Pellisford Town Council,
I think the Pellisford Public Library should get a medicine drop-off box. A box at the library would help keep families safe at home, and it would help keep medicine out of the Saltonby River.
My first reason is that old medicine is not safe to keep in a house. For instance, some pills look like candy to a young child, and a dog can chew open a pill bottle. If families have an easy place to take old medicine, it will not sit in a cabinet where a little kid or a pet can find it. Only grown-ups should carry the medicine to the box, because children should never handle old medicine.
My second reason is that the box would keep medicine out of the river. Some people flush old pills because they do not know what else to do. The background says the treatment plant takes out trash, dirt, and most germs, but it was not built to take out every medicine. That means some medicine can end up in the Saltonby River, where fish and frogs live. In addition, health experts say a take-back box is the best choice for most old medicine.
My last reason is that the library is easier to get to. Right now the only box is at the police station on the edge of town, and it is closed on weekends. The library is on the bus line and is open on Saturday, so more families could use it.
For these reasons, I think the council should put a medicine drop-off box in the library. It is a simple way to protect kids, pets, and the river.
Sincerely,
A fourth grader in Pellisford
A letter arguing against the box can also reach the top of the rubric, for example by pointing to the cost and the weekly visits from a police officer, as long as each reason is supported by a fact from the background and the letter explains who should handle old medicine or what the treatment plant can and cannot remove.
Rubric
| Criterion | 1 Emerging | 2 Developing | 3 Proficient | 4 Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion | No opinion is stated, or the letter names both choices without picking one. | An opinion is stated but changes later in the letter. | One clear opinion is stated near the beginning and held to the end. | One clear opinion is stated, and the opening also previews the reasons that follow. |
| Reasons and facts | No reason is given, or a reason has no support. | One reason is given with a fact from the background. | Two reasons are given, and each is supported by a fact from the background. | Two or more reasons are given, each supported by a fact, and the letter explains how each fact supports its reason. |
| Health facts | The letter says something unsafe, such as that children should carry old medicine or that flushing is always fine. | The letter mentions a health fact but gets part of it wrong or leaves it unexplained. | The letter correctly explains who should handle old medicine or what the treatment plant can and cannot remove. | The letter correctly explains both ideas and connects them to the opinion. |
| Organization and linking words | Ideas run together with no paragraphs and no linking words. | Some grouping appears, and one linking word is used. | Each reason has its own paragraph, and at least two linking words connect the ideas. | Paragraphs are grouped in a sensible order, linking words join ideas smoothly, and the closing sums up the opinion. |
| Conventions | Errors make many sentences hard to read. | Errors are noticeable, but the meaning is clear. | Sentences are complete, letter format is used, and errors are few. | Sentences vary in length, letter format is correct, and errors are rare. |
Differentiation
Support
Read the background aloud and pause after each section so students can say the main idea back in their own words. Provide sentence starters for each organizer row, such as "My first reason is ___. The background says ___." Allow these students to write one reason with one fact plus the closing sentence, and build toward the second reason in a later conference.
Extension
Ask students to add a paragraph that compares the library with one other place in Pellisford where a box could go, such as the grocery store or the town pool, using only the facts in the background and their own reasoning about who visits each place. Students can also write a short morning announcement, of four or five sentences, that tells families where to bring old medicine if the council approves the box.
ELL supports
Pre-teach "medicine," "leftover," "flush," "treatment plant," "river," and "drop-off box" with pictures of a pill bottle, a toilet, a treatment plant, a river, and a locked metal box. Provide the frames "I think the library should ___ because ___." and "For instance, ___." Allow students to complete the Planning Organizer with short phrases before drafting full sentences.
Extensions
Invite a pharmacist or a school nurse to answer questions about how medicine take-back works and why children should leave old medicine to adults. After the visit, students can revise one paragraph of their letter to include something they learned.